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Why England quick is “desperate” for another Ashes triumph before she retires

Valkerie Baynes01-Jul-2019Katherine Brunt is desperate to finish her career with another Ashes series victory.That’s not to say the England quick – who turns 34 on Tuesday, the opening day of the series – will retire immediately if her side manage to win the Ashes back from Australia over the course of the next month.”They keep finding ways to pull me back and patch me up,” Brunt said, her groan wrapped up in a laugh.”I’d love to be part of another Ashes-winning England side again and that would be a lovely little thing to finish on, I guess. But with the World T20 [in 2020], that’s definitely not something I’m going to say no to.”ALSO READ: How Amy Jones turned potential into performanceBrunt was part of the side which won the inaugural Women’s T20 World Cup in England in 2009, taking 3 for 6 in the final against New Zealand.She is a veteran of seven Ashes series, starting with England’s first series win for 42 years in 2005, and missing only the 2007-08 edition while she recovered from surgery to deal with a back condition which she still has to manage carefully. Having been part of the England side which lost the Ashes in 2015 and saw Australia retain them through the drawn 2017-18 series, Brunt would love nothing more than to win them back.”I’m desperate for an Ashes win,” Brunt told ESPNcricinfo. “It’s the most important thing there is to me. I love the World Cup, world tournaments, any series between us and Australia, but the Ashes for me is just the pinnacle.”For some reason it’s got the most amount of emotion in it. You go through so much. Normal games you go through nerves and anxiety and excitement, things like that, but with an Ashes series you have all that and then you have all the extra emotion like, I don’t know, revenge. Certainly pride, and there’s just so much more passion for it.”The banter just kind of gets away with itself and gets a bit heated at times, so there’s just so much more fun and enjoyment and emotion involved in an Ashes series.”Immediately after sweeping their rain-affected ODI and T20I series against West Indies 3-0 and 1-0, the England squad underwent a course of fitness testing with many found to be in the best shape of their careers, possibly helped by extra time spent in the gym because of the bad weather.”We’ve managed to really keep our conditioning good knowing that the Ashes were literally around the corner,” Brunt said. “I’ve managed to stay niggle free. I’ll always have my issues with my back, that’s just part and parcel of fast bowling.”People do like to keep things to themselves but it’s no mystery I’ve always struggled with my back and it’s always something I’ve just had to manage properly. You’ve seen me miss the third one-dayer against West Indies. That wasn’t due to injury, that was due to just being smart and management of my back. That journey, four hours down south, is just not worth it when you can expose a youngster.”Brunt took 2 for 6 and 0 for 14 in the two ODIs she played against West Indies and 2 for 22 in the sole T20I. She has 146 wickets from 118 career ODIs at an average of 22.88.Katherine Brunt bowling for England•Getty Images

Everyone in England, let alone its cricketers, has welcomed an apparent turnaround in the weather over the past week but the unseasonably wet start to the summer could have implications for the pitches used against Australia.”England wickets can be a little bit tricky sometimes,” Brunt said. “Back in the day, we used to have seaming wickets and it would be a bit traumatic for the batsmen and these days we’re producing very good batting surfaces, even though the men’s World Cup is showing that all the seamers are being greedy and taking all the wickets. But that’s considering they are bowling 80, 90 mile an hour, more than that.”I can see the women’s Ashes outside of things being more rounded, with the spinners [involved]. The men are making the wickets tired now so spin might indeed come into it at some point.”But with the Aussies themselves, you can’t beat a bit of swing, from both sides. If you can get past that early stage where the ball’s moving about, then you can really cash in.”The Ashes will be decided over three one-day matches, starting on Tuesday in Leicester, followed by a four-day Test match in Taunton from July 18 and three T20s, starting on July 26 in Chelmsford and finishing in Bristol five days later.

