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**joelhesslegrave** · 09-26-2022, 01:33 PM

England vs New Zealand (3 Match Test Series)
England begin their summer with three Test matches against New Zealand, with 3 ODIs against Netherlands sandwiched in between. New Zealand are currently sixth in the Test Championship and ranked third in the world in Test matches, one point ahead of New Zealand.

Squad:
England's squad is pretty much as expected, with Alex Lees and Zak Crawley set to keep their places at the top of the order, followed by Ollie Pope and ex-captain Joe Root. Jonny Bairstow will bat at five, followed by England's newly-appointed captain Ben Stokes. Ben Foakes will keep wicket, with Ollie Robinson returning from injury. Stuart Broad and Jimmy Anderson are both set to play in the 1st Test, but Jack Leach is ill with a stomach bug so there is a chance for a debut for Lancashire leg-spinner Matt Parkinson. Sam Curran and uncapped Yorkshire seamer Jordan Thompson, who has impressed in the Championship so far, are also included in England's 13-man squad.

Full Squad: Ben Stokes*, James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Zak Crawley, Sam Curran, Ben Foakes, Alex Lees, Matt Parkinson, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Jordan Thompson

England vs New Zealand (Test 1 of 3) at Lord's
England: Lees, Crawley, Pope, Root, Bairstow, Stokes*, Foakes+, Robinson, Broad, Anderson, Parkinson
New Zealand: Conway, Latham, Williamson, Mitchell, Nicholls, de Grandhomme, Blundell, Henry, Southee, Jamieson, Boult

New Zealand won the toss and elected to bat first at Lord's, on a flat pitch and under sunny skies, and they made a decent start to the series, with Conway and Latham looking comfortable, and England's bowlers not quite on top of their game. However, Anderson returned to remove Latham, caught in the slips for 25, England hoping for some momentum. But Conway and Williamson had other ideas, putting on 137 for the second wicket. It was the introduction of debutant Matt Parkinson that did the trick for Conway as he offered a caught-and-bowled chance that was smarlty held by the leg-spinner, who then trapped Mitchell in front a few overs later. Williamson found the support he needed in Nicholls, and they took the score past 300 before Broad struck twice in quick succession, removing first Nicholls and then de Grandhomme. Williamson batted on, despite the losses of Blundell, Henry, and Southee for only 39 runs between them, before he was finally dismissed, pinned on the back foot by Anderson. The same bowler then had Boult caught, but the damage had been done by New Zealand, who had ammassed a strong 398 from their first innings. Anderson was the pick of the bowlers with 5-113, but there were encouraging signs in the spin department, with Parkinson taking 3-74.

England knew they would need a good start, but they didn't get it as Lees was bowled by Jamieson with the score on 29. Crawley dominated a partnership of 81 with Pope, who fell in the same way as Lees, and then the opener fell soon after, agonisingly short of his century, Jamieson picking up his third wicket of Crawley for 92. Root and Bairstow combined to restore faith, and they had added 76 together when Southee trapped Root in front. That only brought Stokes to the crease though, as he and Bairstow set about reaching parity. They'd end up putting on 107 for the fifth wicket, Bairstow reaching his 9th Test hundred and Stokes also passing 50. However, after they were dismissed for 105 and 55 respectively, there was little else to come from England, barring a couple of cameos from Robinson and Broad. However, England had gained themselves a narrow lead, all out for 426.

With the game evenly poised, New Zealand made the worst possible start, as Conway edged to slip in the first over. First-innings centurion Williamson didn't last long either as he feathered behind off Robinson. Mitchell and Latham looked to steady the ship, but the introduction of Parkinson proved a stroke of genius by Stokes, as he bowled Mitchell in his first over. Wickets fell steadily, including two in as many overs from Stokes, as Latham quickly ran out of partners. He was eventually dismissed by Parkinson for 80 as the spinner cleaned up the tail to finish with outstanding figures of 5-29, at less than two an over.

With conditions worsening and the pitch becoming more inducive to bowling, it wouldn't be an easy chase for England, and there were multiple play-and-misses against the new ball. However, Lees and Crawley slowly settled into their work and put English minds at rest, who were wondering before the Test how many more opportunities this opening partnership would be given. Despite early worries, the pair began to look more and more comfortable, and made the run chase look easy, reaching 161 for no loss, England making a magnificent start to the series with a 10-wicket win.

