New Zealand rest Williamson with Latham to step in as captain against England

By Sports Desk June 09, 2021

New Zealand will rest captain Kane Williamson in the second Test against England, meaning opening batsman Tom Latham will skipper the side.

After the opening encounter was drawn, the two-match series will be decided at Edgbaston from Thursday.

But New Zealand will be without world number one Test batsman Williamson, who registered scores of 13 and 1 in the opener at Lord's.

He will sit out of the match as he tries to give a lingering elbow injury time to heal ahead of World Test Championship Final against India next week.

Latham will therefore lead the team for the third time in his career and Will Young, who has just two Test innings to his name, has been brought into the starting XI to bat at number three.

"It is not an easy decision for Kane to have to miss a Test, but we think it is the right one," said New Zealand coach Gary Stead.

"He’s had an injection in his elbow to relieve the irritation he's been experiencing when he bats and a period of rest and rehabilitation will help maximise his recovery.

"The decision has been made very much with the ICC World Test Championship Final at Southampton in mind and we are confident he will be ready for that match starting on June 18."

New Zealand are also expected to rest some of their fast bowlers against England ahead of the crucial match with India.

They are undefeated in their past six Tests against England (W3, D3).

The last time New Zealand recorded a longer unbeaten run against them was an 11-match span from January 1984 to June 1990 (W2, D9).

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    Leeds, on the other hand, have won 12 of their last 13 Championship fixtures, dropping points just once in that run.

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    Ipswich Town

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    They have forced 309 high turnovers (winning the ball back within 40 yards of the opponent's goal), at an average of 8.1 per match. They lead the league for shot-ending high turnovers, with 65, albeit they are tied for fifth when it comes to scoring goals from such scenarios (seven). McKenna's team are certainly able to go direct, too, given they rank down at 10th for sequences of 10+ passes. 

     

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    Daniel Farke's team are the Championship leaders for high turnovers, with 319, while their average of 11 passes allowed per defensive action (PPDA), which measures how often a team presses their opponent, is the second highest in the competition.

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    20 January: SCG, Sydney

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    30 January-2 February: MCG, Melbourne (D/N)

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