By BV Swagath
England are sitting pretty at 267 for 2 at the close of the opening day’s play of the Second Test at the Basin Reserve in Wellington. Asked to bat first after losing the toss, England lost Alastair Cook with just 26 on the board to Neil Wagner. New Zealand’s hopes of making further inroads were dashed by a massive 210-run stand between Nick Compton (100 from 230 balls with 15 fours) and Jonathan Trott (121* from 234 balls with 15 fours).
Compton was dismissed by Chris Martin in the final session. England finished the day’s play with Pietersen on 18* in the company of Trott.