NZ vs ENG 2nd Test Match Prediction

NZ vs ENG Team Previews

New Zealand

Not many would have though that New Zealand would go on to win the match by innings after they were four down for almost nothing with more than three days remaining in the test. Tom Latham, Ross Taylor, and Kane Williamson all were dismissed for pretty modest personal scores and New Zealand looked in total shambles before the fans witnessed one of the greatest batting display by the lower middle-order in long long time.

Ben Watling, New Zealand's wicket-keeper batsmen, who has so often been their unsung hero, played a remarkable knock to not only get them back into the match, but also put them in the driving seat. He punched and pulled his way to a superb double century and kept English bowlers away from picking up much success on the third day of the test match.

Apart from Watling, the man who did most of the damage in the first test was Mitchell Santner. Santner not only scored a remarkable century and picked up important wickets, he was also fabulous in the field and grabbed a superb catch.

Kane Williamson played well for his half-century in the first match and even though all eyes would still be on him, the pressure on him would be a lot less, largely because of the way lower-middle order did in the opening game. Going into the second test, the Kiwi batting lineup looks pretty solid with the likes of Ross Taylor, Jeet Raval, and Henry Nicolls available as well.

Prior to the first match, there were talks of picking Lokie Ferguson over Neil Wagner, but there would be no second thoughts about picking Wagner going into the second match. Wagner is known to excel on flat decks and he played his role to perfection in both the innings of the first test. His awkward bouncers from a pretty uncomfortable length troubled England throughout the match as he picked wickets in both the innings.

Its not all rosy for the Kiwis as well. The uncertainity over the availability of Trent Boult still remains and his absence could be huge respite for the English openers. Although New Zealand have Lokie Ferguson and Matt Henry, the experience that Boult brings to the table would be hard to replicate. Other than Boult's absence, the Kiwi management should be pretty happy about their bowling attack going into the second match of the series.

As far as the team news is concerned, a couple of changes are expected from New Zealand. One, Trent Boult is down with side-strain and is sure to sit out of this match. Also, Daryl Mitchell, who has played for New Zealand in T20Is, is likely to replace Colin de Grandhomme for the upcoming match. Even though the absence of the duo is likely to be significant for the hosts, at least on paper, they wouldn't really be worried too much considering the bench-strength they have.

England

While Joe Root has plenty of problems to worry about with England not able to make much progress under his captaincy in the last two years, the biggest of those would be his own batting. In the last three years, the average of Joe Root has dropped down to under forty. His performance since the beginning of 2019 has dropped even further down to 27.4. His struggles with the bat has also raised question marks over his captaincy and with Root already looking weary, he will be under a lot of pressure going into the second match.

Joe Root's dip in form has also to do with the fact that he has constantly been facing the new ball with English openers not sticking around in the middle for good amount of time. England have chopped and changed their openers quite a number of times over the past three years and are still to zero in onto one.

England are coming off a pretty modest performance in the Ashes wherein they just managed to draw the series level, thanks to some brilliant individual performances. While England have a lot of problems to solve with their top-order, their bowling and their lower middle-order looks pretty solid.

Ben Stokes, who scored a brilliant 91 in the first match, is in fine form for the visitors and will be a key player in the upcoming fixture. While English bowling did pretty well in wrapping up the top-order, they seem to struggle with the older ball. Although, England lost the first match with the a pretty colossal margin, they are stronger team than the result reflects. England displayed in the Ashes that they can bounce back pretty strong and considering the side they have on paper, they are going to be a tough team to beat.