England takes control at Napier, Courtesy Sidebottom

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Atul RoachMar 24 2008

It was Ryan Sidebottom at his inspired best which saw England turn the tide in their favour after a reckless first innings batting display. Sidebottom’s persistence paid of yet again, making him the highest ever wicket taker in a series against New Zealand, with an overall tally of 23 wickets.

ryan sidebottom celebrates the wicket of new zeala

Such was the fury inflicted by the burly bowler that the Kiwis lost their last 9 wickets for a mere 65 runs, ending their tally at 168. The Kiwis also had poor shot selection to blame to add to Sidebottom’s inspired spell which together wrote the nemesis script.

Sidebottom finished with figures of 7 for 47 a personal best for him; a performance which the team would also rate highly for they had their backs against the wall. England finished the day at 91 for 2, holding an overall lead of 176 runs.

A good day at the office tomorrow could see the Kiwis staring in the face of a defeat for it is always an uphill task to chase down a mammoth total on a 4th innings wicket. The Kiwis would be hoping for a similar performance from their bowlers to give this match another interesting twist.

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