England and New Zealand will lock horns in the second of the four-match T20I series on Friday at Old Trafford in Manchester.
England will have the upper hand in this fixture, after making light work of the visitors in the first match. Missing some of their crucial players due to injury, a weakened New Zealand side could only score 139 runs in that game at the Riverside Ground.
In response, England had no problems whatsoever in chasing the total down. The Three Lions clinched the victory with six overs still to spare, losing just three wickets in the process.
What have they done so far?
The last defeat against England might not be considered a rare bad day at the office from New Zealand’s perspective, as they have been at their best in the shortest format of the game recently.
Only a few days ago, they suffered a shock 7-wicket defeat against the United Arab Emirates, although they did win that series 2-1. It will be imperative for them to turn the tides in the upcoming fixture.
On the other hand, England will be happy with their performance, as they have been doing well in T20I cricket too. Their last outing in this format before the series against New Zealand was way back in March when they faced Bangladesh in a three-match series.
Quite surprisingly, England ended up losing all three games, as they struggled to adapt to the spinning Bangladeshi tracks. Now in their own backyard, Jos Buttler’s team will want to capitalize on every advantage possible.
Head to Head Record
When it comes to head-to-head records, the scales are tipped in England’s favour by quite a big margin. The two teams have crossed paths 24 times in total, with England winning 15 of those games, while the Kiwis have won on only 8 occasions. The other match did not provide a winner.
The last two T20I meetings were also won by the Three Lions, as the Blackcaps’ last win over England in this format was way back in 2021, at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in an ICC T20I World Cup match.
Key Players
Jos Buttler (England): England was lucky not to have called upon the skipper, Buttler, to do a critical job in the first T20I, but he remains their trump card in this format of the game, with his numbers proving why so.
Jos Buttler is England’s trump card in this format
In only 107 T20I matches, Buttler has scored 2713 runs at an average of nearly 35, but what is more impressive is his strike rate of 140+. While almost every single English batter struggled on the tracks in Bangladesh earlier this year, Buttler scored a half-century and played another superb knock of 40 runs.
Devon Conway (New Zealand): With the likes of Kane Williamson and Tom Latham being unavailable, much of New Zealand’s success will hinge on the performances of their opening batter, Devon Conway. Although he could only score 3 runs in the opening tie, Conway has often proven to be a reliable player for the Kiwis.
In 39 T20I games, he has scored 1237 runs, which have come at an average of over 40 and a strike rate of just below 130. Although his recent form in T20I cricket is not awe-inspiring, he was among New Zealand’s most consistent players last year.
Predicted XIs
England: Jonny Bairstow, Will Jacks, Dawid Malan, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler © (wk), Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Adil Rashid, Brydon Carse, Luke Wood.
New Zealand: Finn Allen, Devon Conway, Tim Seifert (wk), Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Santner, Adam Milne, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee ©, Lockie Ferguson.
Prediction
England will have a lot of factors working out in their favour, which include familiarity with playing conditions, key players being in form and the opposition team not being at their full strength. Hence, we have predicted Buttler & Co. to win this game.