Sky Sports presenter's pic shows unusual-looking Cake Tin pitch

Ward, who captioned his photo "interesting pitch" when he uploaded it to Twitter, got a sneak peek at the playing surface on Monday as he prepared for Sky's first broadcast of the winter

The Wellington pitch on which England and New Zealand will do battle on Tuesday looks a little out of the ordinary.

A picture, shared by former England international and current Sky Sports presenter Ian Ward on social media, shows the Cake Tin strip to be somewhat patchy 24 hours out from the start of play.

Ward, who captioned his photo "interesting pitch" when he uploaded it to Twitter, got a sneak peek at the playing surface on Monday as he prepared for Sky's first live broadcast of the winter.

He found a two-toned pitch, with a large bald area running from just short of a length at one end of the wicket to just short of a length at the other.

Test Match Special commentator Charles Dagnall added to the intrigue by reporting: "Been some interesting work done on this today... NZ management in long conversations with groundsman".

Interesting pitch...#NZvEng pic.twitter.com/UNmG3DdyYG

— Ian Ward (@WardyShorts) February 12, 2018

The game is due to get under way at 6am GMT on Tuesday.

Both sides are looking for their first victories of the Trans-Tasman Tri Series following Australia's early dominance in the competition.

New Zealand were beaten by seven wickets in the opening match before England lost twice to the Aussies, by five and seven wickets in Hobart and Melbourne respectively.

Both teams' skippers are injury doubts for the game.

Eoin Morgan, the England captain, has a groin issue and underwent a fitness test on Monday, while his Blackcaps equivalent Kane Williamson has a minor back complaint.

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