England, New Zealand meet in series decider: 3rd Test Preview
What's the story
The third and final Test match of the series between England and New Zealand will be played at Nottingham's Trent Bridge, starting Thursday. The series stands at 1-1 as the Kiwis won the previous match by a massive 253 runs after losing the series opener. Meanwhile, the home team has been bolstered by the return of prominent stars. Here we look at the match preview.
Game strategy
Trent Bridge pitch report and conditions
The Trent Bridge wicket is likely to favor whoever bats first. The last five years have seen four Tests with an innings-by-innings batting average suggesting a good scoring surface. However, recent County games have shown mixed results, with some teams managing to breach 400 runs while others struggled to get past 200. Given the expected conditions and temperatures, big first-innings runs are likely on day one. The contest will get underway at 3:30pm IST.
Team composition
England bolstered by the return of Stokes and Atkinson
Notably, England have confirmed their XI for the game. The team sees the return of Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson after their involvement in a Chelsea nightclub incident two weeks ago. Shoaib Bashir also makes a comeback, while Jamie Smith replaces James Rew after missing the last game due to personal reasons. England XI: Ben Duckett, Emilio Gay, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith (wk), Ben Stokes (c), Gus Atkinson, Jofra Archer, Josh Tongue, Shoaib Bashir.
New Zealand
Will NZ make any changes?
In response to Kane Williamson's retirement, Henry Nicholls has stepped up as his permanent replacement. He scored a century in the second innings at The Oval. Matt Henry was the star performer with 11 wickets in the match. Hence, the Kiwis are unlikely to tinker with their winning combination. New Zealand Probable XI: Tom Latham (c), Devon Conway, Henry Nicholls, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell (wk), Glenn Phillips, Nathan Smith, Kyle Jamieson, Matt Henry, William O'Rourke.
H2H
A look at the head-to-head record
England and New Zealand have faced each other in 117 Tests so far, with the former leading 55-15. Notably, 47 matches have ended in a draw. At home, England have beaten the Kiwis in 34 of the 61 games (7 losses). As per ESPNcricinfo, England have beaten the Kiwis in seven of their last 10 head-to-head clashes in Tests. The Kiwis are eyeing their fourth Test series win on England soil.
Performers
Here are the key performers
Besides Henry, Nathan Smith and Kyle Jamieson have claimed five-wicket hauls for the Kiwis in this series. Glenn Phillips also scored a ton in the second game. The preceding match saw Root become the first batter to complete 2,000 runs against New Zealand in Test cricket. Harry Brook has slammed two fifties in this series. Jofra Archer claimed five wickets in the Oval Test.
Poll
