England are optimistic about leveling the series in this second match.

Well I think the News Zealanders will be feeling confident after the 1st one dayer when England failed to adapt to the conditions, and failed to read the pitch.

Well I think it's a little deeper than that.

Cook is a class player, not sure he is suited to this one day stuff, and Mustard is the new boy wanting not only to do well in this format - but also has one eye on the coming test series, so much rests also with Bell, Collingwood and Pietersen.

I think England must bring in Mascarenhas in place of Bopara, that's essential IMO.
He's right - if England fail tomorrow - then it'l be to late to bring back Mascarenhas for the third game.

I think New Zealand are facourites, but should Cook and Mustard get a good start, and the big guns in Pietersen and Collinwood fire - then it's anyones game.

Match Starts: 01:00GMT.

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Ern

Don't get too excited abotu the game people, it's been raining most of the morning in Hamilton, I'm not sure what its like over there at the moment but its forecast to rain a lot of the day. Sorry to put a dampener on things (terrible pun I know). It's just started raining where I am (about an hours drive east of Hamilton) so I don't know whether the weathers gettign worse overall or just moving across the island. I'll keep everyone posted on the view from my office window.

What happens if the match is washed out SD?, do we have a reserve day, or is the match a draw?.

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Ern

I don't think there's a reserve day, at least none is mentioned on my ticket to Friday's game. So the match would be a no-result.

Having said that the suns now out and apparently the game should start on time, gotta love New Zealand weather, it was sunny at 10am, drizzling at 11am, lightening and thunder at midday and by 1.30 it was blue skies and sunshine again.

There's rain forecast for later in the day but it may well decide not to show up.

The match has got under way as scheduled, Vettori won the toss and decided to bowl. Collingwood said he'd have done the same but isn't worried about batting first. There's speculation on cricinfo that Vettori wanted to bat second incase messirs Duckworth and Lewis become involved as rain is a distinct possibility in Hamilton.

Can backfire if Cook and Mustard get of to a flyer. Better start for Englad this time round.

Hope we get 100 overs.

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Ern

Well the Sky commentators and the one who interviewed Vettori at the toss seemed to imply there were a couple of reasons why he chose to bowl second - because they don't know what the pitch is going to do (as before) and they want England to set the pace and secondly because they're quite confident and comfortable in chasing down whatever score England set.

There's some logic there as Australia scored 340 odd on this pitch a year or so ago and the Kiwi's chased it down! Average score batting first is 218, Kiwi's have won 8 I beleive out of the last 10 ODI's played there.

This pitch appears to be much more like the kind of pitch England expected in the last ODI and they should therefore be quite comfortable on it and judging by the way Cooks scoring boundaries with normal cricketing strokes, that would appear to be the case.

Cooks already survived a very close LBW call off Mills in the second over, I gave it out on first view (I always base my decisions on the real time play the umpire see) it just looked right to me as it was full and coming back in to his pads, but the Umpire gave it not out although haweye showed it hitting the outside half off leg stump.

I find it interesting that many of the worlds bowlers use the same technique to left handers now as Flintoff started using against Australias left handers in the 2005 Ashes - coming round the wicket and angling the ball into off stump and sometimes making it straighten and sometimes going on with the arm. This is exactly what Martin is doing to Cook.

This is going to be a different game to the last one and I have a sneaking feeling a different outcome.

England have started very positively, except as I type this Mustards just got himself out! Hard flat drive to Vettori at Mid off, neither high enough or low enough!

And Bell has just shown he is not international class.
Mustard was getting to excited Scott, he could have played a grond shot for 4, at least he gave his wicket attacking.
Pietersen made to come to the crease to early again.

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Ern

Quite an eventful start it seems, 46-2 after six overs, Martin removing Mustard and Bell in consecutive balls.

Scott, there's been 11 odis played here NZ have won 9, lost 1, with one no result.

Well, Bell's dismissal is one of the more unusual I've seen- to get caught leaving is unusual, to get that much wood on it while leaving more so, and to do both of them while being spectacularly caught behind is a whole new experience!

I remember the Carlton & United Series 98/99, when England and Sri Lanka toured Australia. Vaas and Mulally got Gilchrist bowled 5 times between them using their natural angle, and then Darren Gough got him twice more the same way going around the wicket. So I think the whole 'round the wicket thing was started ten years ago, and only revived in 2005.