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Harry Brook scored his second dazzling hundred in as many innings to once again rescue his side from trouble in Wellington. Buoyed by Brook’s 123 off 115 balls, England then knocked over half of the New Zealand batting as 15 wickets fell on the opening day of the second Test.Having been reduced to 43 for 4 on what Tom Latham had described at the toss as a “traditional” Basin Reserve pitch, England were indebted to Brook and Ollie Pope reprising their Christchurch heroics with a rip-roaring stand of 174 at more than a run a ball. But New Zealand held their nerve – and (almost) all of their catches – to claim the last four wickets for 21 after Brook had been run out by the alert Nathan Smith.Ben Stokes said he had wanted to bat, but either way it made for another uncomfortable examination of England’s approach in bowler-friendly conditions. Matt Henry set the tone for New Zealand by bowling four consecutive maidens, picking off both openers in the process, while Smith continued an eventful start to life in the Test team by taking 4 for 86 from 11.4 overs.England were duly skittled in just over two sessions – but the benefit of their aggression, which saw them scoring at 5.12 an over, meant not only had they posted a serviceable score, there was still plenty of life in the surface when it came to their turn with the ball. Pitches in New Zealand have a tendency to flatten out, but England’s seamers quickly got stuck into their work.As in Christchurch, much of the action revolved around Brydon Carse. His face was a mask of anguish moments after hitting the top of Kane Williamson’s off stump, as the officials confirmed that he had overstepped. Williamson, on 20 at the time, averages close to 70 at Basin Reserve, with five hundreds. But after taking a spectacular diving catch to help dismiss Rachin Ravindra, Carse returned for a second spell and found Williamson’s outside edge, the dismissal completed by a diving Pope, before bouncing out Daryl Mitchell as England surged late in the day.New Zealand’s opening stand had not got much further than England’s before Gus Atkinson coaxed an expansive drive from Devon Conway, which only resulted in a thick edge to second slip. Carse immediately caused issues for Williamson, who was perilously close to edging behind; England reviewed only for UltraEdge to suggest the noise had been from bat thumping into pad. After Carse’s no-ball, New Zealand had moved on to 53 for 1 when Stokes had Latham chopping on.Brydon Carse leaps in celebration•Getty Images

Brook’s hundred, the eighth of his career, came off just 91 balls and this time owed little to the generosity of New Zealand’s fielders. He was beaten often, with the pitch offering plenty of assistance, but continued to play with freedom, crashing 11 fours and five sixes before being dismissed from what became the last ball before tea. Having turned Smith into the leg side and set off looking for a run, Brook was then stranded well out of his ground as the bowler scampered across to his right and threw down the stumps.Pope was also in fluent form, adding his second half-century for the series batting at No. 6 after the top order had been blown away. He drove and cut with aplomb, and looked unrufflable until confronted by the extra bounce of Will O’Rourke midway through the afternoon session. After getting away with a miscue that cleared short leg, he was dismissed top-edging a pull in O’Rourke’s next over.O’Rourke had another shortly after when he pinned Stokes to the crease before taking the outside edge for a catch at second slip. Brook’s dismissal was followed by another collapse, as Atkinson, Woakes and Carse all fell in consecutive overs.England’s scorecard had told a sorry tale at the top of the first hour. Henry was immaculate with the new ball, at one stage possessing figures of 4-4-0-2, before Smith struck twice in as many overs. That brought together Brook and Pope, off the back of their match-changing stand of 151 in the first Test, and an almost immediate shift in momentum.Having dropped eight catches at Hagley Oval, New Zealand swallowed their chances this time around, barring a Carse edge that went too fast for Glenn Phillips. But the second half of the session saw 81 runs scored off 80 balls as Brook and Pope proved that attack is the best form of defence for this England side.Although Zak Crawley hit 10 off the first over of the day, which included lofting Tim Southee back over his head for an imperious six, it quickly became clear that England’s aggressive method was going to be tested to the fullest – albeit that the early cloud cover had already burned off by the start of play, and most of the morning session took place under clear blue skies.Kane Williamson was bowled off a no ball from Brydon Carse•Getty Images

