Match Details
- Venue : Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui
- Date : 21st – 25th November, 2019
- Time : 3:30 AM IST
- League : England tour of New Zealand
New Zealand Preview
Tom Latham and Jeet Raval will need to play significant innings at the top for the home team. While Latham has been in good form, English pacer Stuart Broad has good record bowling against him. Broad has dismissed Latham 5 times in just 7 innings. Kane Williamson will be joining his side for the Test series after recovering from an injury. Along with Ross Taylor, skipper Williamson has a big role to play in the middle. While Williamson ranks number 3 in the ICC Test rankings for batsmen, he is yet to score a hundred against England.
Blackcaps captain averages 36.43 against England and the visitors would look forward to use Jofra Archer against him. Ross Taylor, on the other hand, has struggled to play against left-arm spin. Rangana Herath has dismissed him 6 times while England’s spinner Jack Leach had dismissed Ross Taylor in Wellington last year for 13 runs. In the bowling department, Lockie Ferguson would be expecting to make his Test debut while Neil Wagner and Trent. Boult will need to lead with wickets for NZ.
England Preview
England failed to retain The Ashes at home and will now be aiming at a comeback in an away Test series. While Dominic Sibley would likely make his Test debut for England in this 2-match Test series, Joe Denly would be keen on delivering with the bat. Like the Blackcaps skipper, Joe Root too has a low average of 38.59 agains New Zealand. NZ’s top ranked bowler, Trent Boult has dismissed England’s top ranked batsman Joe Root 5 times in 17 innings.
Rory Burns will be an important feature in the playing XI for England. His innings at the top will be a crucial one while Ben Stokes will need to be in an anchor role in the middle. Buttler and Bairstow can add some runs in a partnership in the middle though they’re less likely to play a long innings. Stuart Broad will lead the bowling attack for England while Jack Leach is likely to cause some damage to the Blackcaps batting line-up.
Match Prediction
New Zealand to win the match
While both teams are stacked up equally against each other, New Zealand would have the home advantage on their side. Neil Wagner is known to deliver good bowling performances in the second innings with his short-pitched deliveries and can trouble England’s batsmen. England’s Archer and Broad will be the impact players with the ball and can affect the course of the Test match.
Fantasy Team Tips
- BJ Watling has a good batting record at home and has been in a good form of late. He would be a good choice for wicket-keeper batsman in the fantasy team.
- While the top-order batsmen from both teams will have the opportunity to put big scores on the board, Tom Latham, Rory Burn would be significant.
- Ross Taylor has become indispensable to the New Zealand set-up while Ben Stokes has a similar role to play for England.
- Joe Root would be using Stuart Broad and Jofra Archer to cause most damage to NZ batting order while Boult and Wagner would be Williamson’s go-to bowlers to get a breakthrough.
Fantasy Team Prediction
- Wicket-Keeper – BJ Watling
- Batsmen – Joe Root, Rory Burns, Tom Latham, Ross Taylor
- All-rounders – Ben Stokes, Colin de Grandhomme
- Bowlers – Jofra Archer, Stuart Broad, Trent Boult, Neil Wagner
- Captain – Tom Latham
- Vice-Captain – Ben Stokes