The third and final Test of the series between England and New Zealand will be played at Headingley in Leeds from June 23. England currently leads the series by a 2-0 margin.

After winning the first Test, both sides arrived at Trent Bridge, where we witnessed an exciting game of cricket. The English side won the second Test to seal the series with one game to go.

On the back of centuries from Daryl Mitchell and Tom Blundell, New Zealand posted 553 in their first innings in the second Test. England, in reply, finished their innings on 539, thanks to tons from Ollie Pope and Joe Root.

The hosts then bowled well and knocked over New Zealand on 284. With 299 to chase in 70 odd overs, the English batters went bonkers.

It was a sensational run-chase from England, and the Kiwis had absolutely no answers to the assault from the hosts. England will be brimming with confidence after that win and will look to clean-sweep the series. The visitors will have to be on their toes to avoid a whitewash and finish the series on a high.

ENGLAND PREVIEW

New Zealand takes on England in the 3rd and final cricket test match of the 3-match test series going on in England. England has already sealed the series win with an invincible 2-0 lead in the series. England registered a win by five wickets in the opening game while they won the second match by a similar margin. The second match was a thrilling game of cricket. After having won the test series by a convincing margin of 2-0, England will be keen to rest their experienced frontline pacers Stuart Broad and James Anderson. It is expected that Jamie Overton will get his maiden test cap in this game. Another player likely to miss out on the Test is Matthew Potts due to the reason of workload management. The hosts may think about bringing in Craig Overton also in case the team management decides to rest both Broad and Anderson for the match.

Joe Root has an impressive record against New Zealand. He has scored 1297 runs from 28 innings with an excellent average of 48.04. He is also in great form with the bat, with a couple of hundreds in the ongoing series. He has top-scored with 176 runs in the series and is the player to watch out for. Another player who has done well for England against the kiwis is Ben Stokes. He has managed to amass 652 runs and has taken nine wickets against this opposition in test cricket. He has been in good form in the series with the bat. Stokes has scored176 runs at a terrific average of 58.66 with a couple of half-centuries. He is also handy with the ball, and England can expect the all-rounder to do well in the remaining test match as well.

NEW ZEALAND PREVIEW

New Zealand, on the other hand, will be hoping to finish the test series on a high note. They will be keen to play competitive cricket and try to take home a win in the final Test. For New Zealand, Cam Fletcher has sustained an injury. As a result, he has been ruled out by the team. He will be replaced by the wicketkeeper-batsman, Dane Cleaver. After suffering a back injury, Kyle Jamieson will also miss out on the 3rd Test. The fast bowler Blair Tickner will be the replacement for Jamieson in the side. Two other players, Michael Bracewell and Devon Conway, tested positive for coronavirus. Their availability for the test match is dependent on their full recovery. The kiwis have not announced any plans for replacing these couple of players from their team. The team captain Kane Williamson missed out on the second Test after he tested positive for COVID, and he is also a doubtful starter for this game.

Tom Blundell has a promising record against England in test matches. He was successful in scoring 274 runs from five innings against this opposition at an average of 54.80. In the ongoing test series, Blundell has been successful in scoring 240 runs with an average of 60. He also scored a hundred in the first innings of the 2nd Test. He is in terrific form with the bat at the moment. Trent Boult has a great record against England in the test matches. He has been successful in picking 66 wickets against this opposition at an average of 24.21. He is also the leading wicket-taker for the kiwis in the series. He has picked up 12 wickets from 4 innings. He is going to remain a threat to the English batsmen. He will have an especially important role to play due to the absence of Kyle Jamieson.

ENGLAND VS NEW ZEALAND MATCH DETAILS:

Match: England vs. New Zealand, 3rd Test, New Zealand tour of England, 2022
Date and Time: June 23 June 23, Thursday – June 27 Monday, 2022, 03:30 PM IST
Venue: Headingley, Leeds

ENGLAND VS NEW ZEALAND PITCH REPORT

The pitch at Headingley looks good for batting. The batters can start playing their strokes freely once they spend some time in the middle. The bowlers will get some lateral movement off the surface and will have to hit the right areas. Overall, it’s a good surface to bat on.

ENGLAND VS NEW ZEALAND WEATHER FORECAST

Temperatures in Leeds on the opening day of the Test are expected to range between 16 and 28 degrees Celsius. There will be a cloud cover throughout the course of the next five days.

ENGLAND VS NEW ZEALAND IS PROBABLE XI

ENGLAND

Ollie Pope and Joe Root scored centuries in the first innings of their last game. The bowlers bowled brilliantly and knocked over the Kiwis on 284.

Jonny Bairstow went bonkers as he smashed 136 off just 72 balls and was well-supported by Ben Stokes (75* off 70 balls).

PROBABLE XI

Zak Crawley, Alex Lees, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes (c), Ben Foakes (wk), Matthew Potts, Jamie Overton, Stuart Broad, Jack Leach

NEW ZEALAND

Daryl Mitchell and Tom Blundell continued their rich form with the bat as they each notched up tons in the first innings of the second Test. Trent Boult picked up eight wickets in the match, but they failed to defend the total.

PROBABLE XI

Tom Latham, Will Young, Kane Williamson (c), Henry Nicholls, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell (wk), Tim Southee, Neil Wagner, Matt Henry, Trent Boult, Ajaz Patel

ENGLAND VS NEW ZEALAND MATCH PREDICTION

England has looked brilliant so far and will look to whitewash the series. New Zealand needs to be at its absolute best to finish the series on a high.

England looks like a settled unit and has the winning momentum behind them. It won’t be a surprise if they beat New Zealand in the final game of the series as well.

Prediction: England to win this encounter.