England's Winter

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New Zealand

T20 Internationals

Friday November 1st - Christchurch
Sunday November 3rd - Wellington
Tuesday November 5th - Nelson
Friday November 8th - Napier
Sunday November 10th - Auckland

Squad
Eoin Morgan (Middlesex) captain
Jonny Bairstow (Yorkshire)
Tom Banton (Somerset)
Sam Billings (Kent)
Pat Brown (Worcestershire)
Sam Curran (Surrey)
Tom Curran (Surrey)
Joe Denly (Kent)
Lewis Gregory (Somerset)
Chris Jordan (Sussex)
Saqib Mahmood (Lancashire)
Dawid Malan (Middlesex)
Matt Parkinson (Lancashire)
Adil Rashid (Yorkshire)
James Vince (Hampshire)


Tests

Wednesday November 20th - Tauranga
Thursday November 28th - Hamilton

Squad
Joe Root (Yorkshire) captain
Jofra Archer (Sussex)
Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire)
Rory Burns (Surrey)
Jos Buttler (Lancashire)
Zak Crawley (Kent)
Sam Curran (Surrey)
Joe Denly (Kent)
Jack Leach (Somerset)
Saqib Mahmood (Lancashire)
Matthew Parkinson (Lancashire)
Ollie Pope (Surrey)
Dominic Sibley (Warwickshire)
Ben Stokes (Durham)
Chris Woakes (Warwickshire)



South Africa

Tests

Thursday 26th December - Centurion
Friday January 3rd - Cape Town
Thursday January 16th - Port Elizabeth
Friday January 24th - Johannesburg

Squad
TBC


ODI
Tuesday 4th February - Cape Town
Friday 7th February - Durban
Sunday 9th February - Johannesburg

Squad
TBC



T20 Internationals

Wednesday 12th February - East London
Friday 14th February - Durban
Sunday 16th February - Centurion


Sri Lanka

March 7th - Warm up 1, Katunayake (3 day)
March 12th - Warm up 2, Colombo (3 day)
March 19th - 1st Test, Galle
March 27th - 2nd Test, Colombo

I wouldn't get too excited over all this. You can't expect Silverwood - or anyone - to turn the team upside down overnight.
The fact that this match is a replica of the Perth Test in the last tour of Australia doesn't prove anything except that - as we already knew - the current crop of England batsmen are not good at turning good scores into monsters (unless the gods are with them and they can do so at a hundred miles per hour). NZ saw a flat pitch and had the patience and concentration to grind them into the dirt...the loss of wickets late in the day , while disappointing , is basically a consequence of understandable tiredness and really shouldn't be surprising anyone. Though I do wish those openers could have kept their heads for another twenty minutes or so !
By the same token , suggestions like Goose's comment above about the emergence of a functional top three are surely based more on hope than any real evidence : Sibley might have the right temperament to bat at the top of the order but whether he has the ability at this level is something that is nowhere near being demonstrated yet. Burns I quite like but again he has a bit to do to make himself a long term fixture. And Denly seems to be making the best of a limited talent at the moment but whether he will be able to sustain this remains to be seen : if all three survive SA we will all be rejoicing ...but I'm not putting bets on it.

As for the bowling we've heard a lot of moaning about the lack of pace hobbling the team in the past and how Archer (and by implication , Stone etc also) would put that right : not as simple as that , is it ? Not going to condemn anyone on one game but you can also see why Root was making noises about Moeen the other day , as Leach for all his excellent character was quite unable to either contain or damage NZ on an unhelpful pitch : being out bowled by Root isn't a good look.

Think England will lose sometime tomorrow but they will have another match very soon after and perhaps then we will see whether this crew have what it takes to fight back after a shocker. Words are meaningless so I take no notice of what Root or Silverwood or any of them say at press conferences. What they do on the field is what counts.

Yes Silverwood needs time, but what can he honestly do before the next away Ashes to make this team competitive? England look absolutely miles off being a threat in Australia. I'm not sure he's going to have the players to do much about it

Think it’s a bit harsh saying Leach struggled to contain on that wicket. Was going at below 3 an over for the majority of the innings (until the slog was on) but he did look fairly toothless, albeit on a dead pitch. Thought they actually bowled okay in the first session - at least they made NZ work very hard for runs and increased the draw probability a lot.

