The upcoming series between New Zealand and England will be for the brand new Crowe-Thorpe Trophy. Made in the memory of the late Martin Crowe and Graham Thorpe. The trophy has been crafted from the wood from the bats of each player in collaboration with NZC, ECB, and the families of each player.
New Zealand and England will face off in the first Test of the 3-game series from November 28-December 2. The high-voltage clash will be played at the Hagley Oval Stadium in Christchurch from 3.30 AM IST.
With the World Test Championship Final spot at stake, the New Zealand team is all set to turn their fortunes against England for the first Test of the three-match series, slated to commence on November 28 at Hagley Oval, Christchurch. This rivalry, which has been revered for ages and has showcased a plethora of memorable matches, will once again be on display as the Bazball style of England will be locking horns against the resilience of the Kiwis.
NZ vs ENG : Previous Performances
Test cricket has suddenly become box office again. From Bangladesh beating Pakistan away in September to Pakistan then losing to a record breaking England side before then coming back to win the series, then India losing 3-0 at home to New Zealand, not to mention India thrashing Australia in Perth earlier this week in spite of being bowled out for 150 in their first innings. It’s a great format when it produces results, series and matches like this!
England are out of contention for the World Test Championship Final and have now not made it to the showpiece fixture in all three editions of the trophy. New Zealand on the other hand, won the first ever WTC in 2021 and a win in this Test would see them move above Australia into second place on the ladder.
England had a brilliant home season that saw them whitewash the West Indies in a three-Test series in July. They also triumphed over Sri Lanka (2-1), marking a successful summer for the red ball team. However, their autumn trip to the subcontinent resulted in a disappointing 2-1 defeat against Pakistan. The nature of their loss in the third Test raised eyebrows among cricket enthusiasts.
New Zealand has witnessed a meteoric rise in Test cricket this year, having jumped to the fifth spot in the ICC Men’s Test Team rankings. Their recent 3-0 whitewash against second-ranked India has highlighted their growing stature as a Test nation. Player of the Series Will Young has played a key role in this resurgence and is likely to continue his good form against England.
There is plenty to play for in Christchurch, a ground where the ball will do something on day one and with a new Crowe-Thorpe Trophy up for grabs. Both sides will look to give their best performances in order to get their hands on the prestigious trophy. The three-game series kicks off with both sides locking horns at the Hagley Oval, Christchurch.
NZ vs ENG : Head to Head
As per ESPNCricinfo, England have a massive lead over NZ as far as the head-to-head record is concerned. The two sides have clashed in 112 Tests so far, with England winning 52. NZ have emerged winners on just 13 occasions, while 47 have resulted in a draw. Last year, the two teams played out a 1-1 draw in New Zealand. They haven’t met in Tests thereafter.
NZ vs ENG : Pitch Report
It looks a green meanie at the moment, though New Zealand’s pitches have a tendency to be misleading, with the livid grass at the toss rarely lasting much beyond the first session. However, there’s been overnight rain in Christchurch to keep the conditions fresh, and neither side anticipates spin being a major factor.
The pitch at Hagley Oval has much grass on the surface with overcast conditions being an added advantage for fast bowlers. While the surface might wear down, spinners won’t play a big role. Overall, the pitch is a seamer’s paradise, and no big totals are expected. Bowling first is a good choice for the toss-winning captain. We are expecting to see a green seamer in Christchurch and it will not be greener than in the opening session of the Test. Therefore, we predict that both captains will want to bowl first in this match.
This is likely to be a good venue for bowling with the seam and swing bowlers best set to make the most of a green pitch. We are not expecting much reverse swing or spin to be a weapon and whoever bats first will be pleased to reach 300. Although no rain is forecast across all five days of the Test, the temperature is forecast to drop from 26 degrees on day one to only 15 degrees on day two before getting back into the low 20s for Sunday and Monday.
NZ vs ENG : Big Picture :Back to Baz-ics for England vs New Zealand
New Zealand’s 3-0 Test series win in India may not have been the greatest result in their country’s cricketing history, but it was surely in the top one. Three deeply contrasting matches, in Bengaluru, Pune and Mumbai, were united by a single unquenchable spirit, as Tom Latham’s men blended moments of virtuoso skill with down-and-dirty grit and tenacity, to find the right heroes at the right moments in each and every contest.
