England vs New Zealand Test Series 2023: The England tour of New Zealand is about to kick off with the first test starting on February 16th, 2023. The site of the first Test between New Zealand and England is Mount Maunganui, situated in the middle of the Bay of Plenty, one of the six regions covered by the declaration of a state of emergency signed by the minister for emergency management, Kieran McAnulty due to Cyclone Gabrielle.
Despite the state of emergency, the sun shone between intermittent bouts of rain, allowing both teams to train in the outdoors at Bay Oval.
The upcoming series between familiar opponents is highly anticipated as it promises to be a friendly rivalry filled with lots of fire. However, the weather could spoil the fun as the impending storm may cause limited playing time in Mount Maunganui, depending on which forecast one believes.
New Zealand’s preparations for the match were thrown a curveball with another stress fracture for Kyle Jamieson and the impending birth of Matt Henry’s second child. Combined with the loss of Trent Boult to franchise cricket, there is a quiet sense of dismay that this first Test of the New Zealand summer is coming around with a bit-part bowling attack and inclement weather
On the other hand, England is excited about the upcoming test. After all the revelry of cliff-jumping, golf, and barbecues punctuated by cricket, they have switched back on to training hard and spreading the word of the cleansing power of going at 4.77 an over.
England has verbally panned the pink Kookaburra ball ahead of maybe doing the same physically. The only problem may be a pitch that only saw the light of day on Tuesday and looked exceptionally green, which is no surprise given the howling winds and rains over the last few days that have prevented the ground staff from even waving at the surface.
The upcoming Test will be a friendly captaincy duel between Tim Southee and Ben Stokes. These two disciples of Brendon McCullum haven’t made their names by taking backward steps. The pair even hung out during the Hamilton warm-up match when Southee finished a bowling spell and Stokes was chilling on the sidelines.
No cricket was discussed, merely catching up and reminiscing about past interactions. The T20 World Cup last October, the previous series between them last June – they did not need to root through the memory bank for particularly long. As far as Test series go, there aren’t many as friendly as this. But make no mistake – the product on the field will be the better for it.
New Zealand’s Neil Wagner is in the spotlight as he may be more vital than ever. The task of bowling to England’s batters with a ball that doesn’t move all that much sounds daunting, but Wagner, even with his powers waning, has the requisite attitude to rise to that challenge.
Of course, Wagner’s bumper barrages will tide New Zealand over when the ball goes quiet, but the theatre he creates every time he has the ball will be a challenge to the machismo of a top order that has pretty much had it going its own way since coming together. New Zealand needs every bit of the Wagner that has 15 dismissals at an average of 22.93 at Bay Oval.
Ben Duckett is the man in possession at the moment for England. Duckett has been waiting for his chance for years, and his 94 in the second warm-up match in Hamilton might finally have pushed him to the front of the queue for the No. 3 spot. He also took a sharp catch to dismiss Joe Root in that game, so he will be buzzing if he gets the nod for the first Test.
The first Test is expected to be a closely contested one. Both teams are strong in their own right.
Team news for the upcoming Test match includes the return of Stuart Broad to the English team and the potential debut of Blair Tickner for the New Zealand team. However, due to injuries and life events, New Zealand may have two debutants in their playing XI.
The team has confirmed Blair Tickner as one of them, but a decision on the other will be made on the morning of the Test after a final look at the pitch. Southee has the option to call upon Scott Kuggeleijn for an all-round option, while Jacob Duffy or Ish Sodhi are the full-time pace and leg-spin alternatives. Given the ball in use and the state of the pitch, Sodhi is likely to be the third of the three options.
New Zealand’s playing XI includes Tom Latham, Devon Conway, Kane Williamson, Henry Nicholls, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell as the wicket-keeper, Michael Bracewell, Scott Kuggeleijn/Jacob Duffy, Tim Southee as captain, Neil Wagner, and Blair Tickner.
England’s batting line-up is staying the same as the Pakistan series, with the goal of maintaining consistency. Stuart Broad’s return means that the best XI will take to the field, without any questions asked.
There was a thought that Olly Stone’s extra pace could be an alternative to James Anderson and Ollie Robinson, particularly given the ball can be hard to pick up as the artificial lights take over and bouncers will be necessary once the lateral movement stops. However, this alternative was not considered for the current Test match.
England’s playing XI includes Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes as captain, Ben Foakes as the wicket-keeper, Ollie Robinson, Jack Leach, Stuart Broad, and James Anderson.
England vs New Zealand 1st Test Series 2023 Match Prediction:
England will win the first Test Match on the basis of their aggressive approach and Good Fast Bowling assets
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