England vs New Zealand: The Red-ball resurgence is on. With a new captain-coach combo, England are off to a strong start. They lost a home series to New Zealand last year, but are going with aggression and confidence this time around. With two stiff chases in the first two Tests, the batting line-up looks stable and the middle-order experience seems to be paying off. Although the series is over, the Final Test continues to be an important one for New Zealand. A win gets them some important points in the World Test Championship. With home Tests coming up, a win here will give them an outside chance at the top two.
Match: England vs New Zealand
Date: 23nd June 2022
Time: 3:30 PM IST
Venue: Headingly, Leeds
Rain is in the forecast for all five days of the Test. The prospect of a full game looks tough with clouds and rain a fixture throughout the England vs New Zealand Test.
The Headingly track is generally tough to start on. There is a lot of swing early on and batting first is tough with the track taking a lot of swing.
Alex Lees, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes (capt), Ben Foakes (wk), Craig Overton, Jack Leach, Stuart Broad/ Jamie Overton, James Anderson.
Tom Latham, Will Young, Kane Williamson (capt), Devon Conway, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell (wk), Colin de Grandhomme, Tim Southee, Neil Wagner, Matt Henry/Ajaz Patel, Trent Boult.
See Also: Ravichandran Ashwin misses Plane to England after Testing Positive for Covid-19 – Cricket Winner
Illness has hit both sides. Ben Stokes is the latest to go down and his availability is still uncertain. Kyle Jamieson is ruled out for the Test and in his place Neil Wagner is likely to make a comeback.
Neil Wagner
Neil Wagner has been on the bench a lot over the last year. He sat out in India and now in England as well. With the team composition and other bowlers doing well, Neil Wagner has found it tough to find a place. With the attack a little one-dimensional though his aggression and short-ball tactic will be a useful variation, helping New Zealand attack a little better.
Jonny Bairstow
Jonny Bairstow is back in the red-ball side, and is dominating. This year has been all him for England. He bossed a chase of 290 odd, getting there with aggressive strokeplay. With Root and Stokes forming two pillars in the batting order, Bairstow’s rise helps England look for new ways to dominate. He is in wonderful form and is expected to continue scoring truckloads of runs.
New Zealand are struggling with illness, and that has left them short of players through the series. With players missing and bench strength depleting, England come in with an advantage and a weakness to exploit.
Match Prediction: England will win the match.
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