From the match Australia weren’t expected to win to one they’re not expected to lose, how quickly things can change during the Ashes

The Preview by Valkerie Baynes13-Aug-2019

Big Picture

From the match they weren’t expected to win to one they’re not expected to lose my, how quickly things can change during the Ashes.Australia were given little hope of breaching Fortress Edgbaston and that was before they slumped to 122 for 8 on the first day of the series opener. What might have happened had Steve Smith not produced the innings of his life with a match-saving century, not to mention backing it up with another ton in the second innings? What might have happened had England not lost pace spearhead James Anderson to a calf injury after he had bowled just four overs? But look deeper. The first Test was much more than a few sliding-door moments and what ifs. Sides don’t win matches by 251 runs on the back of fortune alone.The vastly experienced Peter Siddle was sound in his support of Smith where others had failed, his innings of 44 crucial to Australia’s early recovery effort. Matthew Wade’s 110 came amid a more rounded batting performance by the Australians in the second innings, when Travis Head, Usman Khawaja and No. 8 James Pattinson all joined Smith in getting among the runs. Then there were Nathan Lyon and Pat Cummins whose 10 wickets between them in England’s second innings shut out Siddle and Pattinson, who had contributed to a well-balanced bowling performance in the hosts’ first innings.England were not without their performers, Stuart Broad and Chris Woakes putting Australia under intense pressure early on while Rory Burns’ timely maiden Test century came as Joe Root – batting a place higher than his preferred No. 4 – and Ben Stokes posted fifties. But Anderson’s injury and Moeen Ali’s poor returns left England’s bowling too thin. That is the area England have sought to address by calling on Jofra Archer and Jack Leach for the second Test at Lord’s. In the aftermath of defeat at Edgbaston, England coach Trevor Bayliss had rued England’s dearth of pace in the absence of Anderson and Mark Wood, who is dealing with side and knee complaints, and that was before Olly Stone was ruled out for at least two weeks with a recurrence of a back stress fracture.It is in the management of pace stocks that this series may be won and lost, and where Australia appear to have the edge on England at this stage. With the “luxury” of six fit fast bowlers, as Australia coach Justin Langer put it, the tourists have opted to rest Pattinson for the second Test in favour of either Josh Hazlewood or Mitchell Starc. England, meanwhile, will be hoping Archer remains free of the side strain he suffered in the World Cup final and which kept him out of the first Test – and there is every indication he is fully fit – while looking to Leach for a reprise of his happy memories at Lord’s, this time with the ball after his 92 as nightwatchman earned him Player of the Match honours at the same ground against Ireland last month.

Form guide

England LWWLL (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Australia WWWDL

In the spotlight

Man of the moment – again – Jofra Archer finds himself in what is fast becoming a familiar position of England X-factor, and he hasn’t even made his Test debut yet. That latter point will be moot come Wednesday morning as Australia set about trying to implement Langer’s instructions to “keep wearing him down”. But, injury notwithstanding, Archer doesn’t cut the figure of a man who gets worn down. From his whirlwind rise as soon as he qualified for England to stepping up in the tense Super Over of an eventual World Cup triumph, Archer has done all that has been asked of him in his short international career. Yes, it is a huge ask to expect a 24 year old whose only red-ball cricket in 11 months was last week’s second XI appearance for Sussex against Gloucestershire which convinced selectors of his fitness following injury, to be the sole reason England can avoid going 2-0 down in the Ashes. He is one man and, even as Smith discovered amid his first-Test stardom, it takes more than that – ask Lyon, Cummins, Siddle and Wade. But there is no doubting that, with or without the injured Anderson, Archer is a massive plus for England.David Warner had a quiet start to the Ashes with scores of two and eight, never mind that he should have been out when he wasn’t and he was out when he shouldn’t have been. He does win points for the way he handled the heckling from the Edgbaston crowd with good humour and a thick skin and while that doesn’t count for anything on a scorecard it can be seen as an important step in a return to Test cricket that is as much mental as it is physical. Now Warner needs to make like Smith and let his bat do the talking. He did just that during the World Cup in front of English crowds, so it is not a big stretch at all to expect him to transfer that to the Test arena and if he does, England could face double the trouble.

