So where is England now?
The men’s team rocked in Queenstown, New Zealand, earlier this week (the women and Lions are in South Africa, where they will also be joined by the U19 team in the coming days). They will play a two-day road match over the weekend, leading up to the first Test, which begins at Hagley Oval in Christchurch on Thursday.
Yes, that is correct. Their white-ball tour concluded on Sunday, when the fifth T20I against the West Indies in St. Lucia was abandoned for failure. That tour began with an ODI on October 31, just days after the end of the Rawalpindi Test in Pakistan, which meant that several all-rounders, including Harry Brook, Ben Duckett, Jamie Smith, Gus Atkinson and Brydon Carse, were unable to participate in the trip to the Caribbean.
Yes and, presumably, yes. England suffered a heavy series defeat 2-1 in Pakistan, despite accumulating 823 for 7 in a crushing victory in the first Test. A change of tactics by the home team saw England’s batsmen completely unstuck against the unlikely pairing of Sajid Khan and Noman Ali. After his team lost the decisive third Test, Brendon McCullum referenced the rapid turnaround of this tour, saying “it would be good to bounce back in New Zealand.”
Presumably they haven’t made radical changes after Pakistan?
Correct. The McCullum-Stokes axis is about backing the players, especially given that their main objectives are to beat India at home next summer, before trying to win back the Ashes in Australia. There was only one change to the New Zealand team, with Jacob Bethell called up as a substitute batsman due to Jamie Smith’s absence on paternity leave; They have kept the faith to the point that the three A-listers who went to Pakistan – Shoaib Bashir, Jack Leach and Rehan Ahmed – are also on this trip.
It was the last time. England progressed in prescribed fashion to win the day-night Test at Mount Maunganui before Stokes’s less-high-profile failed returns in 2023 made them only the second team in history to lose a Test by one run at Basin Reserve .
Yes. Aside from England’s aforementioned drought in the land of the long white cloud, New Zealand will come from blanking India 3-0 in India, without the services of Kane Williamson. Which, as Brian Clough would probably say, may not be the biggest Test series win of all time, but it’s up there with the best.
It certainly has. While England have crashed out of the competition, New Zealand remain outside the top two after scoring maximum points in India. If they can do the same at home against England, their winning percentage would rise to 64.29% and give them a good chance of reaching the final for the second time in three cycles.
New Zealand have been going through something of a transition period – they lost an unbeaten home record dating back to 2017, when Australia came there and won 2-0 earlier this year – but Tom Latham’s spell as permanent captain has not. It could have been so good. better start. Williamson will return for the England series, and while Trent Boult was left behind and Kyle Jamieson is still sidelined with back problems, Matt Henry has had his most prolific year in Tests and Will O’Rourke looks an awfully good prospect.
Yeah! This will also be Tim Southee’s last Test series before he retires. Southee, who turns 36 between the second and third Tests, relinquished the captaincy last month and has now decided to retire on his own terms, against the same opposition as when he made his debut almost 17 years ago. He will finish as New Zealand’s second leading wicket-taker in Tests, behind Richard Hadlee, and will also probably be too far away from reaching McCullum’s six-hit mark.
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