Crawley eclipsed his Christchurch tally by taking two off Southee’s first ball, and by the end of the over he had surpassed his meagre average in Tests against New Zealand. But Henry was in no mood to allow liberties at the other end, bowling seven dots to Ben Duckett before finding the opener’s outside edge, Latham scooping a low chance in the first sign that New Zealand’s catching was back up to the mark.Crawley then found himself in Henry’s crosshairs. He was dismissed for the third time in as many innings by a peach of a delivery that nipped back through the gate to hit the top of middle and leg – Crawley’s tentative forward defensive emphatically breached.Henry conceded his first runs at the start of his fifth over, Root pushing three through the covers, but that was to be his only scoring shot as an injudicious waft at Smith produced a thick outside edge and a flying one-handed catch from Mitchell at first slip.At 26 for 3, England were in strife – albeit marginally better off than when Brook walked out in the first innings on his previous visit to Basin Reserve. On this occasion, England’s situation got worse before it got better, as Jacob Bethell was suckered into gloving Smith’s bumper down the leg side. Pope survived a direct hit when called through for a tight single by Brook, who then decided to concentrate on boundaries as the pair raced to a fifty stand from just 37 balls.Brook’s signature shot was his inside-out thrash over the extra cover boundary, which he unfurled on three occasions, while Henry was also dumped on to the grass banks when dropping short, before the introduction of Phillips’ offspin helped usher him through to his third century in four Tests against New Zealand.

Big picture: Can West Indies deepen England’s white-ball funk?

Plenty has gone on since Jos Buttler led his players off the field at the Providence Stadium in Guyana, following a comprehensive defeat to India in their World Cup semi-final. Matthew Mott vacated his post soon after, leading to Brendon McCullum’s appointment as cross-format supremo and, while Buttler was retained as captain, he has not hit a ball in anger since, due to a persistent calf injury that caused him to miss the Hundred, as well as ODI and T20I series against Australia and then the West Indies one-dayers.There will be added significance, then, to his comeback for five T20Is in the Caribbean. In the last 12 months, Buttler has overseen two doomed World Cup defences – and the window is already narrowing for England to get their white-ball show back on the road in time for the Champions Trophy in Pakistan in February. (Whether the schedule is helpful in that regard – England have the same split of three ODIs and five T20Is in India as part of their build-up to the tournament – is a moot point.)Buttler’s enthusiasm for England duty should have been sharpened by time spent on the sidelines – as well, perhaps, as his release by Rajasthan Royals ahead of the IPL auction later this month. He joined up with the squad in Barbados earlier this week, with interim head coach Marcus Trescothick describing him as “progressing really nicely” ahead of the T20Is.At the very least, his return will put a stop to the revolving door of captaincy understudies, with three different men (Phil Salt, Harry Brook and Liam Livingstone) in charge for the three engagements against Australia and West Indies. And while England’s squad is otherwise the same as that beaten 2-1 in the ODI leg, there is far greater T20 experience to call on – even from the tyros in the group, such as Jacob Bethell and Dan Mousley.Jos Buttler speaks to the media ahead of his England comeback•Getty Images

West Indies also carry some hurt with them from the T20 World Cup, after failing to make the semi-finals despite strong form going into their home tournament. They have already begun the process of moving on, sweeping the beaten finalists, South Africa, 3-0 in August before going down 2-1 in Sri Lanka last month – albeit Daren Sammy, West Indies’ head coach, called it a “moral victory” for his side. England know all about those.Sammy and Rovman Powell, the captain, have dovetailed to good effect in managing the complex relationships between West Indies’ star players and the global franchise circuit. Nicholas Pooran, Andre Russell, Shimron Hetmyer and Akeal Hossein were all absent from the Sri Lanka tour for personal reasons but have returned to take on England. Having not qualified for the Champions Trophy, West Indies can already start to focus on the next T20 World Cup, set to be played in India and Sri Lanka in early 2026.One player who won’t be involved over the weekend, however, is Alzarri Joseph, with the fast bowler banned for two matches by Cricket West Indies after apologising for storming off the pitch during the deciding ODI in Barbados. Proof that even when you’re winning, things don’t always run smooth.

