Eden Park, Auckland is the answer to a good quiz question. Where did Nasser Hussain first captain England? It was the second match of the 1996-97 one-day series, Mike Atherton was injured and a wet-behind-the-ears 28-year-old from Essex led England to victory by 6 wickets as Nick Knight hammered an unbeaten 84 from 70 balls in a game affected by the rain. Now – weather permitting – Hussain has to do it all over again as England face their second do-or-die game in three days. If Napier showed the local press and public that England can bowl, can bat and can field, then Auckland must drum it home, otherwise they will have lost their first one-day series to New Zealand since 1986 (and even that was on scoring-rate after both sides won one game each).

England look set to name an unchanged side for the third game running. If, as Hussain said, 11 people messed up at Wellington, then it seems only reasonable that the 11 who made amends four days later will take the field tomorrow. This would again mean no place for James Foster, who may be well and truly rested by now but upsets the balance of the side; and Andy Caddick, who will probably have to wait until England's two first-class games against Otago and Canterbury to find the rhythm he thrives on.

The pitch – a drop-in – is expected to be slow, so New Zealand may decide to leave out the raw pace of Ian Butler (who was entrusted with only four overs at Napier and has leaked more than a run a ball in his two games so far) and draft in the extra batsman, Brendon McCullum. They will also need to rediscover the vim and vigour, which, by Stephen Fleming's own admission, were missing at Napier. Two games ago it was England who played like fizzless lemonade, which just goes to show how quickly the momentum can swing in one-day cricket.

The slowness of the wicket combined with a poor forecast and equally poor drainage could make it an attritional, low-scoring game (it was here in 1954-55 that England skittled New Zealand for 26, still an all-time Test low). This would bring the medium-pacers into the game: Chris Harris, Craig White – who has bowled mainly offcutters so far – and, if it swings, Paul Collingwood, whose four wickets at Napier have suddenly given England a genuine extra option with the ball.

Every single ticket has been sold in advance, which is a reflection both of England's fightback at Napier and their ability to draw the crowds: 35,000 are expected. Such is the preference for one-day cricket in this part of the world – and with the quiet Dunedin the last venue in this series – it could be the last time on this tour England play in front of a packed house. They had better make the most of it.

Possible teams

New Zealand 1 Chris Nevin (wk), 2 Nathan Astle, 3 Brendon McCullum, 4 Stephen Fleming (capt), 5 Craig McMillan, 6 Lou Vincent, 7 Chris Cairns, 8 Chris Harris, 9 Andre Adams, 10 Daniel Vettori, 11 Daryl Tuffey.

England 1 Marcus Trescothick (wk), 2 Nick Knight, 3 Nasser Hussain (capt), 4 Graham Thorpe, 5 Paul Collingwood, 6 Owais Shah, 7 Andrew Flintoff, 8 Craig White, 9 Ashley Giles, 10 Darren Gough, 11 Matthew Hoggard.

Lawrence Booth is assistant editor of Wisden.com. You can read his reports on England in New Zealand throughout the tour.

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