England vs New Zealand: England will come into a face-off with New Zealand in the first test of a two-match test series starting from June 2 at the Lord’s Cricket Stadium in London. For kiwis, this test would be an ideal preparation ground for the mega WTC final later in June against India. The Black Caps team will try to make the most of the test series by adapting to the English conditions & choosing their perfect team combination.
Whereas for England, their test mains like Sam Curran, Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Jos Buttler & Jonny Bairstow have been rested for these test series. As they have just completed their mandatory quarantine period after returning from the IPL 2021. England is looking forward to giving chance to its new inclusions from the recent County Season to showcase their skills. Ollie Robinson & James Bracey received their maiden call-ups. Young sensation Haseeb Hameed who made his test debut against India in 2016 & Sam Billings has also been called up. It seems like Sam Billings could make his test debut in tomorrow’s match replacing injured Ben Foakes.
Recently, Silverwood hinted that England’s Rotation policy would continue so that they can find out their ideal team combination for the Ashes later this year. With plenty of choices available with them, it’s really hard to predict which combination ECB will go with.
New Zealand has played an intra-squad two days match which saw some brilliant performances from Devon Conway & Colin de Grandhomme. New Zealand will look forward to making some good selections for this series. And would rest some of their test mains in the second test ahead of their important WTC final. The Black Caps need to sort out some positions & their Coach Gary Stead will sort that over the next couple of weeks. Both the teams comprising of some young players with different goals you can expect some top quality test cricket over the next five days.
ENG vs NZ 1st Test, Match details, TV, and Live Streaming details:
Date: June 2-6, 2021 (Wednesday-Sunday).
Time: 11:00 AM (Local/ BST), 3:30 PM (IST), and 10:00 AM (GMT).
Venue: Lord’s Cricket Ground, London.
TV: For live scores, live updates & ball to ball commentary tune in to Sony Six
Live Streaming: Sonly LIV. For more updates, you can also subscribe to cricketnewsindia.com
ENG vs NZ 1st Test, Weather Report:
The first test between ENG vs NZ could be interrupted by drizzles with rain forecast on Days 3, 4 & 5. A gentle breeze could be expected on all five days which could help the new ball bowlers. The average temperature in England could be around 23 degree Celsius.
England vs New Zealand, Pitch Report:
Lord’s popularly known as ‘home of cricket’ hasn’t seen any cricketing action for a while. With the 2nd Test of the 2019 Ashes being the last cricket match to be played at Lord’s. The wicket at Lord’s is a balanced one with something to offer for both bowlers & batters. The fast bowlers will get assistance off the wicket throughout the test match. While the spinners could cause an impact on the 4th & 5th day.
ENG vs NZ 1st Test, Predicted Playing XI:
England
It’s difficult to predict England’s Playing XI for the two-test series against New Zealand considering the number of changes they have made in their test squad. It will be interesting to watch who will open the innings for England with all their mains being rested for the first test.
Zak Crawley/ Dominic Sibley, Haseeb Hameed/ Rory Burns, James Bracey(WK), Joe Root(C), Ollie Pope, Daniel Lawrence, Ollie Robinson, Craig Overton/ Stuart Broad, James Anderson, Jack Leach, and Olly Stone/ Mark Wood.
New Zealand
New Zealand would look forward to come up with some ideal combinations in these tests. However they could rest two of their main pacers in each test match to get them fit fir the WTC final
Devon Conway, Tom Latham, Kane Williamson(C), Ross Taylor, Henry Nicholls, BJ Watling(WK), Darryl Mitchell/ Colin De Grandhomme/ Rachin Ravindra, Kyle Jamieson, Ajaz Patel/ Doug Bracewell, Matt Henry/ Tim Southee, and Neil Wagner.
England vs New Zealand, Match Prediction:
Though New Zealand looks stronger in front of injury-prone England’s team, the home advantage will balance the situation. With home advantage along with the possibility of rain, a draw is a major possibility in tomorrow’s match.