From 270/4, England should have racked up 400-450 at least. That’s where the game drifted away, as we’d be looking at a draw now as the worst case. Having said that, if they can draw this it will be something - as they don’t draw Tests under Root. So show some backbone and bat this out.

Right I’m going to go for England bowled out shortly after tea and a narrow innings defeat. Santner with 7-for.

Duty281 wrote:Right I’m going to go for England bowled out shortly after tea and a narrow innings defeat. Santner with 7-for.

It'll certainly be an achievement if he does. I mentioned the other day that he's never taken more than 3 in a Test or first-class innings.

Any doubts about his place in the side - which I wondered about after our first dig - have sure been shot to pieces anyway.

That’s how to use the short ball, England. Sparingly.

Good catch and a big breakthrough for the Kiwis.

JDizzle wrote:Think it’s a bit harsh saying Leach struggled to contain on that wicket. Was going at below 3 an over for the majority of the innings (until the slog was on) but he did look fairly toothless, albeit on a dead pitch. Thought they actually bowled okay in the first session - at least they made NZ work very hard for runs and increased the draw probability a lot.

From 270/4, England should have racked up 400-450 at least. That’s where the game drifted away, as we’d be looking at a draw now as the worst case. Having said that, if they can draw this it will be something - as they don’t draw Tests under Root. So show some backbone and bat this out.

Oh I think we can all agree this was primarily a batting failure...that 350 was way short of par , although the pitch may have become steadily easier to bat on over days two to four (often do in these parts I think). The bowlers weren't rubbish , on what I saw : but they just didn't seem to be able to do anything to counteract the deadness of the surface - and not for the first time. Suppose if not for an uncharacteristic drop from Stokes at a critical moment things might have been different...

Root having a rough time at present. Expect BBC HYS (short for hysteria?) to be alive with calls for him to be sacked /dropped/ imprisoned...

Making a draw from here will be tough. Lots of overs , scoreboard pressure as runs are not going to come easily so they more or less need to bat all day. Still possible ; but it needs a couple of BIG innings ...hope these two can bat long.

Only one wicket in that session, but the Kiwis still favourites. Pitch misbehaving and a new ball not too far away. England playing so cautiously they’ll need to bat the full ninety.

Fifty stand Stokes and Denly

These two doing a good job. Only losing Root before lunch - and now NZ have lost the services of the injured Boult - makes that draw a little more possible. But you still fear one may bring two or three...

The longer these two can bat and tire the bowlers the better. Still plenty of competent bats to come : Pope Buttler and young Sam ; even if Curran is more noted for strokeplay than batting time. No Leach there for last hour heroics though.

Still 50 overs left.

Damn ! Shouldn't have posted...Stokes plays on

Five down now.

Ooof, Stokes drags on to his stumps. He was looking the most comfortable. Much needed for New Zealand who were beginning to look a little clueless.

Nice one alfie. Perfect timing.

Perhaps the last major threat in Stokes now gone. The possibility of another dashing innings did cross my mind (for a few minutes this morning) but it must be a big relief for the Kiwis to snare that one.

Denly out just before the new ball. Poor decision from the umpire, reversed by DRS. Not the first time Denly put himself in danger with the leave.

Door wide open for the Kiwis now.

Now Denly goes ...outed on review for a caught-off-the-glove. He did a good job for the second time in this match but England needed him to stay past tea at least.

New ball in another five overs so it ain't going to get any easier...

Duty281 wrote:Denly out just before the new ball. Poor decision from the umpire, reversed by DRS. Not the first time Denly put himself in danger with the leave.

Door wide open for the Kiwis now.

DRS seems a vital tool with Dharmasena on the job

Wouldn't say wide open exactly : bit unfair to Pope and Buttler ! But they really do look like the Last Real Hope...

That’s a screamer of a catch from a filthy delivery. Some top fielding from the Kiwis in this test. Game surely done now? Door well and truly smashed in.

Might not need the new ball as Pope departs...

Good catch apparently but I guess it shows this Pope doesn't have the infallibilty thing

I checked the score on my phone, saw us 5 down, fancied seeing Pope batting so I got up and moved through to the living room to get my laptop. By the time I've loaded up Sky Go Denly and Pope have both got out.

That's a shocker of a shot from Pope. Stunning catch but that's inexperience in a pressure scenario showing there.

Still 38 overs to bat...and they'll have to bat them all as they're still over 120 behind. Good luck with that.

