hamish rutherford again skippered new zealand ‘a’ in their second ‘test’ against india ‘a’ and a solid performance with the bat helped lay the foundations on the opening day at the bert sutcliffe oval, lincoln.
worcestershire ccc’s 2020 overseas player opted to bat after winning the toss and the black caps reached 276-5 off 90 overs by the close in the four-day contest.
rutherford opened in his customary role against an indian side containing former New Road 2017 overseas signing, ravichandran ashwin.
he made 40 off 79 balls with five boundaries before falling to mohammed siraj after being the major run-scorer in an opening stand of 67 in 26 overs with will young.
after rutherford’s departure, glenn phillips (65), dane cleaver (46 not out) and daryl mitchell (36 not out) all made sizeable contributions.
ashwin bowled 22 overs for 63 runs but remained wicketless.
*worcestershire women’s rapids leg spinner, sarah glenn, was not part of the england women’s side which defeated india women by four wickets in the latest tri-series match at the junction oval, melbourne.
