England wins toss, bowls in 2nd T20 vs New Zealand

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

HAMILTON, New Zealand — England captain Stuart Broad won the toss and elected to bowl Tuesday in the second Twenty20 cricket international against New Zealand at Seddon Park.

After winning the first match at Auckland by 40 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series, England named an unchanged side. New Zealand made two changes, with Grant Elliott replacing Andrew Ellis and medium-pacer Ian Butler picked ahead of spinner Ronnie Hira.

The short-boundaries and Seddon Park promised another high-scoring match after England’s batsmen hit 15 sixes in posting their highest-ever T20 international total at Auckland.

“Bowling first is a bit of a change and we’re obviously looking to come out and get early wickets,” Broad said. “I don’t think the toss really matters. It’s how you execute your skills, so looking forward to getting going.”

New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum backed his team to improve on its performance in Auckland, where it dropped five catches.

“The wicket looks like it’s got a bit more pace in it than a normal Seddon Park wicket,” he said.

“We’ve just got to make sure we’re efficient up front and play an attacking type of cricket that is authentic to the guys’ styles.”

———

Lineups:

New Zealand: Brendon McCullum (captain), Hamish Rutherford, Martin Guptill, Colin Munro, Ross Taylor, Grant Taylor, James Franklin, Nathan McCullum, Trent Boult, Ian Butler, Mitchell McClenagham.

England: Stuart Broad (captain), Alex Hales, Michael Lumb, Eion Morgan, Luke Wright, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler, Samit Patel, James Tredwell, Steven Finn, Jade Dernbach.

Umpires: Gary Baxter and Derek Walker, New Zealand.

TV Umpire: Chris Gaffaney, New Zealand. Match Referee: Roshan Mahanama, Sri Lanka.

01:41ET 12-02-13