Form guide

West Indies LLWWW
England WLLWL

In the spotlight: Andre Russell and Jos Buttler

Andre Russell has not pulled on a West Indies shirt since they lost their de facto quarter-final against South Africa in Antigua in June – with many having assumed that, at 36, the T20 World Cup would be his international swansong. Russell has since confirmed a desire to play on until the 2026 edition, though his workload is likely to be carefully managed by Sammy and the West Indies hierarchy. His last international comeback, against England in Barbados less than a year ago, saw him win Player of the Match, and judging by a fiery post in the wake of Trinbago Knight Riders’s CPL exit, the passion for the game remains.England followers will not be looking past Jos Buttler, assuming he is passed fit ahead of the game (and then even if it he isn’t). There has been nothing wrong with Buttler’s T20 form in 2024, albeit he was unable to shape England’s key World Cup encounters with Australia and India – but he had cut an increasingly tetchy figure as captain, particularly in the build-up to their campaign in the Caribbean. McCullum has pinpointed cheering up a “miserable” Buttler as his first job in charge of the white-ball set-up, and an unfettered return – free from injury, ideally at the helm of a winning side – over the next nine days would be a good start.

Team news: Big names back for both sides

The T20 big guns look set to regain their places in West Indies’ XI – although there might be a temptation to include some top-order insurance in the form of Shai Hope or Roston Chase. Romario Shepherd was fit to be included in the squad after being diagnosed with cramp following his tumble in the third ODI.West Indies: (possible) 1 Brandon King, 2 Evin Lewis, 3 Nicholas Pooran (wk), 4 Rovman Powell (capt), 5 Sherfane Rutherford, 6 Roston Chase/Shimron Hetmyer, 7 Andre Russell, 8 Akeal Hosein, 9 Gudakesh Motie, 10 Matthew Forde, 11 Shamar JosephSalt has been confirmed as wicketkeeper, with Buttler looking to lighten his load on comeback. Mousley could make his T20I debut after scoring a maiden England fifty in the Barbados ODI, while the other two uncapped squad members, John Turner and Jafer Chohan, will hope to join him at some point during the series.England: (possible) 1 Phil Salt (wk), 2 Jos Buttler (capt), 3 Will Jacks, 4 Liam Livingstone, 5 Jacob Bethell, 6 Dan Mousley, 7 Sam Curran, 8 Jamie Overton/Saqib Mahmood, 9 Adil Rashid, 10 Jofra Archer, 11 Reece Topley

Pitch and conditions: Something for everyone – possibly including rain

Kensington Oval was the third-highest scoring venue during the World Cup earlier in the year, and one of only two to see a total of 200 – when Australia left England trailing in their Group B encounter. The ODI surface offered a bit for seam bowling first up but became much easier to bat on under lights. The forecast in Bridgetown is for another hot day with a chance of showers.

Stats and trivia

• West Indies beat England 3-2 in both of their previous bilateral T20I series, in 2021-22 and 2023-24.
• England’s last series win over West Indies in either white-ball format came back in 2018-19, when they swept the T20Is 3-0 – although they did also beat the hosts in their World Cup Super Eights fixture in June.
• Salt needs 56 runs to reach 1000 in T20Is; Hetmyer is 67 short of the same mark.

Quotes

“It’s a definite loss for us, he’s the spearhead of our attack and one of our more experienced bowlers. But having said that we have capable replacements, when you look at the bench strength and guys that are in the wings waiting, it’s good also. It’s an opportunity for somebody to step up and be counted.”
“You walk into breakfast and you see the guys that they bring back and there’s some real superstars – Pooran and Russell. They’re a really strong team and they’ve been a strong team for a really long time and have guys who are well suited to the format. It’s a great challenge.”