Team news

Jack Leach had a lengthy bowl in the nets on Test eve, while Archer put in a brief but fiery burst, suggesting there won’t be much in the way of surprises in the England team. Sam Curran looks most likely to miss out from the 12-man squad, although the weather is set to play a key role in that decision.England: (possible) 1 Rory Burns, 2 Jason Roy, 3 Joe Root, 4 Joe Denly, 5 Jos Buttler, 6 Ben Stokes, 7 Jonny Bairstow, 8 Chris Woakes, 9 Jofra Archer, 10 Stuart Broad, 11 Jack Leach.Hazlewood looks set for a return to the ground where he took 3 for 68 and 2 for 20 in his best performance of the 2015 Ashes, replacing the resting Pattinson. Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc – both left out of the Ashes opener at Edgbaston – were included as Australia named a 12-man squad on match eve with the prospect of a fresh and firing Pattinson at Headingley looming with just a three-day turnaround between fixtures. Whether both Hazlewood and Starc play is another matter, however, after Siddle’s performance with the bat in the first Test.Australia: (possible) 1 David Warner, 2 Cameron Bancroft, 3 Usman Khawaja, 4 Steve Smith, 5 Travis Head, 6 Matthew Wade, 7 Tim Paine (capt/wk), 8 Pat Cummins, 9 Peter Siddle, 10 Nathan Lyon, 11 Josh Hazlewood.

Pitch and conditions

Not nearly as verdant as the lush greentop that welcomed players on the eve of England’s Test against Ireland, this Lord’s pitch is reminiscent of the one which hosted the gripping encounter between England and Pakistan in 2016. Pakistan won that match by 75 runs on the penultimate day after legspinner Yasir Shah added four second-innings wickets to his six from the first innings as the tourists claimed the 10 scalps they needed on what turned out to be the last day’s play. The weather does look like playing ball, with cool temperatures and rain expected, particularly on Wednesday.

Stats and trivia

• Australia have the chance to go 2-0 up, a position from which only one Test series in history has been lost (Australia defeated England 3-2 in the 1936-37 Ashes after trailing 0-2).
• England have lost six of their last seven Tests against Australia with one draw.
• Lord’s is a happy place for Australia, who have won six of their last 10 Tests against England at the ground. Before defeats in 2013 and 2009, Australia’s previous loss there was in 1934.

Quotes

“We’re in English conditions, we really back ourselves to perform and to come back strong after last week. We’ve proven that we do that time and time again when we when we’ve been defeated, especially at home. I’m expecting a big response from the boys. Last week will have hurt everyone, and everyone will be absolutely desperate to go and win this week. And I expect nothing less.”

“I would have thought it would be in different circumstances. Nonetheless I’m really proud to be part of this Test side. I’m rapt to be playing international cricket again and to have a second opportunity, to have the captaincy is a great honour as well. It’s certainly one I didn’t want or expect but doing the job now, I’m thoroughly enjoying it.”

Australia captain proud of how his team have ‘handled everything thrown at them’

Daniel Brettig in Manchester08-Sep-2019Having put on a brave face in the aftermath of Headingley, Australia’s captain, Tim Paine, admitted in the afterglow of retaining the Ashes in England for the first time in 18 years that the trauma of that defeat had been enough to break a team.What’s more, he reckoned that the wider trials and tribulations of Australian cricket over the past 18 months, in the wake of the Newlands scandal that thrust the Test captaincy on his shoulders and the national coaching job on Justin Langer’s, served as an important contributor to the team’s ability to rebound from Leeds with a largely commanding victory over England at Old Trafford, culminating in a far better collective display in the field on the final day to bowl out the hosts with 13.4 overs to spare.”In terms of what we’ve been able to achieve as a group is pretty satisfying from where we’ve come from in the last 18 months,” Paine said. “Great character, shows the great people we have got and shows we’ve also got some bloody good cricketers in our team. I am also proud of our staff. Also from where we’ve come from even from last week, that was a loss that would break a lot of teams, but we weren’t. I could feel it during the week. We turned up here and did our job like good sports teams do.”The group has clearly been through a bit of adversity, some more than others. But the guys sat in that change room have been through what happened at Cape Town and it’s times like that you find out what sort of people you have got and you find people who can give up or keep fighting and I think we have got guys who have come back and kept fighting and are wanting to get better and keep wanting to be in situations like we got at Headingley because those games, when you do win, feel very special.”Headingley’s loss make this all the more sweeter after a lot of people wrote us off. There were a few nervous moments there, coming off Headingley but I thought we learnt from that, held our nerve and bowled really well against a team that fought really hard like we knew they would.”Paine’s captaincy, the team’s fielding and catching, and the bowling of the inexhaustible Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood plus Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon had all stood up far better to the pressure of the moment, leading to a victory that will be both celebrated wildly and recorded as an important moment in Ashes history.”It’s exciting, you are going to see emotion when you get a bunch of people together who have a common goal and have worked so hard for it for a such a long time,” Paine said. “This has been two years in the planning so to carry it out over here under pressure and with everything we’ve had thrown at us … it’s a nice place to play cricket but it is bloody difficult in England, if I am honest.Tim Paine directs strategy at the start of play•Getty Images

