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Rediff.com  » Cricket » England can swing series decider

England can swing series decider

June 04, 2008 16:01 IST
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England pace bowler Stuart Broad believes the Nottingham swing factor can give his side a 2-0 series win in the third and final Test against New Zealand starting at Trent Bridge on Thursday.

Spin was the primary weapon at the second Test at Old Trafford, which England won by six wickets thanks to Monty Panesar after trailing New Zealand by 179 runs on the first innings.

This time, however, Broad expects the fast bowlers to have more success. Nottingham is the home ground of Broad and England's top-ranked bowler Ryan Sidebottom.

"It's always a bonus when the ball swings," Broad told reporters. "It didn't swing once at Old Trafford, not even for Siddey (Sidebottom) and he will swing it on anything. Trent Bridge will suit us more."

While England will select from the same 12-man squad, New Zealand have more selection headaches with number three James Marshall out of form after just 52 runs in his four innings so far in the series.

Batsman Daniel Flynn is another whose place is in jeopardy having failed to prove in the Northamptonshire practice match that he has regained his confidence after being hit in the mouth by a James Anderson bouncer at Old Trafford.

"I would have liked to see Daniel spend more time at the crease getting his confidence," coach John Bracewell told reporters. "There's nothing like being in the middle and the hustle and bustle of it to get yourself back on the bike."

FULTON RECALL?

Bracewell suggested Peter Fulton might be recalled after scoring a half-century at Northampton, while teenage swing bowler Tim Southee is expected to return for Iain O'Brien after recovering from a stomach upset that kept him out of the Manchester Test.

Meanwhile, England's Paul Collingwood revealed that he has spent time with England batting coach Andy Flower to help him overcome his wretched form. He has not scored a Test century in a year.

"It was decided the best thing for me was to work on my game," Collingwood told reporters on Tuesday. "Andy came up to Durham for a couple of days and we had two very good sessions and worked a bit technically but spoke about the game more than anything else. Sometimes that works better than anything."

Nottingham has not been England's most successful venue recently after losing a one-day series decider to West Indies last year and Tests against Sri Lanka in 2006 and India in 2007.

Teams (from):

England - Alastair Cook, Andrew Strauss, Michael Vaughan (captain), Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, Paul Collingwood, Tim Ambrose, Stuart Broad, Ryan Sidebottom, Monty Panesar, James Anderson, Chris Tremlett.

New Zealand - Jamie How, Aaron Redmond, James Marshall, Peter Fulton, Ross Taylor, Brendon McCullum, Daniel Flynn, Jacob Oram, Daniel Vettori (captain), Kyle Mills, Tim Southee, Jeetan Patel, Gareth Hopkins, Michael Mason, Iain O'Brien, Chris Martin.

Umpires: Steve Bucknor (West Indies) and Darrell Hair (Australia).

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Source: REUTERS
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