I imagine Curran will look to score as I doubt he would last long trying to dead-bat everything ?

18 ball duck for Jos. New ball does for him and The End is Nigh...

Ouch. Buttler basically leaving a yorker on off stump to the first delivery with the new ball.

New ball immediately reaps dividends as Buttler makes a misjudgement. Do feel England have been a bit on the negative side today, but doubt it will have made a difference to the overall result.

Time for England’s first of two tailenders.

The batting today has been poor but the game was lost in the field yesterday. Abysmal tactics and worse execution of them.

Eight down at tea. Sounds as if enough balls are misbehaving now that it will be hard for these bowlers to last much longer.

Also seems the England batsmen have been contributing to their own downfall rather a lot in this innings , for all the talk of responsible batting. Though I guess 200 odd overs in the field does tend to cook ones brains...

Not being very good is a big problem

Curran and Archer apparently had some fun in their quite hopeless late stand.  I guess once you know you cannot possibly survive the pressure goes off...runs come at a good rate (59 off 16) and the luck starts to go your way...but of course all good things come to an end.

First time Archer has been anything but a walking wicket for England   Out now for 30 so Broad and Curran need to bat twenty two overs...

Edit : Ha! Only 21.5 short then

Well played NZ Where is that Kiwi emoji ...

15/8 on NZ to win the series was daylight robbery. England played well in patches, but ultimately way too many mistakes with the bat and the drop of Watling in the field meant they got behind and never recovered. 

NZ are a fine side at home - congratulations to them on a very well played test

Not to single Pope out here but his shot in the first innings is endemic with the issues with the England batting line up, they seem to think that a platform from the top three means go on the attack rather than carry on playing sensibly which if they did this game would have meandered towards a boring draw.

Final margin was a bit horrible but should anyone be surprised NZ won ? They were at home , they are number two in the rankings for a reason , and England are quite frankly experimenting with no points on offer for this series.
That said this was poor as all the pre-match talk was of a new approach...lasted just one day. Batting thereafter was back to the old inappropriate aggression ...and bowling once things didn't happen for a while reverted to the old short and hope instead of relentlessly - and boringly - aiming at top of off. There is a reason the standard plays in Test Cricket are the standard...

I'm not panicking. Past records say England will bounce back on Friday. May not win but they'll do a lot better (low bar I know!)

Lots of problems , sure. Won't be fixed overnight either. Changing the culture will take time and Silverwood surely gets 18 months. Root is a very ordinary captain - ok , rather a poor one - but we've known that for a while. Problem is he doesn't really seem to be learning ; and his recent form slip is exacerbating the pressure . I can see why people want him to give up the leadership but I'd be surprised if the coach wants that as there really is no clear alternative. (I really don't want Stokes shackled with it right now ! He is all that keeps them competitive)
Root's batting is the main concern. Clearly a mental thing : no consistent technical issue but his confidence is down , he feels responsible for the team's oft -criticized approach and he's currently unsure whether to stick or twist...hence these soft dismissals , classic example of indecision. He can- and will - come back. For the team's sake , hopefully very soon.
Rest of the batting is a problem. Denly - that nobody seems to rate - is doing a fine job. But you can't assume two new bats in the top six are going to result in instant success , and apart from Stokes there really isn't a lot of proven Big Innings potential in there at the moment . In the past few months England have jettisoned eleven Test centuries in Moeen and Bairstow : replacing that isn't a given.

As to the bowling Leach is rightly first choice spinner. But I fear he is unlikely to wreak havoc outside Asia. Broad remains a fine bowler (I think he was a little unlucky here as he went past the edge more than most without any joy) but he is unlikely to enjoy the success with the Kookaburra as he manages with the Dukes. Same , to a point , for Curran.
Archer is the enigma. He is only five Tests into his career but already there seems to be a peculiar pattern developing in which he can be quite devastating on one day and on another just not turn up. His overall figures in the Ashes were excellent but even there he had a couple of innings in which he made absolutely no impact - and times where he did little early on only to suddenly explode later in the innings... He doesn't come across as a moody fellow but I bet Root wishes he knew how to throw the switch at will...

NZ will miss Boult , though he had little impact here . Presume the speedy Ferguson will play. England probably won't make a change unless one of the bowlers is knackered. Betting on a much closer match...but it will probably rain

Really wish they'd stop using Archer like a higher quality Liam Plunkett. The odd bouncer here or there fine, but having him go round the wicket, bowling it halfway down, the batter just ducking for 6 overs is just poor - and must be fairly soul destroying as a bowler.

