England vs New Zealand, 2nd Test, Birmingham: Fantasy Preview

If there was any doubt about New Zealand’s competitiveness in away conditions, the first Test at Lord’s quashed all the skepticism. Devon Conway played a dazzling knock on his debut while Tim Southee gave a classic reminder of his quality as a new-ball bowler. Henry Nicholls played a diligent knock to save the Kiwis’ innings and Neil Wagner, with Criclytics bowling contribution of 2.14, became the fifth most impactful player in the game. 

Thus as the troupe reaches Birmingham, it is fair to assume that no team will give an inch to the other, despite their apparent frailties being exposed in London. While it is almost certain that Trent Boult would return to the side after missing the first Test, Kane Williamson’s elbow injury has cast a shadow on the team's plan.

HEAD-TO-HEAD

Overall - 106, England - 48, New Zealand - 11, Draw - 47

SUGGESTED TEAMS

While you could go for the above team, you also have the option of choosing your own team from Cricket.com’s Fantasy Research Centre. Based on algorithms, we have come up with one team.

GROUND DETAILS AND TEAM COMBINATION

In the last three years, the average first innings score at Edgbaston is 286, with teams batting first winning 100% of the games. In the similar time frame, pacers have taken 71.05% wickets while spinners accounted for 28.95% wickets, making it a pacer-heavy ground. To validate this further, it must be remembered that since 2015 at Edgbaston, total 173 wickets have fallen off which pacers accounted for 130 of those. Nathan Lyon, in the last Ashes encounter at the venue, picked up 6 wickets but that is in the minority.

If one survives the first couple of sessions, batting becomes comparatively easier as demonstrated by Virat Kohli and Steve Smith in 2018 and 2019 respectively. Someone like Devon Conway, who struck a nonchalant double hundred in the first Test, will be happy running to the venue as his game is perfectly suitable to caress after a solid and stoic start to the innings.

England are likely to call Jack Leach as a replacement for Ollie Robinson, who was banned by the ECB for his historic racist tweets, while Olly Stone might fancy a comeback should England decide to rest Mark Wood as a part of their rotation policy. 

On the other hand, England will recall Trent Boult to the side while one of Ajaz Patel or Rachin Ravindra is all set to replace Mitchell Santner, who was ruled out of the second Test with a finger injury. 

CAPTAIN

Joe Root

In the last five matches, Joe Root is England’s top-most batsman with 450 runs in 10 innings and is expected to hit a half-century in the second Test, according to our Criclytics player projector. Against someone like Tim Southee, the English skipper has a solid record, averaging 45.51, and you can safely assume that he will do an encore. 

X-FACTORS

Devon Conway already garnered the reputation of one of the finest white-ball players in his limited stint in international cricket and thus his arrival in whites was much awaited. At Lord’s, he showcased how good a player he has been with his impregnable defense as well as solid stroke play that made him the first-ever player to score a double ton on debut in England. Criclytics rendered his contribution at a colossal 10.00, making him the most impactful player in the first Test.

Our Criclytics Player Projector predicts Conway could score 40-60 runs in this match.

Tim Southee was the second most impactful player in the first Test, with a match contribution of 9.30. His 6/43 in the first innings broke England’s back and they could never really recover from that despite Rory Burns’ putting up a fighting century. He is once again expected to play a crucial role with his partner in crime Trent Boult returning to the squad for the second Test.

Our Criclytics Player Projector predicts Southee could take 4-6 wickets in this match

Rory Burns might have endured a tough road to this summer, but the conviction with which he batted in the Lord's Test is a story in itself. It is at the same venue he scored his first Test century in England, with a majestic 133 against Australia showed promise of things to come. 

Our Criclytics Player Projector predicts Burns could score 70-105 runs in this match