Betting Week in Review 27/6/2022 – England Win New Zealand Test
Betting Week in Review 27/6/2022 – England is on the verge of a 3-0 Test win over New Zealand with just 113 runs needed with eight wickets remaining. They are rejuvenated under captain Ben Stokes after winning just one Test in Eleven. If England sees out the win, they will become the first team to chase 250 three times in a row.
England in Control Over New Zealand © Pixabay.
England on Brink of 3-0 Test Win Against New Zealand
England’s incredible resurgence under new coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes continued at the weekend. They need just 113 runs with eight wickets remaining today to complete a 3-0 whitewash of New Zealand, the world’s number one ranked Test team.
This new-look England team is almost unrecognisable from the England team of last year, who only managed to win one Test in the previous 11.
Set 296 to win, England on Sunday played with such abandonment that the game was almost reckless at times but proved highly entertaining for the Barmy Army.
Alex Lees was first to bat in England’s second innings. The left-handed batter faced 18 balls and hit two fours before being run out. His opening partner, Zak Crawley, fared better, scoring 25 off 33 balls before being caught by New Zealand captain Kane Williamson.
However, the partnership of the dynamic duo of Ollie Pope and Joe Root has put England firmly in the driving seat. Both are unbeaten overnight, with Pope hitting 12 4s on his way to 81 off 105 balls and Root chipping in with 55 off 80 balls, including seven 4s and a six.
England was already assured of the win after winning the first two Tests, but New Zealand posted a credible score of 329 all-out in the first innings of the third Test. Daryl Mitchell did the most damage, scoring 109 off 228 balls and hitting 12 boundaries (nine 4s and three 6s) before being caught by Stokes. Jack Leach was England’s hero with the ball, taking five wickets for the cost of 100 runs.
It looked like a betting collapse in England’s first innings would gift New Zealand a consolation win. Alex Lees went for four, Zak Crawley for six, Ollie Pope and Joe Root for five. With six wickets gone, England had a paltry 55 on the board.
However, England’s saviour was Jonny Bairstow, who scored 162 runs off only 157 balls, hitting 24 4s. He formed a good partnership with Jamie Overton, who came close to his century before being caught by Daryl Mitchell on 97. Stuart Broad contributed with 42, including six 4s and two 6s, and England overtook the West Indies 329 and was all out for 360.
New Zealand’s openers did well in their second innings, with Tom Latham scoring 76 from 100 balls and Kane Williamson falling just short of his half-century on 47. However, although Matthew Potts did well with the ball, dismissing Young, Williamson and Conway, it was once again Leach that stole the show, taking five wickets for the second innings (Nicholls (7), Bracewell (9), Southee (2), Wagner (0) and Boult (4).
Leach’s ten-wicket haul was the first time an England spinner had taken ten since Moeen Ali in 2017, and he paid credit to the new positivity surrounding the England camp.
“You realise teams I have played in, the way I have thought, a lot of decisions are made around negativity,” he said.
“A lot of four or five-day games, you give up on the win quite early but [under Stokes and McCullum] it feels like you are always pushing for that win, so there is never really too bad a situation.”
“My biggest thing is having belief in myself, and that is what Ben and Baz [McCullum] have helped me with,” Leach added.
