ENG v NZ: 2nd TEST PREVIEW

Ashes loss was a saturating point. England’s head coach, batting and bowling coach, ECB’s managing director, their Chairman, everyone resigned and it was common knowledge that Root’s days as England’s captain were numbered and a series loss in West Indies put a final stamp on his exit. "The red ball reset" did not work out in favour of Eng as the rot runs much deeper and dropping your 2 most experienced bowlers was the last solution. Broad and Anderson are back and how .. ! 10 wkts between the veteran duo where they sealed the game in Eng's favour almost in the 1st session. Root's golden run continues and he registered his 26th test 100 and in the meantime became the joint youngest to score 10K test runs. Eng have started well under the new skipper and coach. Stokes was back among runs and his selection of his Durham teammate Matthew Potts turned out to be an excellent move. The debutante took 7 wkts.

The WTC champions are currently 7th on the points table. They had a promising start in this cycle with a well fought draw in Kanpur but lost the series 1-0. Bangladesh created history by winning their 1st ever test in NZ and SA maintained their record of not losing a series to NZ in whites. The problems don't end here for the Kiwis. Kane Williamson has been ruled out of the 2nd test after testing positive for Covid and Grandhomme is out of the series after nursing an injured heel while bowling.

Probabale XI

England

Alex Lees, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes (C), Ben Foakes (WK), Matthew Potts, Stuart Broad, Jack Leach, James Anderson

New Zealand

Will Young, Tom Latham, Devon Conway, Henry Nicholls Tom Blundell (WK), Daryl Mitchell, Michael Bracewell , Kyle Jamieson, Tim Southee, Neil Wagner, Ajaz Patel/Trent Boult

Venue

Trent Bridge, Nottingham

Total matches - 64
Matches won batting first - 23
Matches won bowling first - 17

Average 1st Inns scores - 319
Average 2nd Inns scores - 305
Average 3rd Inns scores - 264
Average 4th Inns scores - 158

Highest total recorded - 658/8 by ENG vs AUS
Lowest total recorded - 60/10 by AUS vs ENG

Head to Head

Overall: Eng leads 49 - 12
At home: Eng leads 31 - 6
Last 3 test series: NZ won 1-0, 1-0, 1-0

Match Ups

Root v Southee: 237/5
Root v Wagner: 194/4
Root v Boult: 142/5

Bairstow v Southee: 43/4
Bairstow v Wagner: 80/1

Stokes v Southee: 166/4

Latham v Broad: 124/8
Latham v Anderson: 108/1

Form Update

( since 2022)

Root: 484 runs at 44 avg
Stokes: 384 runs at 32 avg
Crawley: 385 runs at 32.08 avg
Bairstow: 397 runs at 44.11 avg

Latham: 298 runs at 37 avg
Conway: 404 runs at 50.5 avg
Blundell: 324 runs at 46.28 avg

Key Players & Fantasy Picks

Captain / Vice Captain

Joe Root: The ICC test cricketer of the year had one of the greatest calender years a batter could wish for. He has ammassed 2181 runs since 2021 with an average of 54 and breaking the all-time record of Sir Vivian Richards with most top-scores for the team in a calendar year. What makes his achievement even more special is the 2nd highest run scorer in the side was Rory Burns with 550 odd runs. There was a staggering difference between the 1st and the 2nd best batter.

Devon Conway: Since his debut, Conway has set the international stage on fire in all 3 formats as well as in the recently held IPL. He made his debut on the same venue last year and scored a scintillating 200. He averages 56 in test cricket so far with 3 100s.

Tim Southee: Since the start of 2017, Tim Southee has taken 152 wickets at an average of 23 and since the start of 2020, he has taken 72 wickets in 15 test. Southee has a good record in Eng with 36 wkts at an avg of 26 and can run through any batting line up on his day.

Budget pick
(Fantasy rating - 8/8.5 points )

Kyle Jameison: He had a dream start to his test career where he scalped 46 wkts in his first 8 test matches. He has 5 five wkt hauls in test cricket since 2020 and most wkts for NZ after 15 tests.

Wild Card

Ben Stokes: He was Eng's best bowler in the Carribean and bowled marathon spells in almost every innings. Cricviz rated those pitches as the 2nd most batting friendly wkts in WI since 2005. With a new added responsibility and a good outing in County, we could see Stokes 2.0 from this series.

Fantasy XI