England’s Test win in Wellington has led many to believe we could be on the verge of seeing a new, young and revitalised Test side which could hopefully reclaim the Ashes in 2009.

Without dwelling too much on what a miserable away record Team England has had in recent years – this was their first away from home in eight attempts – the England selectors may have found a solution to the woes of the Test side. The inclusion of James Anderson and Stuart Broad has been widely applauded for the extra zip and zest these young bowlers have brought to the side. Their youthful energy and commitment clearly made a difference to the shell-shocked team that collapsed in Hamilton.

Interestingly, prior to the second Test, most cricket pundits were surprised that Steve Harmison and, in particular, Matthew Hoggard were dropped, as it was the batsmen that were so clearly to blame for the opening Test defeat. And the question marks over many of the batsmen remain.

'All great teams have a solid foundation and in Test terms this has to come from a bowling attack'


In particular, the third Test will be a massive indicator as to whether Andrew Strauss has a future. Many fans were surprised that Strauss made a comeback for this tour after a run of bad form and his scores of 43, 2, 8 and 44 have done little to suggest he has turned the corner. Owais Shah has been sitting on the sidelines and after scoring his maiden One Day International century in the summer probably would have expected to get his chance in New Zealand in the Test team.

Question marks are also being placed on Kevin Pietersen and Ian Bell. KP has scored two hundreds and no fifties in his last eighteen knocks and is beginning to look frustrated. He was dismissed in unfortunate circumstances in the second innings but also dropped an easy catch in the field on day four. Similarly, Ian Bell had a disappointing Test. Bell seems to play better when the pressure is off and if England are to truly become a great team, they need Pietersen at his exhilarating best and Bell taking the fight to the opposition.

England still frustrate with their lack of consistency; in the first Test England took some unbelievable catches, in particular Alastair Cook was brilliant. It would be fair to say that only in the catching department did England outplay New Zealand in Hamilton. Yet, despite ending the second Test as winners, England’s catching was woeful; they dropped a number of chances on the penultimate day which would have wrapped the Test up in much quicker time. Needless to say, teams of greater ability than this Black Caps side could have made England pay.

All great teams have a solid foundation and in Test terms this has to come from a bowling attack. In Ryan Sidebottom, James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Monty Panesar, England have the basis of four potentially brilliant bowlers. The three seam bowlers in particular, if used in tandem, could cause havoc with any team in the world. But much of this is potential and in the Napier Test we will get to see how they deal with what is expected to be a slow, flat wicket.

Of course, England’s victory in Wellington was largely down to a brilliant century from Tim Ambrose, who again could be one of the missing pieces to the England jigsaw; but didn’t we say this with the last England wickie in Matt Prior?

A number of commentators have labelled this series second-class, but whilst the cricket may not have been of the highest standard, the third Test is now intriguingly poised. Many are now predicting a draw as four of the five Tests played at McLean Park in Napier have been draws. So if England can bag an overseas series win, this could be the start of something special.