“I couldn’t be more proud of the way our group have handled everything thrown at them. At the end, it was just a bit of raw emotion when you have a little bit of success particularly on the back of last week and the last 18 months. We haven’t had a lot of success and not a lot of happy times. But we are beginning to get them and that is awesome.”My dream was to come here and win an Ashes. I certainly didn’t want to be the captain winning the Ashes. It doesn’t mean any more or any less to me. I have said a lot of times my part in this team is just one job that many are doing, I just get a lot of the credit, I suppose, but it is something we share around between the players and staff. I am just happy to be a part of it. I could have been working at Kookaburra [in 2017], so this isn’t bad.”Among many key moments on the last day was Paine’s use of Marnus Labuschagne’s wristspin to break a pesky stand between Jack Leach and Craig Overton as the final hour drew near. The subsequent wicket not only set up Hazlewood’s final wicket but also underlined how Labuschagne had made a difference to the team.”Even from when I captained him in Dubai he has been working on his legspin bowling,” Paine said. “He came on the trip and bowled a lot in the nets and we said, ‘he can bowl’.”He has bowled a lot of overs in county cricket for Glamorgan, which has helped him. He is improving all the time. He is one of those cricketers if you tell a youngish part-time legspinner to warm up at that part of a Test match, I don’t think too many would want to bowl.”Marnus wanted to bowl. He wants to bat in the games when the best bowlers are on and even in the field, he wants to make a difference all the time. His energy is great and a really exciting cricketer for us and someone we can build our team around in the future.”As for Hazlewood and Cummins, Paine offered the praise of a grateful captain. “They are extremely consistent and that is why they are good,” he said. “What I love about those two fast bowlers is that from day one of the series the same effort is coming all of the time. I can’t fault them. They run in fast, bowl as hard as they can and for me that is a real weapon to have.”I am not sure there are a heap of bowlers going around that would get through the workload that our guys are and maintain pace and skill like those two do. Pat is No. 1 in the world and rightly so and Josh has been right up there as well. We’re lucky to have them.”Last but far from least, the dominance of Steven Smith with the bat had been the rock on which Australia’s Ashes challenge was built, and at one stage the rock on which England’s campaign was dashed.”Anyone who’s watched him bat know the talent, hunger and skill that he has got,” Paine said. “People don’t see how driven he is and how he trains, eats and sleeps batting. He is just a genius and I never had any doubt he would come back and be the player he was. The scary thing is he’s getting better. I don’t know where it is going to stop but we are enjoying being on the ride, that is for sure.”

Pakistan were given a shock in Lahore and have to figure out what their best combination is

The Preview by Andrew Fidel Fernando06-Oct-2019

Big picture

It was no real surprise that Sri Lanka rode an outstanding fifty from Danushka Gunathilaka to a competitive total in the first match. Were it not for injury and disciplinary issues, the opener would command a place in their first-choice limited-overs XI. He is among the more naturally gifted batsmen in any match.It was also no surprise that Dasun Shanaka helped Sri Lanka maintain their momentum through the later stages of the innings. He is one of the cleanest ball-strikers around.What was surprising was the ease with which Sri Lanka shut Pakistan’s chase down. Even without Lasith Malinga, the fast bowlers had the opposition 22 for 3. Pakistan are the top-ranked T20I side in the world, but this particular top order contained Umar Akmal, who had not contributed to that rise, and Ahmed Shehzad, who had not played a T20I since mid-2018. They made 4 off 9 balls and a first-ball duck respectively. As a result, coach Misbah-ul-Haq, who made these out-of-left-field selections, is facing a little scrutiny after his first T20I in charge.ALSO READ – Umar Akmal and Ahmed Shehzad have my full backing as captain – Sarfaraz AhmedBut one victory does not make Sri Lanka invulnerable. Avishka Fernando appears to have hit some modest form in Pakistan, to follow his breakout World Cup, but the likes of Lakshan Sandakan and Wanindu Hasaranga are also far from reliable wristspin options still. The more senior players in the Sri Lanka XI will need to continue to produce excellent innings and spells, so that the younger cricketers can play in their slipstream.

