England vs New Zealand 2021: England will be playing host to the World Test Championship finalists before the mega-event in Southampton kicks off. It will be a bilateral Test series that will pit the two powerhouses of cricket in a two-Test affair.
England will be again taking the field after a humiliating upshot against India in February that saw them surge ahead emphatically in the first rubber. However, India staged a strong counterblast in the following clashes that saw them winning the Test series by a margin of 3-1.
New Zealand, on the contrary, made merry in their preceding showdown against Pakistan that saw them outclassing the green brigade with a clean sweep. This came after another resounding victory over West Indies who toured the Kiwis in early December.
However, this won’t be an easy task for the hosts either given the absence of three of their prime players, namely Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer. To compound the crisis for the English brigade, their wicketkeeper, Ben Foakes was also ruled out with a tattered hamstring that saw the preamble of Haseeb Hameed and Sam Billings to the English squad.
Irrespective of the outcome, the Black Caps will have a golden opportunity to get themselves accustomed to the glacial conditions of England before they enter the grand finale of the World Test Championship against India. This will be a clash of the titans that will see both the teams entering the arena with their respective self-interests.
The Kiwis will have a fair idea of the conditions and can line up according to the situations that will be reigning supreme in the Ageas Bowl while the English will be hellbent to make amends to their recent catastrophes in the longest format of the sport.
England vs New Zealand 2021: Where to watch live?
For Indian fans, the Test series will be televised by Sony Six and Liv while the people of England can watch it on Sky Sports. There will be a lot of fans closely observing this Test series from the USA and Canada too given the imminent World Test Championship finale and for them, it will be available on Hotstar.
Squad for Test series:
England: Joe Root(c), James Anderson, Sam Billings, James Bracey, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Zak Crawley, Haseeb Hameed, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Craig Overton, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Dom Sibley, Olly Stone, Mark Wood
New Zealand: Kane Williamson(c), Henry Nicholls, Ross Taylor, Colin de Grandhomme, Rachin Ravindra, Will Young, Jacob Duffy, Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Santner, Tom Blundell, Devon Conway, Tom Latham, BJ Watling, Trent Boult, Doug Bracewell, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Ajaz Patel, Tim Southee, Neil Wagner
Schedule of Test series:
England versus New Zealand – 1st Test at Lords, London, 2– 6 June, 3:30 PM IST
England versus New Zealand – 2nd Test at Edgbaston, Birmingham, 10– 14 June, 3:30 PM IST