England vs New Zealand (Test 2 of 3) at Trent Bridge
England: Lees, Crawley, Pope, Root, Bairstow, Stokes*, Foakes+, Robinson, Broad, Anderson, Parkinson
New Zealand: Conway, Latham, Williamson, Mitchell, Nicholls, de Grandhomme, Blundell, Southee, Wagner, Jamieson, Boult

England were unchanged for the second Test despite Jack Leach becoming available again, due to Parkinson's performance on debut. However, Williamson called correctly at the toss again and, once again, elected to bat first. The New Zealand openers again made a good start, putting 66 on the board, and it was only the introduction of Stokes that began to cause problems. He made the most of it though, removing Conway and Latham in a fiery spell, and Anderson then bowled Williamson to leave the visitors 113-3, in need of a partnership. Despite the best efforts of Nicholls, however, they wouldn't get one. Nicholls fell cheaply and de Grandhomme was pinned by Broad, before Nicholls was caught off Parkinson for 49. From then on, it was a procession, with the last five wickets falling for just 16 runs. Stokes was the main destroyer, finishing with figures of 6-48.

England would have wanted a good start to hammer home their early momentum, but Boult had other ideas as Crawley was dismissed for 10. Lees was looking good though, continuing on from the first Test, but no one could stay with him - Pope, Root, and Bairstow all fell in the 20s. Lees finally found some support in Stokes, who saw him through to his maiden Test century, before he was bowled by Boult. Enter Foakes, who combined with Stokes in a massive partnership worth 226, as both batters reached centuries, Stokes eventually falling for a magnificent 163 and Foakes left 112*, his highest Test score, as England declared on a huge 510-7, wanting to make the most of some sudden clouds appearing over the ground.

They certainly did so, with New Zealand's top three all falling early with only 37 runs on the board, and they were yet to reach 100 when Nicholls' stumps were disturbed by Anderson, taking his third wicket. Yet, the arrival of de Grandhomme, known for his big hitting, brought a sense of calmness to New Zealand as they looked to at least make England bat again. The pair added 95 for the fifth wicket, before the returning Robinson made a double breakthrough, removing Nicholls and Blundell in the same over. Southee and Wagner offered no resistance, the visitors losing four wickets for as many runs, before the mainstay de Grandhomme was removed by Anderson for his fifth wicket. Robinson would be unable to repeat the feat, however, as Broad took the final wicket to fall, New Zealand all out for 197 and falling well short, losing by an innings and 125 runs.

**joelhesslegrave** · 09-26-2022, 01:50 PM

Netherlands vs England (3 Match ODI Series)
After two wins against New Zealand for the red-ball side, an England white-ball squad travelled to the Netherlands for a three-match ODI series, before the Test team complete their series against New Zealand. It is expected to be a pretty comfortable series for England, and they have taken the opportunity to give opportunities to some inexperienced players.

Squad:
England have named a mostly inexperienced squad for the series against Netherlands, with only six of the 15 men selected having more than 50 ODI caps, and the other nine having only 35 appearances between them, with two uncapped players named. Jos Buttler will captain the side after the retirement of Eoin Morgan, whilst Alex Hales is set to play his first international match for three years as he returns at the top of the order, competing for places with Jason Roy and Phil Salt. The squad is rich in all-rounders, with the likes of David Willey and Lewis Gregory getting opportunities, as well as Gloucestershire seamer Ryan Higgins who has impressed in the county scene this summer. Three spinners are named in the squad, with Hampshire spinner Mason Crane getting his first call-up since 2018, and there is also a place in the squad for Durham pace bowler Brydon Carse, who impressed last summer in the matches he played in.

Full Squad: Jos Buttler*, Moeen Ali, Brydon Carse, Mason Crane, Lewis Gregory, Alex Hales, Ryan Higgins, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Craig Overton, Adil Rashid, Jason Roy, Phil Salt, Reece Topley, David Willey

Netherlands vs England (ODI 1 of 3) at Amstelveen
Netherlands: O'Dowd, Edwards, Singh, Cooper, Ahmed, de Leede, van Beek, Snater, Klaassen, Kingma, Pringle
England: Roy, Hales, Malan, Salt, Livingstone, Buttler*+, Ali, Willey, Overton, Rashid, Topley

It's well known that Netherlands rely heavily on Edwards and Cooper, so when they won the toss and chose to bat, they would have been hoping for a better start than the one they had. Edwards was caught at mid on off Willey from the first ball he faced - the second of the match, before Topley dismissed Singh in the very next over. Both bowlers picked up another wicket each, leaving the hosts reeling at 25-4 after 12 overs. Cooper was the only batter who looked at all comfortable, and, though he was able to go after Ali, de Leede and van Beek both fell cheaply. Snater hit 21 in a brief cameo before the returning Willey dismissed both him and Klaassen, finishing with outstanding figures of 4-21 from 10 overs. Rashid and Overton finished the job, leaving Cooper stranded on 63*, dismissing the hosts for a well-below-par 122 from 35.2 overs.

