England Vs New Zealand, Match Preview
Following the Lord’s Test, a lot of attention is away from Cricket. The second Test will be played in Edgbaston. The Edgbaston Test will see a large audience, with up to 70% allowed for the match.
The re-entry of crowds may help bring some normalcy back to the game, with many talks about the bio-bubbles and empty stadiums. With more audience coming in, the Test can be considered a rebirth of Cricket in the United Kingdom. Along with the return of crowds, the Test will have another celebration point. James Anderson will be overtaking Alastair Cook’s record of the most Test caps for an English Cricketer, provided he plays.
England Vs New Zealand, Team news
In late, England adopted a rest and rotate policy to ensure their players are fit. The current Test series meant to widen their player pool ahead of the Ashes. Part of the job has been done, with England building a decent armory of fast bowlers. However, with eight weeks to go for their next game, it will be interesting to see if the old pair of fast bowlers are rested. The two have done an excellent job at Lords, and with Anderson likely to become the most capped English Test player, England may not want to break an excellent partnership.
If changes are to take place, England may consider the inclusion of Olly Stone for Robinson. Playing Stone would allow England to test another fast bowler ahead of the ashes and could help widen their pool. Other considerations are with the batting. The batting was a little off at Lords, and England may look for improvements in that department. Barring Sibley, the other youngsters were not as impressive, and Bracey’s performance, in particular, may stimulate a change. With Bracey not getting off to a start, England may be tempted to hand a debut to Sam Billings.
Coming to New Zealand, the side could know wrong and may have closed out the game had a day not been lost due to rain. Devon Conway made a stunning debut, and Tim Southee looked great in the first innings at Lords. With injuries going around, New Zealand has some forced changes to make. After his elbow has started to cause discomfort again, Kane Williamson has been ruled out, and a cut on Santner’s bowling finger has ruled him out too. Trent Boult’s inclusion could prompt an all-pace attack unless one of the existing pacers is dropped for Ajaz Patel or Rachin Ravindra.
There is also a possibility of resting Tim Southee, as New Zealand will hope to keep him fresh ahead of the World Test Championship Finals.
With Williamson out, Tom Latham will be stepping into the captaincy shoes for the second Test.
England Vs New Zealand, Predicted XIs:
New Zealand: 1 Tom Latham (capt), 2 Devon Conway, 3 Will Young, 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Henry Nicholls, 6 BJ Watling (wk), 7 Colin de Grandhomme, 8 Matt Henry, 9 Kyle Jamieson, 10 Ajaz Patel / Ruchin Ravindra, 11 Trent Boult.
England: 1 Rory Burns, 2 Dom Sibley, 3 Zak Crawley, 4 Joe Root (capt), 5 Ollie Pope, 6 Dan Lawrence, 7 James Bracey (wk), 8 Craig Overton, 9 Jack Leach, 10 Stuart Broad, 11 James Anderson
England Vs New Zealand, Players to watch out for:
James Anderson:
The experienced seamer may be playing his 162nd Test and has seen a lot over his long career. After a tough start to his career, James Anderson grew into one of the smoothest pacers and is still doing the job for his side. With crowds coming back and home conditions, James Anderson will definitely pose a danger to the opposition.
Tom Latham:
With Williamson out, the responsibility falls on Latham as both a leader and a batsman. Barring Conway, there haven’t been many contributions in the first Test, and Latham will hope to make amends soon.
England Vs New Zealand, Pitch and Conditions
The Edgbaston pitch hasn’t seen too much spin during the county championship and has been pretty true. There is some assistance to the seamers, but the surface looks like a nice batting track.