*ENGLAND VS NEWZEALAND 1st T20 IN A 3 MATCH T20I SERIES 2023 PREVIEW*
*THE BUILD UP:*
*BENCH STRENGTH VS FRESH GUNS:*
Both NZ and ENG have been in the limelight because of the quality of contest that they offer. Both have the players, the license to entertain and are teams for the big occasion. We, as fans, will be on the receiving end of a 4 Match T20I series with Jos Buttler leading the hosts after he completed a resounding campaign at the Hundred and NZ being led by Tim Southee, an old horse who has been serving T20 cricket for quite some time now.
England, after the retirement of World Cup winner Alex Hales, will be boasted by the return of Bairstow who’s playing a competitive T20I game after almost an year. There will be some new faces in the camp with Atkinson who Buttler got a proper game-in interaction with, approving and he could make the cut come tomorrow as England prepare for the generation of a new fast bowling crew as a test for depth ahead of the T20 World Cup next year, which the three lions would love to clinch again.
NZ would be taking the field without Kane who’s still recovering but as far as the positives are concerned, was seen practicing with the rest of the squad. Other than him, Trent Boult will be seen directly during the ODIs which are four in number. All eyes will be on the comeback man Kyle Jamieson who could be a real menace if fully fit and functional on surfaces like these where the ball swings. He could really make use of the bigger boundaries here.
*ENG PROBABLE XI:*
HC Brook, DJ Malan, WG Jacks, MM Ali, SM Curran, Rehan Ahmed, LS Livingstone, Jos Buttler (C), JM Bairstow, Atkinson , Adil Rashid
England could feature three spinners with two wrist spinners in the mix for this game given how the surface generally plays. It last hosted a T20I game in 2017 and there is no such surety on the surface that will be offered here. Generally, it stays low and slow and in that case this spin troika could be a real menace against the NZ batters who most often than not, get tied in a spinning web and find it hard to break through. With the absence of Kane, somebody of great mental character will need to step up if they are to negate these three nicely.
I’m excited to watch Harry Brook in action. He has been in scintillating form lately and after missing out on a World Cup squad, even smashed a hundred of immense quality and value. His poor record vs non-Pakistan T20 playing nations however doesn’t bode well for the kind of game that he has. It is one aspect that he would love to change as soon as possible, starting from this series onwards. The leader Jos Buttler is another batter who would look to build on the momentum and not allow NZ to catch a breath. What better than to utilise your form in conditions where you’ve been playing for so long.
*NEWZEALAND PROBABLE XI:*
Finn Allen, Devon Conway, MS Chapman, DJ Mitchell, Mitchell Santner, Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Tim Seifert (wk), LH Ferguson, Tim Southee (C), AF Milne
I sense the duo of Allen and Conway to compliment each other brilliantly again. Allen will look to take on the bowling and putting pressure on the likes of Curran and Ali whereas Conway will hold himself back and go for a slow kill, building on and on and then powering through at the end. This approach allows NZ to keep the role of an anchor intact. Conways battle vs Rashid will be one to watch out for. We have seen the southpaw struggle against flighted outside off stump deliveries and Rashid could look to nail that and send the danger man back to the pavillion.
The Kiwis Southee, Milne and Mitchell participated in the Hundred and know these grounds well by now. Milne has found a special liking to the back of length deliveries and his potency vs Buttler and co will be interesting to watch. Mitchell could play the role of a middle overs enforcer with his technically solid skill to attack.
*MY PREDICTIONS:*
*FOR ENG:*
Highest run getter- Jos Buttler/Harry Brook
Highest wicket taker- Adil Rashid/Atkinson
*FOR NZ:*
Highest run getter- Devon Conway/Daryl Mitchell
Highest wicket taker- Tim Southee/Mitchell Santner
*FOR THIS GAME:*
England to win