James Anderson is poised to make history when England attempt to maintain their perfect Test record against New Zealand at Edgbaston and seal a series win.
Anderson is set to become his country's most-capped Test player in Birmingham on Thursday, surpassing his close friend and former team-mate Alastair Cook's tally of 161.
England's leading Test wicket-taker is expected to get the nod to retain his place in the England attack following a drab draw at Lord's
The Black Caps were unable to force a victory on the final day of the first match in London, with Joe Root's side showing no intention of chasing down a target of 273 after Kane Williamson declared at lunch.
England have won all four Test matches against the Black Caps in Birmingham, but this will be the first time they have played at the venue since July 1999.
Victory for the tourists would be the perfect preparation for the ICC World Test Championship final against India at the Ageas Bowl.
The game has been overshadowed by off-field issues, with England fast bowler Ollie Robinson suspended pending an investigation into historic racist and sexist tweets he sent.
It then emerged on Monday that a second unnamed England player is under investigation for social media posts he made before turning 16.
With Robinson absent, Craig Overton or Olly Stone could come into the England team. Jack Leach is also hoping for a recall, while fellow spinner Dom Bess was added to the squad for a match that will see crowds of around 18,000 allowed in.
New Zealand, meanwhile, will be without captain Williamson.
He will sit out of the match as he tries to give a lingering elbow injury time to heal ahead of the World Test Championship Final against India next week, and Tom Latham will step up to lead the Black Caps.
ANDERSON REFLECTS ON TOUGH TEST START
"My first ball was a no-ball and there were a lot of nerves there," Anderson said when reminiscing about his first Test appearance, against Zimbabwe at Lord's in 2003.
"I remember Nasser Hussain didn't have a fine leg for me and I went for quite a few runs.
"No disrespect to Zimbabwe but playing against teams like South Africa, Australia and India, once you put in performances against the top teams in the world, that's when you think you can perform at that level.
"It did take a few years and a few tours around the world to make me think I could do it."
Anderson finished his debut with figures of 5-73. His tally of 616 wickets heading into Thursday's match means he is the most successful fast bowler in history.
KANE OUT BUT LATHAM MORE THAN ABLE
"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."
Williamson will be a big miss for the tourists, but Latham has plenty of experience. The opener averages 41.97 across 57 Tests, though he could not build on starts in the first Test as he scored 23 and 36.
Meanwhile, paceman Trent Boult could be in line to return, as he looks to regain some match sharpness ahead of the India showdown.
KEY OPTA FACTS
- Anderson is four wickets away from eclipsing India's Anil Kumble (619) as the third-highest wicket-taker in Test cricket.
- New Zealand's Latham (3,988 – 99 innings) is 12 runs shy from becoming the ninth Black Caps player to register 4,000 runs in Test cricket.
- Joe Root has scored 4,105 runs in Tests since the beginning of July 2017 when he played his first match as England captain; his tally is the most by any player in that time (Virat Kohli – 2,993).
- New Zealand are undefeated in their last six Tests against England (W3, D3), the last time they recorded a longer unbeaten run against them was an 11-match span from January 1984 to June 1990 (W2, D9).
I don’t like the word defending – Jos Buttler wants England to attack
Jos Buttler wants his England side to throw off the tag of ‘defending’ champions at the World Cup, insisting attack is the only thing on their mind in India.
Buttler remains fiercely proud of the 2019 triumph but has made it clear that the four-year-old title carries little weight once the tournament gets under way on Thursday, when England take on New Zealand in a repeat of the previous final.
The attachment to the trophy-winning side is clear – with eight of that squad on duty once again here and a ninth, Jofra Archer, in tow as a travelling reserve – but the captain is eager to draw a clear line under the past.
And that starts with banishing unhelpful terminology.
“I don’t see us as defending champions. We’re not defending anything. I want us to attack so I don’t like the word defending,” he said.
“It may be a motivation for certain teams when they’ve been in that position, but for us it’s irrelevant. It certainly is for me.
“It’s fantastic to be reigning champions and I won’t say we’ve left that behind completely because it’s a nice place to be, but you’ve given that trophy back now.
“It’s done. It’s about trying to create something new. We must be hungry to do it again and try to be focused on something different.
“I think the hunger is there. For most professional sports people, there’s always a want for more, there’s always a desire for more, a hunger for more.
“We wouldn’t be here if we were content with what we’ve done and you’re always excited for the new challenge.”
Buttler was the man who applied the finishing touch that secured England’s first World Cup at Lord’s, completing the run out that separated the two teams on the now defunct boundary countback rule, before taking over as captain for last year’s T20 success in Australia.
Having unified both white-ball crowns, the next seven weeks offer an opportunity to make it three global trophies in the space of four years.
That would be the kind of legacy to put England’s golden generation up with the very best there has been and Buttler is happy to be held to such high standards.
“We’re all dreamers and we all want to be able to say those things,” he said.