If England happened to be looking on from afar during a rare month of red-ball downtime, they might well have felt a flicker of envy at New Zealand’s exploits. For all the astonishing cricket they’ve produced in the past two-and-a-bit years, the Bazballers’ lack of such ruthlessness has cost them time and again since the start of 2023 in particular, including on their last trip to these parts some 20 months ago.
And so, as they reach the end of a calendar year in which they’ve lost as many Tests as they’ve won, including two thumping’s in Multan and Rawalpindi that left their record in Asia alone at a grim P8 W2 L6, it feels they have reached a bit of a pinch point in their evolution. The selection of Jacob Bethell at No. 3 might imply otherwise, but with Ben Stokes once again apologizing on the eve of the Test for his rattiness on the Pakistan tour, it’s clear that the fun factor isn’t quite what it had been before the beatings started stacking up.
As a consequence, it may be back to Baz-ics for Bazball over the next month or so. It would be deeply disrespectful to describe this three-Test stop-over as a rest cure – New Zealand’s proud home record would have seen to that, even before taking last month’s astonishing exploits into account – but there’s arguably nowhere on earth that this particular England team would rather be right now.
From the conditions, to the culture, to the unavoidable anonymity of a tour that takes place on the other side of the world and then some, a series in New Zealand leans into the more permissive aspects of England’s current regime.
It’s a chance to walk the talk with fewer consequences than you might find elsewhere – not least in the backyard of those noisier trans-Tasman neighbors who are awaiting for 12 months hence – and to revisit the principles that ruled the roost back in 2022, when the stress of the international treadmill first invited the belief that there must be a better way.
Stokes himself arrived in Christchurch early to catch up with his extended family, having conceded that the Pakistan trip was one of the hardest of his career, while Brendon McCullum is back in his fiefdom too: even his famously unflappable persona could benefit from a reset, as he seeks to turn that serenity back onto England’s somewhat battered foundations.
The challenge that awaits England is writ large across their opponents – New Zealand’s seamers routed India for 46 in Bengaluru last month, and if Hagley Oval behaves anything like it did for South Africa’s visit in 2022, then bowling first could be another shortcut to dominance.
That said, England could and perhaps should have won 2-0 at a canter on their last trip – the enforcing of an unnecessary follow-on at Wellington, and the subsequent unfurling of Kane Williamson’s finest form, saw to that.
But that result was one of many lackadaisical moments that have left England distant stragglers in the race for the World Test Championship final. By contrast New Zealand, inaugural champions in 2021, are most definitely back in the hunt. Another 3-0 series win would propel them ever deeper into the mix. And if that might, on the face of it, seem a tall ask, it’s nothing compared to the triumph they’ve only just secured.
NZ vs ENG : Vital Stats that matters
- New Zealand have won nine and lost three of their previous 13 Tests at Hagley Oval, Christchurch, with a solitary draw in their only Test against England at the venue, in 2018.
- Aside from their familiar weak spot against Australia, whom they haven’t beaten in their own conditions since 1993, New Zealand’s home series record is formidable, with ten wins and three draws in 13 non-Australia campaigns since 2017.
- This, however, is their first three-Test home series since that 1-0 loss to South Africa in 2017.
- England have not won a Test series in New Zealand in four attempts since 2007-08, when the soon-to-be-retired Tim Southee debuted in the third Test.
- Southee needs a total of seven sixes in a maximum of three Tests to reach 100 in the format, a tally exceeded among New Zealanders by only Brendon McCullum.
- Joe Root will be playing his 150th Test.
- New Zealand come into this Test off the back of beating India 3-0 away last month!
- England lost their last two Tests in Pakistan and have lost three of their last four in this format.
- New Zealand won the last Test between the sides by 1 run
NZ vs ENG : Team News
New Zealand :
Confidence in New Zealand cricket is at an all time high after the men won 3-0 in India only a couple of weeks after their women’s team had won the T20 World Cup!
And taking on England at home, with the ‘Bazball’ approach always leaving the door open to potential defeats, New Zealand could yet add another 3-0 whitewash before the year is out.
Looking at New Zealand’s XI, there is so much batting talent that the opposition bowling attack will have to work hard to bowl them out. Rachin Ravindra is their latest star turn and the experience Kane Williamson is still able to deliver. Matt Henry is likely to be the main threat with the ball.
Williamson’s return is a given, although his inclusion could be tough luck on Will Young, player of the series in India, who may suffer on the last-in-first-out principle. Coach Gary Stead admitted it was all causing a significant selection headache. On the bright side, Young did at least make the squad in the first place, unlike the spinners who secured that result for the ages.
