Australian umpire Darrel Hair (right) watches as Monty Panesar nets before England's second Test against New Zealand at Old Trafford in Manchester, yesterday. Hair will umpire his first Test match for 20 months today when he stands alongside his fellow Australian Simon Taufel. - AP
MANCHESTER, England (AP):
ENGLAND ARE hoping their good record at the spin-friendly Old Trafford ground will help spark a change in their lacklustre form with the bat in the second Test against New Zealand starting today.
The rain-affected first Test ended in a draw on Monday at Lord's, thanks to a stubborn Kiwi side, but England spinner Monty Panesar is hopeful the England bowling attack will also be sharper in Manchester.
"The wicket has pace and bounce and my style of spin suits it," said Panesar, who took his first 10-wicket haul in Test cricket at the ground in June 2007 against West Indies. "It gets everyone - the pace bowlers as well as the spinners get excited."
Need better performance
But England also need a better performance with the bat. They have failed to post a first inning total of more than 400 in their past 10 Test matches.
"We really do try and get two players to a hundred in the first innings to get the big score, but more often than not one of us has got a hundred and we've always fallen short of the 400 or 450 target that we like to achieve," England captain Michael Vaughan said yesterday.
"I think this wicket is a perfect opportunity for us to get those first innings runs. We're all playing well at times, but not playing well as a collective unit."
England haven't lost at Old Trafford since 2001 and Vaughan hopes that streak continues.
"We've had some good results here over the past few years and I'm hoping we can produce another performance like we have done over the last few years," Vaughan said.
New Zealand coach John Bracewell is happy with his team so far, despite the late arrival of several key players from the Indian Premier League and some new faces. He's also unfazed by his side being described as "workmanlike" by Vaughan.
"I certainly don't mind that tag and crafting our results - there is nothing wrong with a good work ethic," Bracewell said, "We had to be prized out on the last day (at Lord's), which is something we've been looking for over the past couple of years."
UMPIRE RETURN
The second Test also marks the return of umpire Darrell Hair, back after a 16-month ban for his role in the only forfeited Test in cricket history, between England and Pakistan in August 2006. He'll partner Simon Taufel in Manchester and Steve Bucknor in the third Test at Nottingham from June 5-9.
England: Michael Vaughan (captain), Alastair Cook, Andrew Strauss, Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood, Ian Bell, Tim Ambrose, Stuart Broad, Ryan Sidebottom, James Anderson, Monty Panesar.
New Zealand: Jamie How, Aaron Redmond, James Marshall, Ross Taylor, Brendon McCullum, Daniel Flynn, Jacob Oram, Daniel Vettori (captain), Kyle Mills, Tim Southee, Michael Mason, Chris Martin, Iain O'Brien.
