Broad back as England eye long-awaited Test series win in New Zealand

By Sports Desk February 14, 2023

Stuart Broad will return when England attempt to keep riding on the crest of a wave at the start of the Test series against New Zealand.

Broad missed a historic 3-0 whitewash of Pakistan to stay at home for the birth of his first child, but Ben Stokes has confirmed the paceman will be back in the team for a first day-night Test that starts at Bay Oval on Thursday.

Olly Stone will miss out as Broad, Anderson and Ollie Robinson have got the nod along with spinner Jack Leach for the pink-ball contest in Mount Maunganui.

Cyclone Gabrielle has affected the preparation for two sides who met in a Test series last year that ended with England celebrating a 3-0 clean sweep. That came at the start of a new era under captain Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum.

England have won nine of their 10 Tests since Stokes and McCullum took charge, while New Zealand have failed to win any of their past five series and also have a recently appointed skipper in Tim Southee.

The Black Caps have not lost a home series in the longest format for almost six years, though, and they will be out for revenge over former New Zealand captain McCullum and Christchurch-born Stokes.

Stokes is determined to carry on getting the best out of his team-mates, with an Ashes series at home to Australia on the horizon.

The all-rounder said: "I'm at a stage now where I would much prefer to leave a mark on other people's careers than look to make mine more established.

"I've played a lot of cricket and done some great things with some great teams over the years. Being captain, I've got a real desire to make the best out of the team I've got here and players who will come in in the future.

"That's one of my goals as England captain: to hopefully let some of these guys in the dressing room here just have an amazing career. If I can influence that in any way shape or form, then I'll be happy."

 

Jamieson blow for Black Caps

New Zealand will have to do without Kyle Jamieson for the two-match series after the paceman suffered a suspected stress fracture of his back.

Left-arm seamer Matt Henry will also be absent for the first Test as he awaits the birth of his first child.

Uncapped duo Jacob Duffy and Scott Kuggeleijn have been called into the squad following the loss of Jamieson and Henry.

Tourists out to end 15-year wait for series win

England have been beaten 1-0 in their past two Test series in New Zealand.

You have to go back to 2008 for the last time they won an away series against the Black Caps in the longest format, when they came from behind to take a 2-1 victory.

Ryan Sidebottom took 7-47 in the first innings of the decider in Napier to set up that win, with McCullum among his victims.

Related items

  • IPL: KKR ease past SRH into IPL final IPL: KKR ease past SRH into IPL final

    Kolkata Knight Riders are through to the Indian Premier League final after cruising to victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad on Tuesday.

    A dominant KKR eased to an eight-wicket win with 38 balls remaining, with Mitchell Starc inspiring the victory.

    The Sunrisers chose to bat first but were in unfamiliar territory at 13-2 inside two overs as Starc bowled Travis Head, who did not get a single run, before Andre Russell caught Abhishek Sharma.

    Starc took two more wickets in his second over, finishing with 3-34 as the pick of KKR’s bowlers.

    Pat Cummings ensured SRH did not finish with a sub-140 total, knocking 30 before being caught by Rahmanullah Gurbaz, as they set a target of 160.

    Cummings then conceded 20 runs in his first over but eventually bounced out Sunil Narine for 21 after Gurbaz was caught for 23.

    Venkatesh Iyer finished with an unbeaten 51 alongside Shreyas Iyer, who top-scored with a 24-ball 58 to comfortably help KKR reach 164-2.

    SRH will have another chance to make it to the final in the second qualifier where they will face either the Rajasthan Royals or Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Friday.

    Data Debrief: Playoff partners

    The Iyers' 97 not out off 44 balls is the second-highest scoring partnership for KKR in the playoffs. 

    Cummins and Vijayakanth Viyaskanth's 33-run partnership is SRH's highest for the 10th wicket in IPL, breaking the record of 22 between Dale Steyn and Praveen Kumar, but it was not enough to trouble KKR.

