The test series to be played between the hosts England and New Zealand will kick start along with the first test tomorrow on June 2nd at Lord’s. Both the teams will view the two-test series from different perspectives. While New Zealand will look to benefit from the match practice before they head into highly-anticipated World Test Championship Final, England on the other hand, will have the opportunity to look at some of their younger players in fray.
Schedule : –
1st Test : Venue – Lord’s, Dates – 2nd to 6th June, Time – 3:30 PM IST.
2nd Test : Venue – Edgbaston, Dates – 10th to 14th June, Time – 3:30 PM IST.
Squads : –
England – Joe Root (c), Stuart Broad, James Anderson, James Bracey, Rory Burns, Zak Crawley, Ben Foakes, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Craig Overton, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Dom Sibley, Olly Stone, Mark Wood, Haseeb Hameed, Sam Billings.
New Zealand – Kane Williamson (c), Tom Blundell, Trent Boult, Doug Bracewell, Devon Conway, Colin de Grandhomme, Jacob Duffy, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Ajaz Patel, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Neil Wagner, BJ Watling, Will Young.
Talking Points : –
- The absence of the IPL stars – With the likes of Archer, Stokes, Buttler, Bairstow, Curran and Woakes being rested after their return from the tournament, a depleted side would face an almost full-fledged Kiwi team which would look to perform one better compared to their last tour in 2015 when the series concluded in a 1-1 draw.
2. New Zealand’s opening pair – Devon Conway’s recent exploits with the bat in the shortest form has boosted his selection to the test side and it would be no surprise if we see him opening the batting for NZ alongside Latham. An unbeaten half-century in the warm-up match pushes his case further for selection in comparison to the incumbent, Tom Blundell.
3. England’s playing XI update – It is confirmed news that James Bracey, the Gloucestershire keeper, will make his test debut for England as Ben Foakes had to leave the squad after a torn hamstring sidelined him. In the absence of Stokes, they have also announced Stuart Broad as the deputy to Root for this series.
4. Applying the new ICC rules :-
1) the TV umpire being able to directly review the short-run call from the on-field umpire and communicate the decision to him before the next ball is bowled.
2) The new DRS law where the bails will be added to the wicket zone.
3) The batsman or the fielding captain being able to ask the umpire if there was a genuine attempt of playing the ball before deciding whether to go for the review or not.
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Kanishk Sharma 