Joe Root is still trying to find his role within Ben Stokes' England set up but believes his second-innings knock against New Zealand is a good starting point.
Root gave up the Test captaincy last year and England have thrived under Stokes and new coach Brendon McCullum, winning 10 of 11 matches after a 267-run victory over the Black Caps last week.
Former skipper Root enjoyed a brilliant 18 months from the start of 2021 until the middle of last year, though the 32-year-old's form has since dropped off.
His 57 at the Bay Oval was his second-highest score since August, after a haul of 73 against Pakistan in December, and Root is confident he can rekindle his best form.
"I've not performed for a little while, so I had the bit between my teeth in the second innings," said Root ahead of the second Test at Basin Reserve in Wellington.
"It's given me a little sharpener, a kick up the backside, that this is how I need to play my cricket, how I can be consistently useful in this group.
"There was the initial relief of coming out of the captaincy and now I'm just trying to find out what my role is within this team.
"I've maybe got a bit caught up in it, but I'm not too far away from what's given me success.
"I didn't feel I tried to force it in the second innings and when I'm playing well that's one of my strengths: I can score freely and I can rotate the strike.
"I felt like I found a really good tempo in how I wanted to bat."
Root's trademark reverse-scoop saw him come unstuck in the first innings at the Bay Oval, though that setback will not stop him from playing bravely when the opportunity presents itself.
He added: "You take calculated risks. I've got where I've got to by trusting my gut. It just didn't quite work out.
"It's not going to stop me playing it. It's now part of my Test game and I'll continue to utilise it when it's the right time."
England have won their last four men's Tests against New Zealand, after going winless across their seven meetings prior in the format.
The last time they enjoyed a longer winning run against the Black Caps was a six-match span from February 1963 to July 1965.
Umpire Sue Redfern makes history in County Championship match at Glamorgan
Derbyshire dominated the first day’s play as umpire Sue Redfern made history in the LV= County Championship fixture at Glamorgan.
Redfern became the first woman to stand as an umpire in a men’s first-class match in England and Wales as she joined Graham Lloyd in the middle for the Division Two clash.
Luis Reece made an unbeaten 139 and it was Lloyd’s finger which went up for the wickets of Harry Came and Brooke Guest as the visitors reached 308 for two.
Guest made 96 and put on 180 for the second wicket with Reece, who had captain Leus du Plooy for company on 22 not out at stumps.
Hosts Bermuda among four hunting T20 World Cup spot
The journey to next year's ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the USA continues, with Bermuda set to host the Americas Qualifier from 30 September to 7 October 2023.
Bermuda, Canada, Cayman Islands and Panama will battle it out in a double round-robin format, over six days to earn a place in the 2024 edition of the Men’s T20 World Cup – the biggest one yet, featuring 20 teams in total.
As host, Bermuda will look to continue their good form from winning the Subregional Qualifier, to return to the biggest stage in men’s T20 cricket, after their historical appearance in 2007.
Canada, arguably the favourites of the event, will look to confirm this and seal their ticket to a new World Cup participation. The Cayman Islands are a regular fixture in the regional final but are yet to go through, and, as such, they will push hard to make it this time. Panama are underdogs, as their participation may come as a surprise to many, but with no real pressure on their backs, this could allow them to play freely and upset the main candidates.
This event promises to be a competitive affair, with the four teams confident of their chances of making it through to the main stage.
Taylor emphasizes spending time at the crease ahead of Australia tour
Former Captain Stafanie Taylor says the West Indies Women will need to emphasize spending time in the middle to have any chance of competing with Australia when the pair lock horns in three T20Is and three ODIs beginning on Sunday at North Sydney Oval.
The team is coming off a pair of home series wins against Ireland in July (2-0 in the ODIs and 3-0 in the T20Is) and will look to take that momentum into Australia.
A big reason for those series wins was the team’s batting. The first ODI saw the hosts bat the full 50 overs to post their second highest ODI score ever, 297-6, before successfully defending it.
The third ODI also saw an impressive performance with the bat, losing only four wickets and needing only 41.3 overs to chase down 203.
The T20s were no different with the West Indians securing a pair of eight wicket wins as well as a tense two wicket victory.
From an individual standpoint, after a rough few years due to a persistent back injury, Taylor enjoyed a welcome return to form during the ODI series.
She made scores of 55 and 79* in her two innings and is looking to continue that form against the current World Champions.
“I’ve been feeling really good for some time. The injury would’ve definitely slowed me down a little bit but it’s nice that I’ve been working hard to get my body back up and it’s been really good,” she said in a press conference ahead of Sunday’s series opener.
“For me, it’s trying to get myself back to the top and spending some time at the crease is going to be crucial because I find that once I’m able to do that, I know runs will come. I just have to believe in myself,” she added.
Just like in the Ireland series, the team will be a good mixture of youth and experience with some players who took part in the most recent ICC Under-19 Women’s World Cup as well as the CWI Regional Under-19 Women’s Tournament.
The 32-year-old complimented the youngsters before emphasizing that it is up to veterans like herself to help them achieve their full potential.
“I think we have a good crop of young players coming through. We’ve seen them in the Under-19 World Cup and it’s been really good so far where we have our Under-19 tournament that recently concluded in Trinidad and a lot of those U19s have been integrating with the senior team. You saw that in the recently concluded Ireland series,” Taylor said.
“Having them in the system, it’s for us to try an impart that knowledge that we have onto them and this series is going to be crucial for them but also it’s a learning experience and you don’t want to burden them too much,” she added.
As the most experienced member of the team, Taylor also provided insight relating to conversations she has had with the younger players in the team or players who haven’t yet played in Australia.
“Well I haven’t played here in a long time to be fair but, from what I’ve known is that Australian wickets tend to be a bit bouncy. It might be worth playing a bit late especially with the pace of the fast bowlers. I’ve played a few times at North Sydney and it’s a good wicket. I think the wickets here are going to be really good for batting. Spending time at the crease will be crucial if we want to score runs,” Taylor said.
This series will also be the first opportunity for new head coach Shane Deitz to take charge of the regional side.
In his own introductory press conference a few weeks ago, Deitz proclaimed that he wanted to bring a new attacking brand of cricket to the West Indies Women.
Taylor says that discussion hasn’t taken place quite yet.
“We’ve only had one practice session so far. We haven’t really had a meeting to discuss how we’re going to play or what it’s going to look like for this series. The first game is Sunday and we just had a meeting to welcome everyone and had a light practice session just to have a feel of things,” she said.
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