The Women’s T20 World Cup trophy will be taken on a nine-day tour of New Zealand after they won their maiden title earlier in October.New Zealand travelled to India directly after their World Cup triumph for a three-match ODI series that concluded on Tuesday, and will land back home on Friday.On Saturday, New Zealand Cricket (NZC) will start the ‘trophy tour’, with members of the women’s team and support staff set to make appearances in fan events in their cities.The team members will interact with fans at free-entry public events and also visit cricket clubs and schools.”The World Cup win is without a doubt a watershed moment for women’s cricket in this country and we’re determined to make the most of it,” NZC marketing communications general manager Stacey Geraghty was quoted as saying in a release.”Based on the amount of excitement back here in New Zealand following the win, we’re expecting the public to get out in force to celebrate with the team, in the same way Kiwis supported the BLACKCAPS during their ICC World Test Championship Mace tour in 2021.”The tour will begin in Dunedin and cover ten cities, including Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland.NZC also announced that the T20 World Cup trophy will be on display at all of New Zealand women’s matches in the home summer.After beating West Indies in the semi-final, New Zealand beat South Africa in the final in Dubai to lift their maiden T20 World Cup trophy, powered by an all-round display from Amelia Kerr.

The Hundred franchises could make players direct offers of multi-year contracts worth up to £300,000 per season if an overhaul to the tournament’s draft system being considered by the ECB is approved. The board is also considering lobbying the UK’s Home Office to permit each team in the Hundred to field a fourth overseas player in the XI, an increase from the current limit of three.The ECB started the process of selling stakes in each of the eight Hundred teams last month and has told prospective investors that total wage bills could increase by over 80% next year. Each team currently spends around £1.9 million per year on salaries across men’s and women’s players and coaches, which is projected to jump to more than £3.5m per year once deals are signed off.If the early-stage plans are approved and the sale process moves quickly, top salaries could climb from £125,000 to £300,000 in the men’s Hundred ahead of the 2025 season, and from £50,000 to over £100,000 in the women’s Hundred. The changes would put the Hundred’s total salary spend second to the IPL among men’s leagues, and second to the WPL among women’s leagues.Related

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The Hundred has consistently attracted the best overseas players in the women’s game, but not the men’s. This year, Shaheen Shah Afridi pulled out of his deal with Welsh Fire because Canada’s Global T20 was due to pay him at a more competitive rate, while Pat Cummins revealed he “hadn’t thought” of playing in the Hundred while he was at Major League Cricket.As a result, the ECB is considering allowing an updated recruitment model which would allow each franchise to make up to six direct overseas signings – three men’s and three women’s – on multi-year contracts, following the lead of several other leagues including the BBL, ILT20 and SA20. The existing draft system would remain but with increases in salary bands across the board, particularly at the top end.Vikram Banerjee, who is running the sale process at the ECB, said recently that the Hundred has “fallen behind” a number of other short-form leagues in attracting top men’s players. “We are the sixth highest-payer in the men’s game,” Banerjee told the podcast. “We’re about to go seventh if we stay still at the moment – which we won’t.”Banerjee also suggested that top salaries would grow at a much more significant rate than those at the bottom. “The 15th selection in a 15-man squad, with all due respect, you don’t need to pay huge sums for. They might be an up-and-coming player,” he said. “It’s that top three or four players [per team] that you do need to pay to get their time and their effort to be there, and we have fallen behind.”Top salaries could climb from £50,000 to over £100,000 in the women’s Hundred ahead of the 2025 season•Getty Images

The plans would also see each team able to sign one designated ‘England star’ on a multi-year deal, worth around £100,000 in the women’s competition and £250,000 in the men’s. The proposed increase in overseas players per playing XI from three to four would bring the tournament in line with the global standard set by the IPL, WPL, PSL and SA20.ESPNcricinfo understands that while the plans have been circulated to prospective investors, they are at a relatively early stage and may not come to fruition until 2026, depending on the speed of the ongoing sale process. The ECB has declined to comment.The Hundred’s sale process has come under fire in the past week. Banerjee, the ECB’s director of business operations, conceded that it could take until beyond the 2025 season to complete, and the process was described last week as “a big fat Ponzi scheme” by Lalit Modi, the founder and architect of the IPL who is serving a life ban from the BCCI.”I don’t recognise his particular comments,” Richard Gould, the ECB’s chief executive, told the BBC last week in response to Modi’s criticism of the Hundred’s financial projections. “It wasn’t so long ago that he [Modi] had an article in the saying he wanted to buy the competition for £1 billion.”Gould insisted the ECB are “very confident” in the strength of English cricket. “We’ve got nearly 100 or so interested parties involved in [the Hundred sales process] which is a huge number… Everyone knows that the money that comes in, we want to use it to protect and then supercharge the game throughout our county network and beyond.”The Hundred’s 2025 season will start in early August, immediately after England’s men complete a Test series against India.