Ajaz Patel – the 11-wicket hero of New Zealand’s whitewash win at the Wankhede – is once again surplus to requirements in home conditions, while Mitchell Santner, who claimed 13 in Pune, is still feeling a side strain, meaning that Glenn Phillips will carry the spin burden. Nathan Smith, the allrounder, will make his Test debut, ahead of Jacob Duffy.
New Zealand Playing XI : Tom Latham (c), Devon Conway, Kane Williamson, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell (wk. ), Glenn Phillips, Nathan Smith, Tim Southee, Matt Henry, Will O’Rourke
England :
There will be a debut for England in the number three position as Jacob Bethell, who made his international bow in ODI and T20I cricket over the last month, enters the Test side. This is all despite him never batting at that number before and averaging only 25.44 from 30 innings for Warwickshire in first-class cricket.
If that doesn’t sound like the most intimidating pick by the tourists, then the position of Ollie Pope, who experienced a very poor tour of Pakistan in October, taking the gloves and being in the side is also one of interest. He drops down to number six due to the added responsibility of keeping.
Shoaib Bashir will be the only front-line spinner in the side and skipper Ben Stokes will take on the all-round role as he returns to his country of birth for this contest.
Bethell’s debut is the jaw dropper for England, but Ollie Pope’s rejigged role is barely less fascinating. After emerging from a grim tour of Pakistan with 55 runs in five innings, even Pope’s most ardent supporters might have conceded he is far too skittish to be a full-time No. 3. However, the timing of Cox’s thumb injury means he can now cloud the issue by reverting to his role of part-time wicketkeeper.
Remarkably, it is five years to the week since Pope first stood in for Jos Buttler, also against New Zealand in Hamilton in 2019, while his emergency stint in Pakistan in 2022 was so successful (with a quickfire century in England’s epic win in Rawalpindi) that he kept the role for the second Test despite Ben Foakes’ recovery from illness.
He averages 52.40 in three Tests as a keeper, compared to 33.74 overall. Stokes slips to No. 7, which feels unduly low even allowing for his own fallow form in Pakistan, while the seamers, Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson and Brydon Carse, will hope for more hospitable conditions than they encountered in their last outing as a trio in Multan.
England Playing XI : Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ollie Pope (wk.), Ben Stokes (c), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Shoaib Bashir
NZ vs ENG Fantasy XI : Devon Conway, Ben Duckett, Kane Williamson, Joe Root, Chris Woakes, Rachin Ravindra, Gus Atkinson, Jacob Bethell, Tim Southee, Matt Henry, William O’Rourke
NZ vs ENG : Players in the Spotlight
Jacob Bethell :
We’re becoming inured to England’s edge lord tendencies, with their rejection of conventional selection criteria in favour of a churn of “high-ceiling” players. And while nothing takes the biscuit quite like Josh Hull’s Test debut against Sri Lanka, there’s still something extraordinarily funky about Jacob Bethell’s impending bow at No. 3. Clearly he made a strong impression on the white-ball tour of West Indies, but with a first-class best of 93, he presumably would not be in New Zealand at all had it not been for Jamie Smith’s absence on paternity leave.
Now, however, a broken thumb for Jordan Cox has upended England’s applecart, and true to form, the management have sought to make a virtue of chaos. Can the precocity of Bethell’s youth win out This debut could go either way, but he’ll no doubt be made to feel 10ft tall before he steps out to take his guard.
Kane Williamson :
Kane Williamson isn’t in the habit of making people look inadequate… not deliberately at any rate. But should Bethell wish to feel a touch of vertigo as he takes guard, he need only consider the record of his opposite number at first-drop. New Zealand’s leading run-scorer has batted at No. 3 in all but 20 of his 180 Test innings, making a cool 8263 runs at 57.38 in the process.
He’s back at the age of 34 after a long-standing groin injury, and adds an extra layer of gravitas to a line-up that got down to some very serious business in their historic series win in India.
NZ vs ENG : Match Prediction
After winning all three Tests in India, it is very hard to look beyond New Zealand taking this opening Test of the series! England are a side who can never be written off but their ‘Bazball’ attacking approach has not reaped many rewards recently and defeat in this match will mean only one win from their last five Tests.
We are predicting a home win in Christchurch. We are backing New Zealand to win. England is a quality Test side, especially in the ‘Bazball’ era. However, considering the recent form, squad strength and home advantage, New Zealand is expected to win the 1st Test.