WATCH: England place nine catchers behind bat in second Test against New Zealand

On the opening day of the second Test between England (ENG) and New Zealand (NZ) at the Basin Reserve in Wellington, England displayed their aggressive brand of cricket. Captain Ben Stokes asked for a nine-catcher field in the evening session, targeting late-in-the-day breakthroughs that grabbed the attention. 

After winning the first Test of the series comfortably by eight wickets, England entered this match with a chance to secure their first Test series win in New Zealand since 2008. Batting first, England posted 280 runs, thanks to Harry Brook’s century and Ollie Pope’s knock. In reply, BlackCaps innings saw early hiccups. By the day’s end, they were 86/5, trailing by 194 runs. England’s innovative field placements, including the memorable nine-catcher setup, kept the hosts on the back foot.

In the evening session, New Zealand sent nightwatchman Will O’Rourke to play the final overs. The Three Lions saw an opportunity to further strengthen their position and introduced an unconventional field with nine close-in catchers, including eight stationed behind the bat. This field included a four-person slip cordon, a gully, a backward point, a leg slip, a leg gully, and a deepish short leg.

Check out the viral fielding setup video here:

England gain huge advancement on Day 1

England brought out the interesting tactic was done when Brydon Carse was asking questions with short-pitched deliveries. While O’Rourke managed to survive, the pressure paid dividends at the other end. Daryl Mitchell faced a traditional field, and gloved a sharp short ball from Carse to Ollie Pope, leaving Kiwis struggling at 79/5. The arrangement, reminded of of Stokes' setup against Usman Khawaja in the 2023 Ashes.

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Earlier in the day, Brook and Pope added 174 runs for the fifth wicket after a top-order collapse. Brook’s attacking intent turned the tide, while Pope anchored the innings. For New Zealand, Nathan Smith picked four wickets and Will O’Rourke ended with three, which had kept the visitors in check early on. However, Brook’s 91-ball 123 changed the game for the visitors.