England made light, but slow, work of the chase, failing to get off to the flier that we are so used to seeing from their batting lineup. Roy would have been disappointed to fall cheaply off Snater, but Klaassen and van Beek bowled well and were very economical. Hales and Malan looked comfortable, though, despite not scoring quickly, but the former was caught off Pringle to bring Salt to the crease. He struck two boundaries in a quickfire 17*, along with Malan on 48* as they saw England home with plenty of time to spare.

Netherlands vs England (ODI 2 of 3) at Amstelveen
Netherlands: O'Dowd, Edwards, Singh, Cooper, Ahmed, de Leede, van Beek, Snater, Klaassen, Klein, Kingma
England: Roy, Hales, Malan, Salt, Livingstone, Buttler*+, Willey, Gregory, Overton, Rashid, Carse

England made two changes from the first ODI as Gregory and Carse replaced Ali and Topley, and for the first time this summer, they won the toss and chose to bat. Roy looked to set the pace early by hooking Snater for six, but he was sent packing the next ball as Snater removed him for the second match running. Hales and Malan rebuilt nicely though, really starting to accelerate around the 15-over mark, adding 163 for the second wicket. The partnership was eventually broken by Klein as he trapped Malan in front for 75, an innings which included four sixes. Hales would have been devastated to fall soon after for 99, caught at mid-off trying to go over the top. But the firepower kept coming for England, with Salt, Livingstone, and Buttler all scoring at over a run-a-ball, Salt passing 50 and Buttler finishing on 43* as England reached 343-7.

In stark contrast to the first match, Netherlands started well with the openers putting on an almost chanceless 109 between them. England finally broke through when O'Dowd was bowled by Gregory for 57. Rashid's first three balls all went for four off the bat of Singh, but the spinner exacted his revenge by bowling him the next ball. Soon, he had three more, as Netherlands collapsed from 135-2 to 169-7, and while van Beek and Klaassen did their best, Carse quickly polished off the tail to finish with 3-45, along with Rashid's 4-60, as England won by 115 runs.

Netherlands vs England (ODI 3 of 3) at Amstelveen
Netherlands: O'Dowd, Edwards, Singh, Cooper, Ahmed, de Leede, van Beek, Snater, Klaassen, Kingma, Pringle
England: Roy, Hales, Malan, Salt, Buttler*+, Ali, Higgins, Gregory, Carse, Crane, Topley

England gave debuts to Higgins and Crane, with Ali and Topley also returning - Livingstone, Overton, Willey, and Rashid the men to miss out. They won the toss again and chose to bowl in overcast conditions, but the Dutch openers again made a decent start, until Topley removed Edwards to break the partnership on 44. Singh joined O'Dowd and played well for his 36, until he was stumped off Ali, and then Higgins' mix of cutters and slower balls proved to be the downfall of Netherlands' middle order, as four wickets fell for just 22 runs. When O'Dowd was caught in the deep of Higgins for 75, Netherlands succumbed to 223 all out, with three wickets each for Higgins and Topley.

England were cautious in their reply, but the openers added 63 for the first wicket, before the in-form Hales was trapped in front for 39 by Kingma. Malan continued in his fluent touch, adding 24 in a partnership of 40 with Roy, before van Beek saw the back of him. Salt again looked confident, and scored at just below a run-a-ball, along with Roy who eventually finished 67*, as England completed a clean sweep of the series with an eight wicket win.

Series Review
This was always going to be a series England were expected to win, and they certainly would have been disappointed had they not done so. Despite having an inexperienced squad, there were contributions from everyone throughout the series, most notably Phil Salt who averaged 123 (at a strike rate of 93.9), albeit boosted by two not-out scores. The only two players to have scored more runs than him were Alex Hales (178 runs @ 59.33, s/r 97.3) and Dawid Malan (147 runs @ 73.5, s/r 82.1). In terms of bowling, no bowler played more than two games as they were heavily rotated, but there were encouraging performances in particular from Reece Topley (5 wickets @ 8.2, economy 2.76), David Willey (5 wickets @ 11.4, economy 3.17), and Adil Rashid (5 wickets @ 14.4, economy 4.5). Overall, England can be pleased with their efficient work in this series, but it remains to see how many of the players involved will be part of the squad for the India series.