Form guide

Pakistan LLWLL (completed matches, most recent first)
Sri Lanka WWLLL

In the spotlight

Very quietly, Shadab Khan has been having a disappointing 2019. His legspin has averaged 41.11 across 13 ODI innings this year (though his World Cup average of 35.55 was better). In T20Is, his numbers are even bleaker – his economy rate up at 9.42, and his average at 44, albeit from only four appearances. Sri Lanka is a team he had generally done well against, but several batsmen seemed to enjoy his bowling through the course of this tour, and his 1 for 35 on Saturday was modest without being terrible. In recent years, Sri Lanka haven’t loved playing wristspin. If Shadab can turn his form around, Pakistan will go some way to checking the opposition’s batting.Misbah-ul-Haq oversees Pakistan’s training session•AFP

Prior to his debut, no uncapped Sri Lanka player had quite produced as much hype in the capital as Bhanuka Rajapaksa. A star at school level for one of the fanciest Colombo institutions – Royal College – Rajapaksa had been tipped by many to become one of the island’s best. But in senior cricket, his record has been modest, particularly in first-class and List A matches. Despite this, he has now got the chance to showcase his wares at the top level, and in his first T20I, he produced an innings that went some way to justifying the ten-year hype. If he can back Saturday’s 32 off 22 balls up with another good performance, the selectors may keep him on even when the first-choice players return to the fray.

Team news

Given Shehzad’s poor innings in the first match, Fakhar Zaman may come back into the XI.Pakistan (possible): 1 Fakhar Zaman, 2 Babar Azam, 3 Umar Akmal, 4 Sarfaraz Ahmed (capt.) (wk), 5 Iftikhar Ahmed, 6 Asif Ali, 7 Imad Wasim, 8 Faheem Ashraf, 9 Shadab Khan, 10 Mohammad Amir, 11 Mohammad HasnainSri Lanka will probably see no reason to change their XI.Sri Lanka (possible): 1 Danushka Gunathilaka, 2 Avishka Fernando, 3 Bhanuka Rajapaksa, 4 Shehan Jayasuriya, 5 Minod Bhanuka (wk), 6 Dasun Shanaka (capt.), 7 Wanindu Hasaranga, 8 Isuru Udana, 9 Lakshan Sandakan, 10 Kasun Rajitha, 11 Nuwan Pradeep

Pitch and conditions

The dew that both teams had expected did not turn up in force on Saturday. Expect Lahore to produce a similar surface.

Stats and trivia

• Sri Lanka have lost each of their four most-recent T20 series, two of which have been at home, and two away. Their last away series win (outside one-off games) was against Bangladesh in early 2018.
  
• Pakistan have never lost a bilateral T20I series to Sri Lanka.
  
• Umar Akmal has not made a T20I fifty since February 2016. Shehzad had not made one since September 2017.

