England’s recovery mission from the Ashes will not come easily against New Zealand
74 days since Australia completed a 4-0 Ashes victory at the SCG, England return to the Test arena with a two-match series against New Zealand.
Joe Root’s side will be glad to step over the ropes and not be confronted by the likes of Steve Smith, David Warner and Mitchell Starc, but they would be foolish to underestimate the Kiwis, captained by the impressive Kane Williamson.
It was a hugely difficult winter for a number of England players: Alastair Cook, despite scoring a double century in the Boxing Day Test, struggled at the top of the order and has admitted he nearly retired after going ten innings without passing 50.
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Mark Stoneman and James Vince, often elegant on the eye, failed to nail down their places with substantial scores, with England indebted to Root and surprise package Dawid Malan for contributing the majority of their runs Down Under.
England’s bowlers, on the whole, were equally disappointing: Stuart Broad and Chris Woakes both averaged close to 50 and Moeen Ali took just five wickets in the 169 overs he toiled away in the Australian dirt.
There were glimmers of hope with Mason Crane, Tom Curran and Craig Overton impressing, to some extent at least, but England will hope a change of scenery and opposition yield a very different result as they prepare to take on New Zealand over two Tests, the first of which is a day-night match in Auckland.
New Zealand v England Test results
1990: England (1-0)
1991-92: England (2-0)
1994: England (1-0)
1996-97: England (2-0)
1999: New Zealand (2-1)
2001-02: drawn (1-1)
2004: England (3-0)
2007-08: England (2-1)
2008: England (2-0)
2012-13: drawn (0-0)
2013: England (2-0)
2015: drawn (1-1)
BATTLE OF THE CAPTAINS
Ahead of the Ashes, the onus was placed on Root to match the performances of Smith, who had emerged as an immovable and uncompromising force for Australia over the previous 18 months.
Root left Australia with 378 runs from nine innings – a healthy return for an England captain overseeing his first Ashes trip – but it was utterly overshadowed by the sheer magnificence of Smith, who amassed close to 700 runs in just seven innings, scoring three centuries – including a 239 in Perth – and two fifties.
During the series Smith, so often compared to Root, Williamson and Virat Kohli, entered a league of his own in Test cricket. And Root will face more competition for the limelight in New Zealand, with Williamson continuing to impress in all three formats.
Williamson’s form was curiously poor at the start of the year but an unbeaten century against England in the one-day series – and his overall record – suggests he can take advantage against a bowling attack that often looked toothless in Australia. The New Zealand skipper averages close to 60 at home and will be backed up by exciting talents in Tom Latham, Jeet Ravel, Neil Broom and BJ Watling.
Root’s form has never been a concern for England – although he himself admits he needs to convert more fifties into tons – and he goes into the series on the back of an assured century against a New Zealand XI in a warm-up match in Hamilton.
But he will need to find his feet quickly if England are to end their gruelling winter with a series win, with question marks over the other three members of the top four. Speaking ahead of the series, Root admitted he was hurt to be shown up by Smith and said he wanted to ‘bounce back’ against the Kiwis.
‘You look at their senior players, someone like Steve Smith and the amount of runs he scored in a big series like that,’ he said. ‘As a captain and senior player you have to stand up and deliver and I wasn’t able to do that. That’s not sitting well with me right now and coming into a new series in New Zealand, you want to make sure you bounce back from that and set the example for the rest of the guys.’
WATCH OUT FOR…
Trent Boult
England spent the winter facing the most destructive left-arm fast bowler in the world in Mitchell Starc, but their task has not become much easier now they turn their attentions to Boult.
The 28-year-old, who forms one half of arguably the best new-ball pair in New Zealand’s history, averages just 25 with the ball in home Test matches.
Boult has taken at least five wickets in each of his last six matches and will be licking his lips at the prospect of bowling at England’s fragile batting order with a pink ball under lights.
Ben Stokes
Having missed over five months of international cricket after being charged with affray, Stokes wasted no time in reminding the public of his class in the recent one-day series.
England missed Stokes immensely in the Ashes, not only for his batting, bowling and fielding but for the balance he provides the side. He was initially expected to play as a specialist batsman in this week’s first Test, but he is believed to be ahead of schedule, given Root a valuable extra option in the field.
Stokes, of course, was born in New Zealand and clearly enjoys playing against his native country, having scored one century and one fifty in four innings against the Black Caps in 2015.
Tom Latham
Since making his international debut in 2012, Latham has developed into an assured Test opener for New Zealand without producing a spectacular volume of runs.
With six centuries from 34 matches, Latham is well-regarded in the game and has the potential to become one of New Zealand’s most successful openers.
He will be worked over by England’s attack, however, and must prove he can step up a gear having scored all of his hundreds against Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe.
Alastair Cook
He is England’s record run scorer for a reason and if Cook has shown anything over the past 12 years it is that he can never be written off. Familiar questions over his future in the team were raised as England’s grip of the Ashes loosened, but what other player in county cricket would be capable of scoring 244 at the MCG against Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon?
‘To bat as badly as I did for two months, and then for 10 hours bat as well as I’ve ever done, is quite strange,’ Cook said, reflecting on what threatened to be a disastrous tour for him personally. ‘It shows I have got it. To be able to bat like that, you’ve got to be doing the right stuff mentally and still be on it.’
Cook is no longer the reliable force of old – he has produced mammoth scores either side of barren spells of late rather than churn out consistent runs – but with no likely replacement waiting in the wings, he is clearly still the best England have to offer.
.@benstokes38 has been having a net in Hamilton
pic.twitter.com/IAstO4rsE1
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) March 15, 2018
LIKELY TEAMS
New Zealand: Tom Latham, Jeet Raval, Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, Henry Nicholls, Colin de Grandhomme, BJ Watling, Todd Astle, Tim Southee, Neil Wagner, Trent Boult
England: Alastair Cook, Mark Stoneman, James Vince, Joe Root (capt), Dawid Malan, Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Stuart Broad, James Anderson
Odds
New Zealand: 2/1
Draw: 13/8
England: 6/4
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PREDICTION
The first day-night Test to be played in New Zealand will mark the start of an interesting – albeit short – series between a team trying to recover from an embarrassing Ashes defeat and one hoping to prove yet again why they are no longer the underdogs.
New Zealand are certainly a less daunting opposition than Australia but England still need to improve. The batting order, so fragile over the winter, needs to fire against slightly less potent bowlers while the team cannot rely so heavily on Anderson, who will have played close to 150 Test matches by the time of his 36th birthday in the summer.
Stoneman, Vince, Moeen and Woakes must prove they have not been scarred by the 4-0 defeat to Australia and remind the selectors why they were picked in the first place. It won’t be easy for Root’s side – Williamson and Boult, in particular, are two of the most talented cricketers in the world – but England’s Ashes redemption must start now.
England to recover in Christchurch after a narrow New Zealand victory in Auckland – 1-1
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