To be honest, with this test not counting towards the world test championship, and being so close to the marathon session the bowlers have just gone through, I wouldn't mind them just seeing where guys like Parkinson and Mahmood currently are, and if they are actually viable squad options for the immediate future, and potential starters down the line

I'm not sure this England team is that experimental. Looks a lot to me like the best lineup available based on form in The Ashes and players they want to bring in (Sibley and Pope).

Agree with the comments about the middle order, they tend to collapse on the rare occasion they get a good platform rather than build on it. It happened in the first Ashes Test and cost them that match as well

England's problems are well known and well aired above. I'll leave that at that.

to New Zealand is worth emphasising though and much deserved. I am a huge fan. Williamson aside, they are not great Test cricketers. However, they play great Test cricket.

Everytime I watch them I’m always impressed by Wagner. A proper street fighter of a bowler

Still not as bad as Pakistan though

Good Golly I'm Olly wrote:Everytime I watch them I’m always impressed by Wagner. A proper street fighter of a bowler

Yes, for sure. However, I doubt he would make the England side if eligible.

We have the better players. They have the better team which plays the better Test cricket.

alfie wrote:Final margin was a bit horrible but should anyone be surprised NZ won ?  They were at home , they are number two in the rankings for a reason , and England are quite frankly experimenting with no points on offer for this series.

Please can you list all the players missing then, injuries dont count

Good win for New Zealand and a test which illustrates the difference between the teams. They had players who were patient with the bat, England did not. They had a captain who used his bowling resources well and set imaginative field placings, England did not. They looked energetic and motivated in the field, England did not.

Another battering overseas for England and difficult to see how they recover in time for another test in a few days. Disagree with NZ not having the better players - I think a combined team would have: Latham, Burns, Williamson, Root, Nicholls, Watling, De Grandhomme, Santner, Archer, Boult and Broad - seven Kiwis to four English players.

Very much looking forward to the NZ series in Australia later this year - something like 30+ years since the Kiwis won a series in Australia and a wonderful chance to do it this time round. Shame it’s only three tests!

I don't think you'd be picking Santner over Leach any day, that's a pick based on a one off performance. De Grandhomme over Stokes is quite laughable really.

Neither Santer nor Leach impress me, so it’s a coin flip. De Grandhomme currently averages over 40 with the bat and and under 30 with the ball and is one of the most underrated players in world cricket.

Currently averages that based on 18 matches, Stokes is quite obviously the superior batsmen and bowling wise it's quite even.

Over his past 28 test innings the same as De Grandhomme he averages marginally higher with 40.44 but has played nine matches against India and Australia in that time compared to none for CDG, that also includes eight matches overseas compare to four. It's sometimes a good thing to look beyond just the average.

The moment that CDG can produce a Headingley innings do get back to me.

Like Soul, I would expect Stokes and Leach to get in a combined team ahead of De Grandhomme and Santner (who still has never taken a first-class fourfer).

On a player v player basis in my fantasy selection world, I think it's likely that, prior to the last Test, England would have stuck with Buttler and opted for him over Watling.

Who would New Zealand have chosen given a free choice? Foakes maybe.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/50558132

Didn't he also get nominated for the New Zealand one?

Boult and world's best CDG out of the second test then

Evens the balance a little, though Boult contributed little in the opening test. Bit of rain around for this test increases the chances of a draw.

Gooseberry wrote:https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/50558132

Didn't he also get nominated for the New Zealand one?

Nominated for New Zealander of the year

Looks like Matt Henry and Daryl Mitchell coming in.

Henry makes sense ahead of Ferguson if they want a more like-for-like replacement for Boult, though I am surprised Neesham wasn't called up ahead of Mitchell.

I guess the concern with Ferguson is that he might not be able to bowl 42 overs in an innings at full tilt

Buttler a small injury doubt, which would see Pope wearing the gloves and Crawley coming in

Wasnt Bairstow added to the squad already?

Gooseberry wrote:Wasnt Bairstow added to the squad already?

He was added to the squad but I believe he left it and presumably came home when Denly got the all clear.

I would certainly be concerned if Buttler has to drop out. Pope is keen on keeping but Test matches should not be apprenticeships.