Ten Doeschate scores unbeaten 51 but Dutch fail to move past PNG in top spot

The Report by Peter Della Penna in Dubai27-Oct-2019A disciplined bowling display laid the platform for another convincing victory for Netherlands over Scotland by four wickets at Dubai International Stadium on Sunday afternoon. But needing to chase a target of 131 in 12.3 overs to surpass Papua New Guinea on the tournament’s net run-rate tiebreaker for first place and an automatic trip to the 2020 T20 World Cup in Australia, Netherlands could only reach 106 for 6.That means Netherlands (second in Group A) will now have to play UAE (third in Group B) in a qualifier, with the winner going through to the T20 World Cup. The loser will get another chance, in a second qualifier against Scotland (fourth in Group A).*With the PNG squad watching from the second tier balcony following their win earlier in the day over Kenya, captain Pieter Seelaar’s bowlers backed up his decision to chase at the toss in light of the net run-rate scenario by restricting Scotland to 130 for 8. But Scotland’s medium pacers dented the Dutch reply badly in the Powerplay. Tobias Visee fell on the fifth ball of the reply skying to mid-off, while Max O’Dowd slapped to mid-on in the fourth before Ben Cooper chased a wide ball to edge behind in the sixth, leaving the score 39 for 3 after six overs.At 55 for 3 in eight, Ryan ten Doeschate and Colin Ackermann produced a stirring rally with 35 runs across the next two overs. Ten Doeschate pulled Alasdair Evans twice over midwicket for six while Ackermann drove Richie Berrington for six over long-off then scooped a boundary over the keeper to bring the equation down to 41 in 15 balls to overtake PNG.But as he has done all tournament, Mark Watt made key breakthroughs in the middle overs. After conceding just four runs in the eighth, he struck twice in the 11th, bowling Ackermann and inducing a skied flick from Roelof van der Merwe to MacLeod at long-on for a third-ball duck. When Seelaar was given out stumped on the 12.3 over mark, the score was just 101 for 6 as the PNG squad erupted on the balcony, knowing they had just secured their first ever trip to the T20 World Cup.Ten Doeschate eventually carried the Dutch across the line with three overs to spare after reaching a half-century off 34 balls. It was the 39-year-old’s second of the tournament after a key knock in a win over Namibia.Scotland’s innings got off to a difficult start after a brilliant tactical plan came off to near perfection from Seelaar and Ackermann. The captain gave the allrounder the new ball to bowl his offspin at George Munsey, who had been tearing offspinners apart all tournament with the reverse sweep. But a very square deep third man was put in place to deny the boundary option. After hitting an orthodox sweep for four to the first ball he faced from Ackermann, Munsey was bowled second ball and left shaking his head.Matthew Cross was promoted up to No. 3 in the absence of Oli Hairs, who was ruled out of the tournament with a broken bone in his right foot, and produced a 41-ball fifty. But he struggled for support at the other end as Scotland lost wickets in clumps. Kyle Coetzer (17) and MacLeod (1) fell in the eighth and ninth overs, the latter to an lbw decision in which replays showed a clear inside edge.Berrington, Michael Leask and Craig Wallace all fell in consecutive overs from the 14th to the 16th to leave Cross struggling for options to tag-team for a late surge before Cross departed in the 17th as Scotland stuttered to the end of their innings. Seelaar was named Man of the Match as much for his captaincy as for his 2 for 12, claiming Coetzer and Wallace.*

England’s new-look squad face familiar opponents in Christchurch at start of new cycle

The Preview by Alan Gardner31-Oct-2019

Big Picture

So, who is going to be the first to mention the boundary count? Three-and-a-half months on from tied World Cup final (you don’t need me to remind you what happened next), New Zealand and England go toe-to-toe once again in a five-match T20I series that will act as a launchpad for both sides as the countdown begins to the 2020 T20 World Cup.As it goes, this is a format in which hitting the most boundaries often is significant. England reached the final of the 2016 World T20 during the early days of their reinvention as power-packed ODI juggernaut, and will likely be a dangerous proposition in Australia next year – though the squad sent to New Zealand is as much about potential as proven performance. And while the home side are missing their captain, Kane Williamson, as well as Trent Boult for the first three games, they have plenty of T20 chops – as shown by Colin Munro’s blitz to see off England in their second warm-up game.ALSO READ: Gregory faces all-round challenge to prove himself in finisher roleWhat has gone before is less important than what is to come (Really?! Ed), and each team has their own areas to focus on as, for the next 12 months T20Is – so often an afterthought for touring sides – gain extra relevance and context. For New Zealand, the opener issues that dogged their World Cup – an appearance in the final notwithstanding – threaten to linger, while elsewhere the likes of Tim Seifert, Daryl Mitchell and Scott Kuggeleijn will be hoping to make themselves indispensable under stand-in captain Tim Southee, who led the team to a 2-1 series win in Sri Lanka on their most recent tour.England’s overarching goal for the series, meanwhile, is to find out how a host of new faces go in international competition. The likes of Tom Banton and Pat Brown have caught the eye at domestic level in the Blast and, with a number of first-choice white-ball players rested after a doubly draining English summer featuring World Cup and Ashes, here comes a chance to step up.England’s T20 World Cup squad is sure to feature the likes of Jason Roy, Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes (all absent on this leg of the trip), and Banton may have to go some to force his way through a queue of heavyweight top-order contenders, but there are obvious question marks around the lower middle-order finisher role and a couple of the bowling slots. Sam Curran, who has yet to play T20 internationals despite Test and ODI caps (not to mention an IPL contract), may have most to gain, while allrounder Lewis Gregory, legspinner Matt Parkinson and raw quick Saqib Mahmood will be hoping to catch the eye as the series wears on.Joe Denly is helped away after suffering an injury in training•Getty Images

