England vs New Zealand Test Series Preview- Can England bounce back after recent disappointments to win a test series?

A new era for England red ball cricket starts on Thursday when England play their first test match of the summer against the current World Test Champions New Zealand at Lords.

This will be the first of a three match test series and will be a good test for England who go into the series on a poor run of form having won just one test in their last 17 matches.

There is a new look to England with new red ball coach Brendon McCullum at the helm and Ben Stokes the new red ball captain.

Last week, England named a squad of 13 for the opening two tests in the series. Back comes the experienced pairing of James Anderson and Stuart Broad after they were dropped from the tour of the West Indies back in March.

Given England’s problems with injured bowlers at the moment, thank God we can call upon the vast experience of the pair.

No Jofra Archer, Olly Stone, Sam Curran, Mark Wood, Chris Woakes and Ollie Robinson to call upon will see the fast-bowling department very much depleted.

This has certainly opened the door for a fresh new face into the mix, namely Durham seamer Matty Potts.

The 23-year-old has already taken 35 first class wickets for the second division side at an average of 18.57.and looks like somebody who could handle the step up into international cricket.

Another newcomer announced last week was another 23-year-old who is making scoring runs this season look very easy. Harry Brook has already plundered 758 runs in eight Division One innings for Yorkshire.

Director of Cricket Rob Key has even hinted that Potts could well be in line to make his test debut for England at the home of cricket on Thursday.

Key has confirmed that Jonny Bairstow will bat at No.5, meaning that Brooks will have to wait a little while for his Test debut.

Nine players remain from the squad that were defeated 1-0 in the Caribbean in March. Six who haven’t made the squad all have injury issues, the seventh leg spinner Matt Parkinson hasn’t been selected and can count himself very unlucky not to be after a bright start to the season for Lancashire.

The problematic No. 3 position for England looks to be given to Surrey’s Ollie Pope. The 24-year-old has had a disappointing Test career since making his debut back in 2018.

He was subsequently dropped during the Ashes, only to return for the final test at Hobart, before losing his place for the series against the West Indies.

Joe Root will move down the order to bat at No.4, with Pope at three, this is a massive call, considering he has never ever batted as high as number three before in first class cricket.

New Zealand come into this series very much undercooked. At the weekend they lost a four-day warm up match against a First-Class Counties X1 at Chelmsford.

The visitors have had the satisfaction of winning in England a year ago, after a drawn test at Lords they sealed an eight wicket win at Edgbaston.

Five key players joined the squad in Chelmsford last week. Neil Wagner, Devon Conway, Daryl Mitchell, Tim Southee and Captain Kane Williamson.

Both Wagner and Williamson were given special time off for paternity leave and will bring a wealth of experience to a talented squad.

Williamson will look to be playing his first test since November after a long standing elbow in jury ruled him out of New Zealand’s Test summer.

Since winning the World Test Championship against India last June, New Zealand have won just two of the six Tests they have played.

However, they will still be a very stiff test for this new England side to face, with all eyes on how Ben Stokes will fare as a captain.

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