Someone is going to go one up with two to play in the New Zealand and England T20 series on Tuesday, when the two sides head across to Nelson for the third match of the five scheduled encounters.
New Zealand levelled the series at Wellington on Sunday and if momentum is such a thing in sport it is they who have it. England will know they didn’t perform in that match and will be out to be much better here.
New Zealand
It was a much more positive effort from New Zealand in that match in Wellington. You could tell it was a ground they enjoyed playing at as they were much more buoyant throughout the contest and that yielded the right result. Unlike in Christchurch they were a lot more aggressive in the powerplay which put England on the back foot and in truth the home side never relinquished the advantage they created.
The big difference that gave New Zealand the best chance of winning in that last match was the extra batting option they selected and the fact that Jimmy Neesham only bowled a couple of overs suggests they have more to come with the ball. One or two of their top order are yet to truly fire as well so there is still some improvement to come from the Kiwis.
England
I’m sure England will be the first to admit that it wasn’t their greatest performance at Wellington. There is something about the ‘Cake Tin’ that seems to make them play badly. Whether it was their players getting their attention caught out by the square boundaries or the look around the ground I can’t quite tell but everything England usually do so well they were pretty ordinary at and that generally leads to one outcome.
The positive is that England bowled pretty well in the main but they were certainly not backed up in the field, where a number of chances went down and some of them pretty regulatory too. The other thing they failed to do was impose themselves with the bat. That will disappoint them because they are a side who are designed to deliver powerful and fearless batting performances. That is something they will want to get back to producing here.
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Team News
Unless there is a late injury or an illness there is no discernible reason for New Zealand to change a winning side. Trent Boult is not in the squad until the next game so the odds are strong on the Kiwis going in with the same team.
England are expected to give Somerset opener Tom Banton a debut in this match, with Jonny Bairstow expected to make way for him. With the last two matches being played on postage stamp sized grounds Matt Parkinson could also get a debut here.
Betting
We are back at a slightly bigger venue here and I think that can play into the hands of England. They can utilise their power with the bat a lot better and they can also put together and execute their bowling plans a lot easier. I always feel it is grounds like this that can hinder New Zealand and their formula of playing a lot of all-rounders.
England rarely produce two bad performances in succession and I think we saw in that opening match just how much extra they have in their ranks when they need it. By and large they have enough players in good enough form to make them a decent enough bet at 11/10 safe in the knowledge that their depth is strong regardless of the changes that they want to make to their side.
Tips
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