PRE MATCH ANALYSIS
Follow UsThere is something about Test cricket that makes you fall in love with the sport. Despite the emergence of franchise cricket across the globe, the feeling of watching the longest and the purest form of the game in a ray of bright sunshine on sporting wickets is indeed a treat to the eyes.
Over two months of extravaganza in the Indian Premier League, Test cricket finally returned at the Home of Cricket with the world champions, New Zealand locking horns against a new-look England side in the red-ball format.
After their dismal performance in the last couple of seasons, England made plenty of changes to their personnel and, under the astute leadership of Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum, the home team started their new era with a bang and recorded a five-wicket win in front of a capacity crowd at the Home of Cricket to bring the smiles back on their supporters.
However, the job is only half-done for them as they set foot at Trent Bridge on Friday, June 10, aiming to replicate their heroics at Lord's and seal the three-match series.
On the other hand, the Black Caps have plenty to ponder as they are in the bottom half of the World Championship table and need something special in the two matches to crawl their way on top and hopefully have a shot of defending their title.
As much as this looks like a long shot, it ain't impossible, but for that miracle to happen, the Kiwis will be in dire need of their skipper to step up and shoulder the responsibility of the side in the batting department.
Will the real Kane Williamson stand up, please?
Over the years, the batting unit of New Zealand has revolved around the likes of Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor, especially in conditions away from home. While Taylor bid adieu to the sport early this year, his absence has added a lot more pressure on the captain of New Zealand to guide the inexperienced batting unit.
Despite being one of the most prolific run-scorers in the modern era, the 31-year-old has failed to live up to all the hype and expectations revolving around him against a quality England bowling unit.
The right-handed batter has scored 774 runs in 23 innings at an average of 36.86, which is the lowest for him against an opponent in the multi-day format. While an average of over 36 runs in challenging conditions would be a record most people would be happy with, the standard set by Williamson across the globe has resulted in the fans eagerly waiting for him to come back into form and enthral the people with his sublime strokeplay.
England's top-order conundrum
While Kiwis are sweating over Williamson's record and his recent form, the hosts have plenty to ponder on their batting front as the top three of England's batting unit have been under pressure for lack of substantial partnerships.
Zak Crawley and Alex Lees have been assigned the role of opening the batting for the England side, but the duo has failed to lay a solid foundation for the team at the top of the order.
While Crawley has been the aggressor in this partnership and often taken the attack to the opposition bowlers, he has failed to carry the innings for a longer duration of time, resulting in the team losing the momentum.
England were hampered by the top-order collapses in the Ashes series, and it has prompted the team management to give Ollie Pope an opportunity to showcase his skills at number three.
Before the last Test at Lords, Pope had never batted at number three in his international or even domestic career, but England management feels he has the ideal technique and the temperament to make that position his own in the coming years.
While the experiment did not yield rich dividends in the last game, England would hope for Pope to find some form and consolidate his place in the playing XI of the side.
New Zealand's combination muddle
One of the talking points in the last Test match was the reprieve given to Stokes by Colin de Grandhomme courtesy of a no-ball in the second innings.
While it was touted to be a turning point in the outcome of the game, the Kiwis were dealt with a massive blow a couple of overs later as the all-rounder walked off the field due to an injury. It did not look serious at the start; however, subsequent reports confirmed a heel injury and he would miss the remainder of the series.
His loss in the playing XI tilts the balance slightly in favour of England as New Zealand would now have to tinker with their combination in the absence of an all-rounder who added stability to the line-up.
While the reigning champions have added Michael Bracewell to the squad but he will have to wait for his debut as Henry Nichollas is almost set to be available for selection after recovering from an injury.
This decision would result in New Zealand adding an extra batter in the playing XI and would expect Daryl Mitchell to roll his arm over if the need arises.
Probable XIs:
England XI: Zak Crawley, Alex Lees, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Ben Stokes (c), Jonny Bairstow, Ben Foakes (wk), Matthew Potts, James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Matt Parkinson
New Zealand XI: Devon Conway, Tom Latham, Kane Williamson (c), Will Young, Henry Nicholls, Tom Blundell (wk), Daryl Mitchell, Kyle Jamieson, Tim Southee, Trent Boult, Ajaz Patel
