Selectors see into the future

Jamie How falls to James Anderson during a blistering new-ball spell © Getty Images

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Watch James Anderson in the end of day press conference, as well as the full close report on ECBtv

As selection decisions go, it bordered on the prophetic.

The return of James Anderson to the England team in place of Matthew Hoggard was the hottest topic in the build-up to the second Test against New Zealand in Wellington.

Replacing your most experienced seamer, whose 248 Test wickets put him sixth on the all-time list of England bowlers, for a player who had just taken 2-98 in a New Zealand domestic game was regarded as a gamble by many observers.

However, the bold move to name Anderson in the Test side reaped immediate dividends, his stunning five-wicket haul on the second day at the Basin Reserve the key factor in helping England seize control of this pulsating encounter.

Anderson’s figures of 5-73 may not be his best at this level, yet they could well prove to be the most important.

Not only did he ensure the tourists closed the second day boasting an imposing lead of 148 with all their second-innings wickets intact, but he provided a perfectly timed example of what captain Michael Vaughan referred to earlier this week as the “exciting times” that lie ahead for England’s attack.

The selection committee of Vaughan, coach Peter Moores and the newly-installed James Whitaker - who is with the squad in New Zealand - should be applauded for the decision to plump for Anderson, a decision prompted by a “gut feeling”, according to the skipper.

Anderson is mobbed after removing Matthew Bell early

But Anderson himself deserves the greatest amount of credit for taking apart the New Zealand top order with a display of swing and seam bowling unrivalled in the series so far.

True, the pitch unquestionably favoured the seamers, but no other bowler swung the ball as consistently late as Anderson, who also extracted sufficient movement off the seam during a devastating new-ball spell that reduced New Zealand to 31 for three.

No other bowler maintained the consistently full length that Anderson managed at speeds of around 85mph as he claimed five of the first six wickets to fall.

And, crucially, no other bowler had to operate under the pressure of replacing the most senior member of the attack in a game your side must win to retain a chance of winning the series.

Not that Anderson looked overly troubled by having to shoulder such a burden, and the smile which played across his lips after he took a wicket with his fifth ball was never far away throughout the day.

Anderson enjoys Mathew Sinclair's cheap dismissal

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He had much to be pleased about, from the vicious outswinger that cleaned up Matthew Bell in the second over of the innings to the leg-cutter that took Ross Taylor’s edge and left the hosts reeling on 113 for six.

In between, Jamie How also failed to cope with lateral movement as he edged to first slip, while Mathew Sinclair was rooted to the crease playing away from his body to gift wicketkeeper Tim Ambrose a simple catch.

As is so often the case when a bowler’s confidence is high, even poor balls took wickets, and that was the case when Stephen Fleming, seemingly unsure whether to throw his full weight behind a cut, steered a short, wide delivery straight to point.

Few would begrudge the likeable Anderson his five-wicket haul - the fourth of a Test career that has often been interrupted by injury and non-selection - although there have been murmurs of discontent among the New Zealand media that he was permitted to play for Auckland against Wellington last week.

Anderson bowled 38 overs in that game, which he admitted played a crucial role in helping him discover his rhythm ahead of this contest.

His involvement may not have been to everyone’s liking, but to others it looked like another masterstroke from the England management team.