England eye series win before attention turns to Ashes

Investec Test Series 2nd Test Day 1TodayEngland vs New Zealand 11:45 SS5LONDON. Buoyed by Stuart Broad’s match-winning burst at Lord’s, England will look to seal a series win over New Zealand in the second and final test starting at Headingley on Friday before turning their attention to Australia in July.Broad’s seven-wicket haul in the second innings of the first test bowled England to a 170-run victory as New Zealand were skittled for just 68 having matched the hosts for three days on a slow and difficult batting pitch.Conditions at Headingley should be more favourable to run-scoring if the sun is shining, but can be equally unpredictable and favour seam and swing with Broad, James Anderson and New Zealand’s Tim Southee, fresh from his 10-wicket haul at Lord’s, ready to exploit any cloud cover.England have named an unchanged squad with batsman Ian Bell having recovered from a bout of tonsillitis.Foremost in captain Alastair Cook and coach Andy Flower’s mind will be deciding whether to keep faith with inconsistent paceman Steven Finn or bring in fit-again Tim Bresnan on his home ground.Finn, despite taking four wickets in the first innings at Lord’s, bowled too short and minutes after England had completed victory was back out practising on an adjacent pitch.“He probably isn’t bowling as well as he could, but he’s getting wickets,” said England bowling coach David Saker.”Bresnan, who underwent elbow surgery in February, has not played a test since December last year but his inclusion would strengthen England’s lower order.England have not won a test at Headingley since beating West Indies in May, 2007. Since then they have lost to and drawn with South Africa, and were beaten in Leeds by the Australians in 2009.MCCULLUM TAKES THE GLOVESNew Zealand will be without wicketkeeper BJ Watling who has failed to recover from a knee injury sustained in the first test.Captain Brendon McCullum will take over behind the stumps with Martin Guptill coming into the side to bat at six.Former captain Daniel Vettori is in line to play his first test for 10 months, subject to a fitness assessment, after spinner Bruce Martin was ruled out of the rest of the tour with a calf injury.Vettori, New Zealand’s second-highest wicket taker with 360 wickets, has been struggling with a long-term Achilles injury and was originally included in the one-day squad but not in the test side.New Zealand coach Mike Hesson was left to reflect on a “missed opportunity” at Lord’s in a match that was decided, he said, by an “hour of madness”.

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England eye series win before attention turns to Ashes