England is set to host New Zealand for the two-match Test series starting on 2nd May 2021. The series opener will be played at Lord’s in, London. The cricket fans are expected to get an enthralling game to watch between the two best teams in international cricket. The visitors will be led by Kane Williamson and Joe Root will lead England. Both the teams have some big names on their side that will try to showcase their best from the word go in the red-ball series.
England
England will surely be the contenders of winning the game on the historic ground of Lords. ECB has picked a full-strength squad for the two-match series against New Zealand. They have covered all the bases while picking the final squad.
In batting, Joe Root and Zak Crawley will be the players to watch out from England’s dugout. The English skipper has scored 973 runs in the last 10 games at an average of 60.81. He will be coming into the international circuit after a long time and will be eager to get off the mark in the best possible way.
Zak Crawley has emerged as one of the strengths for England side. He seems to be in brilliant form with his willow. His consistent run with the bat has made things easier for England in red-ball cricket. He has amassed. 422 runs in the last 6 appearances for England in Test outfit.
Coming onto the bowling, Jack Leach in fine form and he did an impressive job against Team India on his previous outing. So far he has grabbed 28 wickets in 6 Tests. On the other hand, veteran pacer James Anderson did really well in the ongoing County Championship for his side. Also, he has done a great job swinging the ball both ways and creating problems for the batsmen. He has managed 27 wickets in his last 8 games for the Brits.
New Zealand
New Zealand will look at this two-match series against England as a preparation for the much-awaited World Test Championship final that will be held later this month on 18th June. The Kiwi side looks set and ready for the enthralling and competitive series.
The positive prospect about the New Zealand side is their power pack bowling unit. They have deadly pacers with the likes of Neil Wagner, Tim Southee, Trent Boult, and Kyle Jamieson. The aforementioned bowlers will certainly create problems for English batters on the green track of Lords.
The only thing that can go against New Zealand is their weak batting unit that heavily depends on Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor and Tom Latham. The trio will have to take a step forward and perform in order help his side in winning the matches.
Kane Williamson’s stats look simply remarkable from the past eight games. He has mustered 901 runs with an amazing average of 75.08. He has got good support from Tom Latham, who has announced his retirement date. He has scored 574 runs in 10 Tests for New Zealand. And, he will surely look to announce his retirement with a historic performance against England.
The duo of Neil Wagner and Tim Southee still continues to break the top order of the opponents for New Zealand. The former pacer has brought new variations in his bowling and has taken 46 wickets with the ball in the last 9 games.
ENG vs NZ Today Match Details
Match Name- England vs New Zealand, 1st Test
Date – 02 June – 06 June 2021
Time: 03:30 PM IST
Venue: Lord’s Cricket Ground, London
Playing 11
England Playing 11
Zak Crawley, Rory Burns, James Brace (WK), Joe Root (C), Ollie Pope, Daniel Lawrence, Ollie Robinson, Stuart Broad, James Anderson, Jack Leach, and Olly Stone/Mark Wood
New Zealand Playing 11
B Watling, J Root, R Burns, K Williamson, R Taylor, C D Grandhomme, D Lawrence, J Anderson, S Broad, N Wagner, K Jamieson
ENG vs NZ Head To Head Record
Looking forward to the record in Test matches, England holds an edge over New Zealand. The host have won 48 games and New Zealand ended up winning only 11 games in overall 105 games. Let’s see if Kiwi side can better their record against England or the host will continue dominating visitors.
Total Games Player– 105 Tests
England Won– 48 Tests
New Zealand Won– 11 Tests