Form guide

New Zealand LWWWL (completed matches, most recent first)
England WWWWW

In the spotlight

Ross Taylor is New Zealand’s most-capped batsman in T20Is, and likely to provide the glue in their middle-order – but the exact value of that role is something Gary Stead needs to determine ahead of the T20 World Cup. Taylor is now 35 and his last T20I fifty came in 2014, although he did top-score with 48 from 29 in his last innings but one to see New Zealand to victory in Pallekele.The leading wicket-taker in the Blast over the last two seasons, Pat Brown has impressed with his clear head as much as his befuddling slower balls. However, figures of 1 for 70 from seven overs in England’s two tour games – albeit marred by a couple of dropped catches – suggest the 21-year-old will have to adapt quickly when the series proper begins.

Team news

The absence of Williamson perhaps makes decision-making easier at the top of the order, with Seifert likely to slot in below regular openers, Martin Guptill and Munro. Lockie Ferguson made his return from injury in England’s warm-ups and is available for three games before Boult returns. Jimmy Neesham hasn’t played a T20I in two years but could provide competition for Mitchell, while Blair Tickner is the other seam-bowling option in the squad.New Zealand (possible): 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Colin Munro, 3 Tim Seifert (wk), 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Colin de Grandhomme, 6 Daryl Mitchell, 7 Mitchell Santner, 8 Scott Kuggeleijn, 9 Tim Southee (capt), 10 Lockie Ferguson, 11 Ish SodhiEngland have announced T20I debuts for Sam Curran and Brown, while Gregory could also make his international bow after Joe Denly – who had been expected to bat at No. 5 – rolled his ankle in training. Morgan confirmed that Dawid Malan will open the batting alongside Jonny Bairstow and, while the final XI will be revealed on Friday, Banton, Parkinson and Mahmood look set to bide their time.England (possible): 1 Dawid Malan, 2 Jonny Bairstow, 3 James Vince, 4 Eoin Morgan (capt), 5 Sam Billings (wk), 6 Lewis Gregory, 7 Sam Curran, 8 Chris Jordan, 9 Tom Curran, 10 Adil Rashid, 11 Pat Brown

Pitch and conditions

The picturesque Hagley Oval will host its first T20 international on Friday, with Christchurch set to be cool but largely clear of the rain that affected Canterbury’s Plunket Shield match against Northern Districts last week (a game in which Seifert and Mitchell were among the four centurions). The ground is one of few in New Zealand built specifically for cricket and is therefore not quite such a postage stamp – which the bowlers may appreciate ahead of trips to the Westpac Stadium and Eden Park.

Stats and trivia

• Overall, in 16 T20Is going back to 2007, England are way ahead of New Zealand on boundary countback, having scored 342 (237 fours, 105 sixes) to 264 (172 fours, 92 sixes).
  
• England are also in front on head-to-head, winning 10 out of 15 games that have reached a result.
  
• Although they lost the last encounter, by two runs in Hamilton last year, New Zealand still progressed to the tri-series final against Australia on NRR thanks to another Munro assault.

Quotes

“It’s a different format. We’ve had a tour to Sri Lanka, so life goes on and you move on.”
“Twelve months is a long way down the road, we play a lot of T20 cricket between now and then, so I think being quite flexible and trying to build a 15- or 16-man squad is actually more important than the final XI.”

ESPNcricinfo’s live updates on the Karachi Test

Danyal Rasool19-Dec-2019