Dhananjaya de Silva, Sri Lanka’s captain, has revealed that his team wanted to play more than one warm-up match before their Test series against England but were denied the chance to do so.Sri Lanka lost by seven wickets in their four-day, first-class match against an inexperienced England Lions team at New Road last week. They were bowled out for 139 on the opening day but grew into the match, with Nishan Madushka, Angelo Mathews and Dhananjaya all scoring second-innings half-centuries.Eight of the side that will face England at Emirates Old Trafford in Wednesday’s first Test were involved, with Kamindu Mendis, Vishwa Fernando and Asitha Fernando due to come into the side. Milan Rathnayake, the 28-year-old seamer, will make his Test debut at the age of 28 after taking a wicket in each innings against the Lions.”The conditions are quite different to Asian countries,” Dhananjaya said. “We wanted to play a few matches, but that’s what we get. We didn’t go with the full-strength [team]. We have tried out a few players as well. The result didn’t go our way, but we had the preparation, I think. It’ll work in this match.”Dhananjaya said he had “no idea” why Sri Lanka’s desire for a second warm-up match had been overlooked, but suggested that the schedule was tight ahead of their first Test series of more than two games since 2018. “I have no idea about it,” he said. “Maybe because we are playing a three-match series after a long time; maybe that’s the reason.”Related

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Sri Lanka have not played a Test since April but come into this series after beating India 2-0 in an ODI series, and have a 100% record in Dhananjaya’s three matches as captain. “Our mental state is good,” he said. “Yes, we lost the practice match, but that match is there for our training. Within that, we got the preparation we wanted.”He is expecting the weather to play a significant role in the Test match, and hopes that Prabath Jayasuriya – whom he described as a “world-class spinner” – will play a role later in the match. “From the looks of it, it’ll be a rain-affected match,” Dhananjaya said. “I thought because of that, it’s best to go with three quicks, because we will go in and out of the game.”Dhananjaya made his Test debut immediately after Sri Lanka’s most recent Test tour to England in 2016, but will lean on the experience of Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal and Dimuth Karunaratne throughout the series. “It’s been long since we played here the last time,” he said, “but there are a few experienced players… They are sharing the experience with me.”

A stingy display from Southern Brave’s bowlers paved the way for a comfortable seven-wicket win over winless Manchester Originals at the Utilita Bowl. After restricting the Originals to 116 for 6 the hosts, who were without the rested Jofra Archer, cruised home with 22 balls to spare in front of 10,337 fans.Craig Overton was the pick of the home attack, returning 2 for 11 from 20 balls, while England duo Tymal Mills and Chris Jordan both also claimed two wickets apiece. Brave opener Alex Davies immediately broke the back of the chase with 24 from 12 balls and Laurie Evans finished it off with an unbeaten 25 from 15 balls.Victory moved Brave level with four teams on four points at the top of the table while Originals, without injured skipper Jos Buttler, remain bottom.Brave captain James Vince opted to bowl with the threat of rain but an inspired bowling performance meant the game didn’t last long enough for the wet weather to arrive. Craig Overton quickly removed openers Phil Salt and Max Holder as the visitors managed only 16 for 2 from the 25-ball powerplay.Veteran batter Wayne Madsen tried to piece the innings together with an unbeaten 43 from 37 balls and eventually found some support through Jamie Overton.The pair combined for 57 valuable runs, after Originals were 41 for 4 at halfway, with Jamie Overton swiping one of just two sixes in the innings. Mills bowled Jamie Overton with a slower ball before Usama Mir hit his own stumps to finish a limp innings.Davies got Brave off to a fast start by crashing 24 from 10 balls before Vince had even faced. Tom Hartley got the opener to chip a catch to Paul Walter before steady 20s from Vince and Leus du Plooy kept Brave above the required rate. Evans completed the job alongside James Coles with a misfield handing the hosts the winning runs.Meerkat Match Hero Craig Overton said: “It was obviously a great win. We just needed to bash the top of the stumps for as long as possible and make it tough for their batters. Home games here are massive for us – we need to win them and if we can nick one away then we’ll be there or thereabouts to reach the knockouts.”Vince said: “Al got us off to a rapid start to get us ahead of the game. We didn’t want to let them back into the game – Laurie finished it well for us tonight.”

