England vs New Zealand: Can new England win over transitioning New Zealand

The first match will be played on 2nd June 2022 at the iconic Lord's Cricket Ground, and the series will end with the final game on 23rd June 2022 in Leeds. 

After Joe Root stepped down from captaincy, it's a new era for England under the leadership of Ben Stokes. After a forgetful outing in the previous World Test Championship, England would hope to make a comeback under a new captain. Brendon McCullum will be debuting as the head coach against his home nation. Some exciting changes seen in the playing XI released by the English team are the comeback of James Anderson and Stuart Broad, along with Jack Leach as the lone spinner. Matthew Potts will also look to impact this new era in England's Test Cricket.

On the other hand, the defending champions are also undergoing a transition phase with the retirement of BJ Watling and Ross Taylor. They have a great batting line-up and will be backing up youngsters this time around. With Trent Boult likely to miss out, the bowling unit will be dependent on Tim Southee and Matt Henry. Last year they ended the series against England as winners by a 1-0 margin and will look to end this one on a winning note.

Pitch Report

With no chances of rain on at least the first two days, the surface at Lord's is expected to provide neutral cricket with decent help for both batters and bowlers. Spinners can find a little edge in the middle order, whereas pacers can be lethal. 

Stats to keep an eye on

• Ben Foakes, Matthew Potts and Alex Lees will make their home debuts in a Test Match. Foakes has played five Tests in the Caribbean and three in India and Sri Lanka. 
• Joe Root is 111 runs away from reaching a landmark of 10,000 runs in Test cricket; he would be the 14th player and second Englishman to reach that landmark.
• Ben Stokes is 18 sixes away from overtaking his coach, McCullum, as the leading six-hitter in Test history. Stokes is currently sixth on the all-time list.
• Of the 107 Test matches played between the two, England has won 48 whereas New Zealand has won only 12. Forty-seven matches ended in a draw. However, New Zealand is unbeaten in the last four tests in England.
• Tim Southee needs seven wickets in the match to go clear of Glenn McGrath and Sir Richard Hadlee as the leading overseas wicket-takers in Tests at Lord's.

New Zealand is placed sixth in the World Test Championship points table, whereas England is ninth. It should be a spicy contest as both the teams look to make a way back in Test cricket after a poor start. It will be interesting to see if England can start a new era with a bang or if New Zealand youngsters will dominate the Three Lions side in the series.