“It’s a nice place to be as an English sports team that fans expect you to do well and we’ll try our best for the fans back home and those that make it out here.
“I think the biggest thing is we know we are a team who like being in that position of having expectations on us.
“It’s a great place to be, I’d rather be there than a non-fancied side that nobody thinks has a chance.
“We’ve got some of the best players in the world in our team – that gives us a great chance.”
How much further the current team can take their story is open to debate. There are 11 thirtysomethings in the current squad of 15, including five who will be 34 by the end of the month.
A raft of retirements at the end of the World Cup would hardly be a huge surprise ahead of a new four-year cycle.
“We know we are an older squad than some and that should be a feather in everyone’s cap because of how professional we are to be playing to the standard we are at this age,” Buttler said.
“Age is not the defining factor – and we don’t need to add pressure by saying this is the last one – but I think it’s quite obvious with a few people being where they are at in their careers and the next ODI World Cup being four years away.
“But we’ll do our thing, we always try and enjoy the pleasure of playing for England. It’s a team that’s been together a long time and there’s some great friendships there and this World Cup is part of that story.
“We’ll try and make more great memories and cherish every moment as team-mates, friends and colleagues.”
Majid Haq shocked by ‘paltry’ fine handed to official who racially abused him
Former Scotland international Majid Haq has described his “shock” at the “paltry” fine handed to the cricket club official who racially abused him.
Ronald McGregor has been fined £400 and ordered to pay a £20 victim surcharge at Greenock Sheriff Court after admitting acting in a racially aggravated manner which caused or was intended to cause alarm or distress.
Umpire Haq was called a “cheating Paki” by the 64-year-old scorer during a WDCU Premiership One match between home club Greenock and Stenhousemuir on August 12 this year.
Sheriff Neil Kinnear said he would have imposed a £600 fine but reduced the penalty in recognition of McGregor’s early guilty plea and claimed it would still be a “significant” financial penalty. The sheriff added that he recognised it was a one-off incident and that McGregor, from Greenock, had offered to apologise to Haq.
Writing on his X social media account, Haq said: “Today has been a eye opener for many people. Still in shock Sheriff Neil Kinnear gave racist Ronald McGregor a paltry £420 fine. Shows we have a long way to go in the courts & maybe Sheriffs @Lawscot could do with some diversity training themselves. #joke.”
Haq’s lawyer, Aamer Anwar, said McGregor’s claim through his lawyer that he wished to apologise was “too little, too late, too convenient”.
Anwar pointed out that McGregor had failed to attend his Cricket Scotland disciplinary hearing and was described after that process as showing “no remorse”. He was banned from attending any cricket matches in Scotland last month.
Sentencing McGregor, a well-known former player, Sheriff Kinnear said: “I note and accept that you have been a lifelong cricket fan and that as a result of this incident that has come to an end and you have lost the ability to attend cricket matches, which was your passion for many years.
“At this cricket match you made a racial slur in relation to the umpire of a type which is completely unacceptable.
“You are no doubt aware of the public outrage that such comments cause.
“Racist comments are not acceptable to society these days and probably never have been.
“They are never acceptable in society so I have to mark this with a significant financial penalty.”
Aidan Gallagher, representing McGregor, told the court the incident was “out of character” for his client, who offered a “sincere apology” for what he said.
He said: “He regrets it wholeheartedly. He fully accepts it was inexcusable and it has had very significant consequences for him.
“He had been involved with Cricket Scotland for many years and that’s now at an end, he will have no further involvement in cricket.”
Previous allegations from Mr Haq and another former international, Qasim Sheikh, led to an independent review which last year concluded the governance and leadership practices of Cricket Scotland were institutionally racist.
Manchester rivals suffer three o'clock woe
Manchester City and Manchester United both lost on Saturday, breaking a decade-old wait for the two rivals to fall to a defeat in a 3pm kick-off.
It is rare for both United and City to play in the traditional Saturday slot, but that was the case as Erik ten Hag's side hosted Crystal Palace and Pep Guardiola's Premier League champions headed to Wolves.
Yet neither team will be in a rush to remember this particular afternoon in a hurry, as they both lost in a 3pm Saturday kick-off for the first time since September 28, 2013.
United lost 1-0, with Joachim Andersen's goal making Roy Hodgson the first manager to go unbeaten in five successive Premier League trips to Old Trafford. City, meanwhile, went down 2-1 at Molineux, with Hwang Hee-chan getting the winner for Wolves.
No Rodri, big problems
City lost to Newcastle United in the EFL Cup on Wednesday and, without star midfielder Rodri – who was serving the second of a three-match suspension for the red card he received against Nottingham Forest – they found themselves on the end of a defeat again at Wolves.
Since Rodri made his Premier League debut in August 2019, City have lost five of 15 matches without the Spaniard in the competition (W9 D1); by contrast, they have lost just five of their last 67 league games when Rodri has featured (W53 D9).
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