NZ vs ENG 1st Test Match Prediction

NZ vs ENG Team Previews

New Zealand

There is hardly any team in Cricket that is loved as much as this Kiwi unit. The Kiwis have not only impressed with their sporting and excellent off-field behaviour of late, but they have also been very good on the field.

New Zealand are coming off a pretty good T20I series wherein they managed to hold England to a tie in the last match after the series was tied at 2-2. New Zealand's test squad is a lot different to their limited-overs squad. The likes of Jeet Raval and Tom Latham will come in at the top of the order to replace Martin Guptill and Colin Munro.

At the three, four, and five, the Kiwis have three of the best players of the year in Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, and Henry Nicholls. With the options to choose from Colin de Grandhomme and Mitchell Santner to accompany Ben Watling in the lower middle-order, New Zealand have a strong and deep batting order, which can be tough to deal with even for the best in the business.

While they have a terrific batting lineup, test matches are more often won by bowling and New Zealand's bowling is one of the best in the business. Trent Boult and Tim Southee can swing the ball both ways and dealing with them will be a challenge for a relatively inexperienced top-order. They've also included Lokie Ferguson to add dimesion to their bowling unit and will be New Zealand's answer to Jofra Archer's pace.

All in all, New Zealand are a pretty well-balanced unit with all bases covered and considering how well they have played across different formats in different parts of the world, England are going to have a hard time to beat them.

England

While England have been the team to beat in the ODI version of the game in recent times, their form in the longest format of the game hasn't been as good. This is also evident from the fact that they failed to win the home Ashes earlier this year.

England have had plenty of problems with the batting unit in recent times and they have tried hard to address those problems. Over the last three years, England have tried wide array of openers, but none of the combination has worked for them so far. They have included Dominic Sibley for the upcoming series and the management will be hoping for a positive response from the youngster. Apart from that, Joe Root's captaincy and his inability to convert fifties into hundreds and also been under the scanner.

While English batting hasn't done as well, their bowling has been fantastic. The addition of Jofra Archer to their lineup has provided them with another dimension in their bowling department. All in all, England have a few problems to address and most are primarily related to their bowling and if they can take care of those, they will be a tough side to take on.