  • "Couldn’t be scripted better": King honoured to lead West Indies for the first time "Couldn’t be scripted better": King honoured to lead West Indies for the first time

    Opener Brandon King will captain the West Indies for the first time when they take on South Africa in three T20Is from May 23-26 at Sabina Park in Kingston.

    The 29-year-old has scored 1150 runs in 47 T20Is at an average of 28.04 since his debut against Afghanistan in Lucknow in 2019.

    Captaincy is not new for King as he most recently captained the Jamaica Scorpions in the West Indies Championship after leading the Jamaica Tallawahs in last season’s Caribbean Premier League.

    “Definitely,” was King’s response when asked about whether or not it is an honor to lead the regional side for the first time.

    “It couldn’t be scripted better. It’s an honour to lead the West Indies in any capacity and even more to do it at home so I’m very happy,” he added.

    In addition to leading the Windies for the first time, King also expressed joy at getting to do it in his home country Jamaica.

    “Obviously, extremely happy. I’m always excited to play at home. It’s good that we get some cricket in especially leading up to the world cup. It brings some excitement to the fans so I’m happy about it,” he said.

    The squad recently had a training camp and King is looking forward to the squad getting an opportunity to get some match practice ahead of the world cup set for June 1-29.

    “Match practice is something that you can’t replicate in training. We’re coming from a training camp and this is our opportunity to put those plans and skills in place so we’re very much looking forward to it,” he said.

    Despite some regular squad members being missing from the squad due to the IPL playoffs, King says the players present are looking to implement some of the plans that many hope will lead to West Indian success at the world cup.

    “A few of the guys aren’t here as yet but I think the communication has been clear with the whole group. We know how we want to play and the guys that are here, we’re looking to implement that in this series and see how it goes,” he said.

     

     

     

  • Southgate envisages central role for 'brilliant' Foden at Euro 2024 Southgate envisages central role for 'brilliant' Foden at Euro 2024

    Gareth Southgate believes Phil Foden's starting position is less important than the spaces he is allowed to attack, pledging to find a way of letting him operate centrally at Euro 2024.

    Foden was included in England's 33-man preliminary squad on Tuesday, and he is expected to be among the first names on the teamsheet after enjoying a fine campaign.

    Foden was named Premier League Player of the Season as he helped Manchester City win an unprecedented fourth straight title, scoring 19 goals and adding seven assists.

    Only three players in the league bettered Foden's goal tally, while he also ranked seventh in the division for chances created (73) and fourth for possession won in the final third (35 times).

    Foden scored two excellent goals as City clinched the title with a 3-1 final-day win over West Ham, drifting infield from the right to find space between the lines and in the penalty area.

    While the presence of Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham and Arsenal's Bukayo Saka has led many to conclude Foden will be stationed on the left in Germany, Southgate is aware of the need to grant him positional freedom.

    "Phil has played off the right, off the left, the key is where he ends up, not his starting position," Southgate said at a press conference on Tuesday.

    "He plays on the left with City, sometimes he stays wide, but he's allowed to drift, and it has always been the same with us. He's allowed to drift. 

    "Then there's where a player has to defend. Jude has played as a 10 all season, and sometimes he has defended on the left for Real Madrid. 

    "It's about where these players arrive and where you allow them to drift, that's the key. I think if you spoke to all of our players, we never pin them to a touchline, that's not how we work so there is that freedom."

    Foden produced a series of talismanic displays for City in the run-in, scoring match-winning hat-tricks against Brentford and Aston Villa and masterminding a vital comeback against Manchester United with two goals in March.

    The 23-year-old stepped up while players like Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland were sidelined through injury, and Southgate has been impressed by his ability to shoulder that responsibility.

    "It's obvious the brilliant season Phil has had, how he stepped up in big games not only when big players have been out but when he's been playing alongside them as well," Southgate added.

    "You want him in central areas as you do one or two others, so we have to find the best way of making that happen."

© 2023 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.