As the 2nd Test between England and New Zealand begins in Leeds, we see the England side in great spirits. They have just won a massive win at the Lords, fighting against the odds, beating New Zealand comfortably even after having conceded over 500 runs in the first innings.
The win was made possible largely due to a power packed performance by one man. Ben Stokes. Is he England’s new Flintoff, or a Botham, or even Pietersen? Well, what is for certain is that Stokes is one hell of a player and any Test side in the world, including the Australia as well as South Africa, would love to have him play for them.
The big change made by England was to play Stokes at no. 6 and pushing Moeen Ali to no. 8. And, most importantly, picking Mark Wood. Wood is a 24-year old fast bowler, who has been a breath of fresh air. He consistently hit 90 mph in the match against New Zealand and was a highly effective 3rd fast bowler, to follow James Anderson and Stuart Broad.
With Anderson and Broad looking good, and captain Alastair Cook coming back to form, England look very good. Then there is the youth power of Joe Root and Josh Butler to follow – it just couldn’t get better for them, even as they welcome new coach Trevor Bayliss to their set up.
Already, 40,000 tickets have been sold at Leeds, as England cricket fans have suddenly become optimistic about their side. The doom and gloom of the past are over. It is a brave new England team, capable of taking on anyone, with the youth power of Stokes and Root propelling them forward.
What about New Zealand? The Kiwis are actually a terrific cricketing side led by the best captain in the world today in Brendon McCullum. McCullum is a man who knows only one way to play, which is to attack. And his team is very much built in his image.
In Kane Williamson, they have the most accomplished young batsman in world cricket, and in Tim Southee and Trent Boult, an excellent new ball attack to begin with.
So why did the Kiwis lose at Lords, early this week? Well, it wasn’t their fault at all. They did everything asked off them – got a score of 500 plus in the first innings, took a lead of over 100 runs, got all 20 England wickets. What they weren’t prepared for was for the onslaught by young Ben Stokes – who was actually born in New Zealand.
As captain McCullum says: “We went down the other day but I thought we played some pretty good cricket during that Test. I make no apologies for how we play. We need to play an aggressive and innovative form of cricket. It gives us our greatest opportunity.”
England is all set to play with the same team in tomorrow’s match, and New Zealand are likely to lose Corey Anderson, their aggressive middle order batsman who can bowl a bit, due to an injury.
The Teams
England: 1 Alastair Cook (capt), 2 Adam Lyth, 3 Gary Ballance, 4 Ian Bell, 5 Joe Root, 6 Ben Stokes, 7 Jos Buttler (wk), 8 Moeen Ali, 9 Mark Wood, 10 Stuart Broad, 11 James Anderson
New Zealand: 1 Tom Latham, 2 Martin Guptill, 3 Kane Williamson, 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Brendon McCullum (capt), 6 Luke Ronchi (wk), 7 Mark Craig, 8 Doug Bracewell, 9 Matt Henry, 10 Tim Southee, 11 Trent Boult
Match Conditions
We expect it to rain in Leeds, but hopefully not so much as to affect the match. The Headingley pitch has always been one that has helped fast bowlers, so we expect the seamers from both sides to have a great time here.
Watch England take on New Zealand at 3:30 PM from Friday to Tuesday live on Star Sports!
