It’s time for the Black Caps to turn the screws on England

On Thursday night AEST at Lords, New Zealand takes on England for the 100th time in a Test match. Despite having won only a paltry 8 of the 99 Tests to date, never before have expectations been so high for a New Zealand series win in England.

New Zealand cricket and the term ‘front-running’ tend not to make good bed-fellows, however there are sound grounds for such confidence with the Black Caps having won four of the last five Test series they have played, consequently moving their Test ranking up to number three.

England meanwhile are ranked number five and are coming fresh off an uninspiring drawn series in the West Indies. They are also in turmoil off the field, with a number of distracting matters dominating the headlines – none of which can be assisting a team preparing for a tough three-match Test series.

Firstly, there is the matter of the coach, or lack thereof now that Peter Moores has been escorted off the premises. The Roar contributor Jason Gillespie is touted as frontrunner to replace him, and while this hints at some great columns to come, enlightening us as to the inner workings of England cricket, one wonders why Gillespie would be overly keen to jump into a high profile coaching role where he is told who he is and who he isn’t allowed to pick.

Meanwhile, there is a Test match about to start and it seems like a big ask to expect Alastair Cook to hold the ship steady on his own before the coaching situation is resolved.

Too many words have already been wasted on the enigma that is Kevin Pietersen, other than to say that the New Zealand attack will be delighted that he will not be facing them. There are powerful arguments to support Pietersen’s exclusion, but really, a team lacking in depth as this England side is simply cannot afford to be without one of their few truly world-class players.

As if all of that wasn’t enough, the beleaguered Stuart Broad took it upon himself this week to enjoy an evening out with old teammates Matt Prior and Andrew Flintoff, reportedly arriving back at his hotel at 7am and missing a sponsor’s engagement later that morning.

In that beautifully laconic Little Britain type of way, an ECB spokeswoman explained that, “Broad was scheduled to appear as an ambassador for a sponsor but was unable to attend. We were told it was due to illness.”

Broad subsequently claimed he was suffering from a migraine, which might have been all well and good, except that his mate Freddy had already been across social media trumpeting their “marathon drinking session”.

In isolation, nothing that a few Berocca and a good net session couldn’t fix, but not what a side looking to restore some on-field respect after a wretched summer in Australia and a limp effort against the West Indies needs.

Broad will be soon under the spotlight again when he faces the New Zealand attack, and begins his now customary shuffle back towards the square leg umpire. I have myself moved past the ridicule phase, it is truly sad to see a once capable player poking around like a blind man trying to play pinball. But Broad will need to take plenty of wickets with the ball to restore balance and faith with his supporters.

New to Test cricket is opener and Yorkshireman Adam Lyth who, rather enticingly, becomes England Test cricketer number 666. No doubt there are sub-editors throughout the UK press ready and waiting to outdo each other for the best headline, should Lyth do something notably bad during the series.

As for New Zealand, they enter the series confident off the back of a positive World Cup experience, their recent Test series wins and enjoying genuine depth across their squad.

Doug Bracewell seems likely to retain the third seamer role, which leaves Neil Wagner, Matt Henry and Ben Wheeler, fresh off 5 for 18 against Somerset, as very handy bench warmers.

Coach Mike Hesson and captain Brendon McCullum will be looking for strong performances from Corey Anderson and Mark Craig, who both now have enough Test match experience behind them to take their games to the next level.

The only other grey spot is at opener, and while Hamish Rutherford batted well in the final lead-up game against Worcestershire, he was outshone by a Martin Guptill century.

Coming on top of a recent double hundred in county cricket and a tournament high 547 runs at the World Cup, Guptill seems ripe for a successful recall after two years out of Test cricket. Although he certainly needs to take advantage of any opportunity – a Test average of 26.53 is an incredibly poor return for someone of his ability.

Aside from the always excellent Jimmy Anderson, perhaps the biggest threat to the New Zealand batting line-up comes via a lack of preparation. McCullum and Kane Williamson have been held in India by their IPL sides and Williamson in particular has had very little batting practice in recent weeks. This is no basis on which to approach a Test series in English conditions with a swinging Duke ball.

It is that same ball, however, which potentially provides New Zealand with the edge. If the ball does swing expect Trent Boult and Tim Southee to cause all sorts of havoc among the England batting line-up, and ensure that memories of their collapse in Wellington will quickly come flooding back.

Normally it is unwise to draw close parallels between One-Day and Test cricket, however because most of the personnel are the same on both sides, and because McCullum approached these One-Day matches in the attacking manner of a Test match, it is a valid comparison to make.

So on that basis, New Zealand are entitled to firm favouritism, and should be very disappointed if they don’t secure a series win.

Obviously this series holds high interest for Australian fans, with an Ashes series to follow soon after. If England do discover a backbone and fight out a competitive series against the Black Caps then they may well be emboldened for the Ashes.

On the other hand, if New Zealand hold their composure, play to their ability, and go on to a strong series win, then Australia may not be left with much other than a downcast rabble to play against.

Which leaves us with the promise of great fun watching how things play out over the next few weeks.