Daryl Mitchell and Tom Blundell
Daryl Mitchell and Tom Blundell slammed glorious hundreds vs England on day 2 of the 2nd test to power Kiwis to a strong position at Trent Bridge.
Mitchell and Blundell started from they left yesterday. They came in, stabilised the innings, played aggressively, put England on the back foot, and took NZ to a mammoth total of 412/5 at lunch on day 2.
This was Mitchell's 2nd hundred in as many test matches as he also scored a brilliant 108 at Lord's in the first test. Blundell came close last time with magnificent and game-changing innings but missed out on the three-figure mark by just 4 runs.
But this time, Blundell wasn't to be denied as he slammed a beautifully crafted 106 before getting out to Jack Leach.
England vs New Zealand 2nd Test - Day 1 Review
England won the toss and put the Kiwis to bat first
New Zealand openers Latham and Young the survived a major part of the morning session before getting out on consecutive deliveries by Ben Stokes and Jimmy Anderson.
Conway and Nicholls saw England through Lunch. After Lunch, both of them put up some resistance and stitched together a strong partnership. But as soon as both of them got out, England welcomed Mitchell and Blundell to the crease, and they just kept piling on the misery for Ben Stokes and company.
Both of them faced 272 deliveries, stitched together a partnership of 149, and took New Zealand to a great 1st day total of 318. Heading into day 2, New Zealand clearly have the upper hand, and England must be wary not to let this pair run away with the game
Earlier, Kane Williamson, the skipper of New Zealand was ruled out of the second Test match against England after testing positive for COVID-19. Williamson undertook Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) after experiencing minor symptoms during the day and got the result the night before the match.
He will remain isolated for five days. Tom Latham is leading the side in the absence of Williamson. The rest of the touring party returned negative RATs.
New Zealand Playing XI
Tom Latham(c), Will Young, Devon Conway, Henry Nicholls, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell(w), Michael Bracewell, Kyle Jamieson, Tim Southee, Matt Henry, Trent Boult
England Playing XI
Alex Lees, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes(c), Ben Foakes(w), Matty Potts, Jack Leach, Stuart Broad, James Anderson
