England vs New Zealand Cricket 1st Test preview Updated for March 2025

Updated: 17th March 2025

England vs New Zealand Cricket 1st Test preview – Lords Cricket Ground on June 2nd, 2021 – 10:00 hrs GMT

England commence a hectic summer schedule when they host the first of a two-Test match series against New Zealand at the Lords Cricket Ground on June 2nd, Wednesday.

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For the visiting Kiwis, the twin Tests will be a confidence building measure ahead of their World Test Championship final against India. England head into the Lords Test after suffering a 1-3 loss in unfamiliar spinning conditions of Indian wickets during the February-March period.

The Kiwis on the other hand, have had an overwhelmingly good series at home in December 2020 with a 2-0 thrashing of the West Indies that catapulted them to the second spot of the ICC Test rankings.

Team News

England: Wicketkeeper Ben Foakes was in good nick on the Indian tour but may miss out on his first Test cap on home soil after picking up an injury.

Ace all-rounder Ben Stokes and talented quickie Jofra Archer will miss this series on account of long-term injuries. While Stokes broke a finger during the IPL 2021 action in India, Archer carried an elbow problem from the same tournament.

James Anderson who is currently is England’s all-time top wicket-taker at Lord’s will be keen to make a mark in this clash. It will be interesting to see if England persists with rotating him and Stuart Broad.

Olly Robinson and James Bracey could be handed debut call-ups for the Lords' Test, having made good starts to the County Championship season. As usual, the hosts will rely on their world class skipper Joe Root to shoulder the batting alone in the absence of Stokes.

New Zealand: Kane Williamson the New Zealand skipper who was in crushing form against the Windies followed it up with some excellent touch in the IPL 2021. He could be well be a thorn in the side of English bowling in this kind of form.

The towering genuine fast bowler Kyle Jamieson could find lot of joy on the Lord’s wicket, especially from the Pavilion End. Dangerous Kiwi left-arm seamer Trent Boult has an impressive record in English conditions and will enjoy his return to Lord’s. Boult has 47 scalps to his name from just 19 matches across all formats in England. In Test matches he boasts two 5-wicket hauls in four matches.

England probable starting XI: Burns (wicket keeper), Sibley, Crawley, Root, Pope, Foakes, Overton, Broad, Anderson, Leach, Stone.

New Zealand probable XI: Latham (wicket keeper), Blundell, Williamson, Taylor, Nicholls, Watling, Mitchell, Wagner, Southee, Henry, Boult.

Pitch conditions: Once again it will be a mixture of seam and swing bowling that could worry the batsman at Lords. The surface should get friendlier for the batsmen once the initial conditions favouring the moving ball are seen off.

Weather conditions: Temperatures could pick up heading into this clash but there is still a chance of mixed weather or the occasional rain shower.

Head-to-Head (Last 5 Matches)

Match drawn – 29 November 2019;

New Zealand won by an innings and 65 runs – 21 November 2019;

Match drawn – 30 March 2018;

New Zealand won by an innings and 49 runs – 22 March 2018;

New Zealand won by 199 runs – 29 May 2015.

[su_panel color=”#000000″ border=”4px solid #16a012″ shadow=”3px 3px 2px #eeeeee” radius=”4″]From the looks of it and their strong history against England, New Zealand look the favourites over and above being the stronger team on paper.[/su_panel]

Bookmaker odds

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All the bookmakers online odds quoted were correct as of 28/05/2021 and are subject to change.

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England to win: 5/6

New Zealand to win: 9/4′

Draw: 4/1

Top England batsman

Joe Root: 9/4

Zak Crawley: 9/2

Ollie Pope: 9/2

Rory Burns: 5/1

Dominic Sibley: 5/1

Top New Zealand batsman (PaddyPower odds)

Kane Williamson: 15/8

Tom Latham: 7/2

Ross Taylor: 9/2

Henry Nicholls: 6/1

BJ Watling: 10/1

Top England bowler (PaddyPower odds)

James Anderson: 15/8

Stuart Broad: 15/8

Mark Wood: 3/1

Jack Leach: 11/2

Top New Zealand bowler (BetFred odds)

Trent Boult: 9/4

Tim Southee: 5/2

Neil Wagner: 11/4

Matt Henry: 7/2

Highest Opening Partnership (SkyBet odds)

England: 10/11

New Zealand: 10/11

Man of the Match odds

Joe Root: 8/1

Kane Williamson: 1/7

James Anderson: 9/1

Tent Boult: 10/1

Stuart Broad: 10/1

Tim Southee: 14/1

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