**joelhesslegrave** · 09-26-2022, 08:07 PM

England vs New Zealand (Test 3 of 3) at Headingley
England: Lees, Crawley, Pope, Root, Bairstow, Stokes*, Foakes+, Robinson, Broad, Anderson, Parkinson
New Zealand: Conway, Latham, Williamson, Mitchell, Nicholls, de Grandhomme, Blundell, Southee, Jamieson, Patel, Boult

After England's 3-0 series win against Netherlands, the red-ball squad returns to action in the final Test against New Zealand, who, for the third time in the series, won the toss and chose to bat. Their openers made a good start, with Anderson proving uncharacteristically expensive, and it took until the introduction of Broad for the opening partnership to be broken on 65, Conway gone for 30. Stokes brought himself into the attack and nicked Williamson off with his first ball, before Mitchell joined Latham and the pair started to form a partnership. It was finally broken by Parkinson, who had Mitchell caught on the boundary, and then Broad pinned Latham lbw the very next ball. The same bowler then saw the back of Nicholls, before Robinson was finally rewarded for some tight bowling with three wickets, including two in an over. Jamieson stuck around and struck three fours and a six, but when Stokes removed Patel, New Zealand were all out for 245.

If New Zealand's start was good, England's was better, with Lees and Crawley appearing more than comfortable against New Zealand's seam attack. They didn't score particularly quickly, but they laid a sturdy platform for the stroke-players below them, adding 91 for the first wicket. It was the introduction of spin that finally broke the partnership as Crawley offered Patel a simple return chance on 64. Lees batted on, at one point scoring at a strike rate of below 25, but giving nothing away, as he also passed 50. Like Crawley, he fell soon after the landmark, but Pope wasn't deterred, even after the loss of Root cheaply at the other end. He and Bairstow put on 103 for the fourth wicket before Pope was finally dismissed for an excellent 119, just his second Test hundred. However, the day was to end badly for England as nightwatchman Robinson was bowled by Patel before the day was up, and then Stokes was pinned to the third ball of day 3. Bairstow was unable to marshall the tail and was left stranded on 79*, as England collapsed from 305-3 to 370 all out.

They had a healthy lead, though New Zealand started well again as they set out to reduce the deficit. The opening partnership passed 50 before Conway was the first to fall, trapped lbw by Anderson. Williamson again fell cheaply, caught in the slips off the same bowler. Runs were at a premium as England bowled accurately, and the partnership was eventually broken by a snorter from Parkinson to bowl Mitchell for 30. Latham fell soon after, shortly followed by Nicholls and de Grandhomme. Blundell and Southee hung around to frustrate England slightly, but Anderson returned again to remove both of them, followed by Jamieson not long after, courtesy of Broad. Anderson then had Patel caught by Stokes to record his 34th Test five-wicket haul, finishing with 5-66, and New Zealand setting England 126 to complete a clean sweep.

The early departure of Crawley off Jamieson may have sent some nerves through the dressing room, but they were emphatically dispelled by the calmness of Lees and confident stroke-making of Pope. While Lees shut up shop, Pope went on the attack again, striking eleven boundaries in his 74*, with Lees finishing on 44*, as England completed another comfortable win, by nine wickets.

Series Review
While the series win against Netherlands may have been considered a given, this was nothing but. Against the team directly above them in the Test rankings, it was imperative that this England side started to fulfill the potential that we all know they have. The under-pressure pair of Alex Lees and Zak Crawley answered their critics fantastically, leading the run-scoring for England in the series with 310 runs @ 103.33 and 240 runs @ 60 respectively. Crawley was closely followed by Ollie Pope with 237 runs @ 79, with Ben Stokes (219 runs @ 73) and Jonny Bairstow (208 runs @ 104) also passing 200 runs. The form of Joe Root is a slight worry (66 runs @ 22), but, as the saying goes: form is temporary, class is permanent. With the ball, James Anderson was England's main threat (18 wickets @ 21.83), but there were also impressive returns for Matt Parkinson (12 wickets @ 17.42) and Ben Stokes (11 wickets @ 18.82). Ollie Robinson (10 wickets @ 32.8) and Stuart Broad (9 wickets @ 33.56) were less effective. The series win places England 2nd in the Test Championship with 25 points, four points behind leaders India.

