The England tour of New Zealand will conclude on February 28 as both teams are set to clash with each other in the last Test of the two-match series from Friday at the Basin Reserve in Wellington. The Englishmen will be playing without any pressure as they have eliminated all the chances of their defeat by scoring a victory in the first game by 267 runs.
The batters were the heroes for the team with scores of 325 and 374 runs across two innings. The team will be eager to spill the same magic in the second match as well since they are expected to field their best playing XI. All English players will be available for selection as there is no injury scar in the camp.
New Zealand, on the other hand, is likely to face trouble in the second Test as well since they will be missing the services of their star seamer Kyle Jamieson. After missing the first Test, Kyle is all set to miss the second match as well due to a stress fracture of the back.
However, there is good news as well for the team as Matt Henry has joined the squad after missing the first match because of the birth of his first child.
What has happened so far?
England has taken a lead in the two-match series so far by winning the first Test match by 267 runs. It was a winning performance by the English batters as they hammered the New Zealand bowlers all over the park across their two batting innings.
Put to bat first, England posted 325 runs on the board courtesy of Harry Brook and Ben Duckett as they smacked 89 and 84 runs respectively. Neil Wagner was the pick of the bowler for the host with four wickets to his name while Tim Southee and Scott Kuggeleijn also scalped two wickets each.
Batting in the second innings, the Kiwis ended up with 306 runs as the wicketkeeper-batter Tom Bundell smacked a much-needed century. He was supported by Devon Conway who added 77 runs to the scoreboard. For England, Ollie Robinson was the top bowler with four wickets to his name.
In the third innings, England flaunted the bazball technique as they took only 73.5 runs to collect 374 runs. Again Brook emerged as the top batter with 54 runs while Ben Foakes also chipped in with a fifty.
New Zealand bowlers could not do much in their second innings while the batters also failed to cause a turnaround in the final innings of the match. The hosts collapsed at 126 runs to hand a big win to the Englishmen by 267 runs.
Head to Head Record
New Zealand will be eager to make a comeback to avoid another loss series loss against England in the Test format
England’s cricket team enjoys a massive edge over the New Zealand team when it comes to head-to-head records. The two teams have faced each other a total of 111 times in the purest format of the game and the Englishmen have scored a win in 52 matches. New Zealand has managed to score a win in only 12 games so far while as many as 47 games between the two teams ended in a draw.
The last Test series between the two teams took place in June 2022 as New Zealand travelled to England for a three-match Test series. England was sensational during the competition as they scored a win by 3-0.
Key Players
Neil Wagner (New Zealand)
The left-arm seamer Neil Wagner will be the most crucial player for New Zealand in the second game following his exploits in the first Test. It was a poor performance by the Kiwis but Wagner’s disciplined bowling was the only positive for the team. The seamer picked four wickets in the first innings while bowling at an economy rate of five.
Wagner continued the momentum in New Zealand’s second bowling innings as well by scalping two wickets while giving away 110 runs in 13 overs.
Harry Brook (England)
Harry Brook was the standout performer for the England cricket team when they faced New Zealand in the first Test. He is leading the run-scoring charts with a whopping 143 runs to his name in two innings at an average of 71.50.
The middle-order batter came up with a knock of 89 runs in the first innings as England posted 325 runs on the board while the second innings saw him adding 54 runs to the scoreboard to take his team to a total of 374 runs. The 24-year-old is expected to deliver another player-of-the-match performance in the second Test starting from Friday.
Predicted XIs
New Zealand: Tom Latham, Devon Conway, Kane Williamson, Henry Nicholls, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell(wk), Michael Bracewell, Matt Henry, Tim Southee ©, Neil Wagner, Blair Tickner
England: Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes ©, Ben Foakes(wk), Ollie Robinson, Stuart Broad, Jack Leach, James Anderson
Prediction
England will walk as favorites on Friday as they will go one-on-one against the New Zealand cricket team in the last Test of the two-match series. The visitors will have momentum on their side as they scored a big win against the Blackcaps in the first Test by 267 runs.
The Bazball strategy has done wonders for the Englishmen in the purest format of the game in the past few months and they are likely to continue their domination. All being said, New Zealand will also be giving a tough fight to the visiting team as they are known as home track bullies.