Jason Gillespie’s first tour since being named Pakistan’s Test coach will see him back in Australia as he oversees two four-day matches for the Shaheens (Pakistan A) in Darwin next month.Pakistan Shaheens will play two four-day games against Bangladesh A between July 19-22 and 26-29 with Gillespie head coach for those matches before returning to Pakistan to prepare for a two-Test series against Bangladesh.Related

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The Shaheens will remain in Darwin during August, playing 50-over matches against Northern Territory and Bangladesh A, before taking part in an expanded nine-team Top End T20 series for the second year running.”The opportunity to be the head coach of Pakistan’s Test side is fantastic,” Gillespie, who quit as South Australia and Adelaide Strikers coach, told a PCB podcast shortly after his appointment. “It’s an honour. I’ve been coaching for quite a while now in various roles around the world, but one thing I haven’t done is coach an international Test side. When this opportunity presented itself, I jumped at it.The Top End series, staged from August 9 to August 18, will also feature a Bangladesh High Performance side. Perth Scorchers and Adelaide Strikers will send teams while Tasmania will also feature. Academy sides from Melbourne Renegades and Stars will again take part as in previous seasons while defending champions NT Strike and the ACT Comets make up the tournament.The PCB has announced a Shaheens’ squad, with one further player and a captain to be confirmed before the tour, which features fast bowler Khurram Shahzad who made his Test debut against Australia in Perth last year before his tour was ended early by injury.”I am grateful to Northern Territory for inviting the Pakistan Shaheens for the second successive year,” PCB director of international cricket Usman Wahla said. “Last year, the players had a memorable experience and enjoyed playing and performing in excellent playing conditions, in front of enthusiastic cricket fans.”This year we have added red-ball cricket matches to give more exposure to our cricketers and I am confident the players will benefit from this tour and will return as better cricketers.”During the Test series, which Pakistan lost 3-0 but pushed Australia in Melbourne and Sydney, then team director Mohammad Hafeez said there were discussions between the PCB and CA on future touring opportunities for development teams.For the Australian domestic cricketers involved, the Top End T20 series will provide pre-season opportunity for those not in action overseas.”The competition adds another layer to what our pre-season would typically be, exposing players to tournament conditions ahead of the Australian domestic season,” Kade Harvey, Perth Scorchers’ general manager, said. “It’s also a great opportunity for some of WA’s most promising prospects to test themselves against quality opponents from Australia and Asia.”Last year the tournament featured Jake Fraser-McGurk and Will Sutherland who have since represented Australia, and in Fraser-McGurk’s case taken the T20 world by storm at the IPL.”To have two cricket powerhouses in Pakistan and Bangladesh now participating alongside half of the Big Bash League franchises is a testament to the potential of winter cricket in the Territory.” NT Cricket CEO Gavin Dovey said.Further squads for the Top End T20 series will be confirmed in the coming weeks.Pakistan Shaheens to tour Darwin Haseebullah, Hunain Shah, Kamran Ghulam, Kashif Ali, Khurram Shahzad, Mehran Mumtaz, Mohammad Huraira, Mubasir Khan, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Omair Yousuf, Sahibzada Farhan, Shahnawaz Dahani, Tayyab Tahir, Umar Amin