**joelhesslegrave** · 09-26-2022, 10:25 PM

England vs India (5 Match Test Series)
After the final Test match between England and India was postponed last year, it was rescheduled to be played this summer after the New Zealand series. The series is currently poised at 2-1 to India, with England hoping to save the series by achieving a victory in this fifth Test match.

Squad:
England's squad is unchanged from the thirteen that were named for the New Zealand Test series.

Full Squad: Ben Stokes*, James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Zak Crawley, Sam Curran, Ben Foakes, Alex Lees, Matt Parkinson, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Jordan Thompson

England vs India (Test 5 of 5) at Edgbaston
England: Lees, Crawley, Pope, Root, Bairstow, Stokes*, Foakes+, Curran, Robinson, Anderson, Parkinson
India: Sharma, Gill, Pandey, Kohli, Rahane, Pant, Jadeja, Ashwin, Patel, Thakur, Bumrah

England brought in Curran in place of Broad who was struggling with form and fitness issues for a huge decider against the Home Test team, India. The hosts won the toss and put India in to bat in bowler-friendly conditions, and Stokes' call was rewarded almost immediately as India were reduced to 28-4, with wickets for each of the main pace bowlers. Rahane and Pant combined briefly, with the latter playing a typically free-flowing innings, but Robinson returned to have him caught in the slips. He then trapped Rahane lbw, only for the batsman to be reprieved when the umpire called a no-ball. Rahane reached fifty, with support from Jadeja and Ashwin who both made half-centuries of their own, but Robinson picked up another two wickets towards his tally, with Stokes getting in on the act as Jadeja was caught off a leading edge. Patel and Thakur frustrated England, but India's lower-order resistance was finally ended when the latter was castled by Curran, India all out for 311.

England started poorly with Crawley falling to the final ball of the first over, but Lees and Pope steadied the ship momentarily, before the Durham opener fell when spin was introduced. Pope continued to play with confidence and finesse, reaching a third fifty in as many innings, before he was another who fell to the left-arm spinner, trying, and failing, to go over mid on. Bairstow didn't last long as he edged behind off Ashwin, but Root and Stokes added a mammoth 192 for the fifth wicket, with both batsmen reaching hundreds. It was slow going, but they accelerated massively after the new ball was taken, Root eventually falling for a well-made 121. That didn't deter Stokes, however; with the support of Foakes he passed 150 and kept going. Eventually, both fell, England's captain leading from the front with a magnificent 181 from just 207 balls, with 33 fours. Curran and Robinson added some late boundaries as England declared on 458-8.

They wouldn't have the same early success as in the first innings, with Sharma and Gill combining stunning timing with inch-perfect shot placement as England's bowlers travelled the distance. The partnership was worth 127 when England finally broke through, Sharma falling shortly after reaching fifty, lbw to Robinson. Anderson then regained England's momentum with a brilliant spell, removing Pandey, Kohli, and Rahane in the space of eight overs. Stokes and Parkinson removed Pant and Jadeja respectively, before Ashwin departed after attempting a suicidal run off the spinner. Patel again offered some resistance to assist Gill through to his hundred, but two more wickets for Parkinson and another for Stokes saw the end of India's second innings, as they reached 250, setting England 102 to win.

It wasn't easy, though. Lees fell early and Crawley was far from fluent. India's spinners kept things tight from both ends, putting pressure on Crawley and Pope. Eventually, Pope succumbed to Patel and the run-rate nose-dived even more with nightwatchman Robinson at the crease. Despite Crawley falling early on Day 5 for 40, Robinson gradually grew in confidence and eventually hit the winning runs with a boundary through point, finishing 27* and securing a 7 wicket win for the hosts, meaning the series ended in a 2-2 draw, extending the gap between India and England to six points.

**joelhesslegrave** · 09-26-2022, 10:42 PM

England vs India (3 Match T20I Series)
On the back of the Test victory against India which resulted in the series ending 2-2, England now host the tourists in three T20Is, followed shortly by 3 ODIs.

Squad:
After a rotated white-ball squad was selected for the Netherlands series, England's big guns are back, along with some young names that haven't played much international cricket. Harry Brook is included and could make just his second international appearance, while there is also a place in the squad for uncapped hard-hitting batter Will Jacks.

Full Squad: Jos Buttler*, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Alex Hales, Will Jacks, Liam Livingstone, Matt Parkinson, Adil Rashid, Jason Roy, Phil Salt, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley, David Willey

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