Before the ongoing New Zealand series, the English Test team won only one match and lost eleven of the last seventeen Test matches. The ECB made a necessary move to rejuvenate the squad. They handed over the captaincy to Ben Stokes and appointed Brendon McCullum as the new head coach. The combination has proved to be a magical one as the England team has regained their confidence. They have a 2-0 lead in the ENG vs NZ Test Series 2022 series after winning the first two matches. Will New Zealand be able to stop this confident England side in the third Test? The third match preview is discussed in this article. England vs New Zealand Third Test: Match Preview The third Test match is very important for both sides as it is a part of the ICC’s Test Championship. England can be very close to New Zealand in the points table if they whitewash them. On the other hand, New Zealand can increase their PCT if they finish the ENG vs NZ Test Series 2022 by 2-1. The third match of the series will start on Thursday (June 23) at Headingley, Leeds. The match will start at 4 p.m. (Bangladesh Standard Time). Both teams have met each other on eight occasions at this ground. England have edged the head-to-head contest at this venue with five wins. Head-to-head record at Headingley (England vs New Zealand)  Match England Won New Zealand Won Draw 8 5 2 1    Source: https://www.espncricinfo.com/ Read ICC CWC Super League 2020-2023: Current Standings, Qualification Scenarios, Remaining Fixtures England The atmosphere of the English Test campaign is very positive at the moment. It seems that Captain Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum have managed everything pretty well. Former skipper Joe Root, Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow have done the job with the bat. The veteran James Anderson, Stuart Broad, and Matthew Pots are England’s premier wicket-taking bowlers in this series. One big news is that Anderson is unlikely to play the third match due to an injury concern. Jamie Overton may have his Test debut with the English side in this match. Predicted Playing XI Top-Order: Alex Lees, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope; Middle-Order: Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes (captain), Ben Foakes (wicket-keeper), Matthew Potts; Lower-Order: Jamie Overton, Jack Leach, Stuart Broad. Read BAN vs WI Series 2022: How Bangladesh’s players fared in first Test New Zealand The Kane Williamson-led Kiwi Test side needs to finish high in the ongoing series with England. Losing the series 3-0 would be an embarrassing result for the Blackcaps. Daryl Mitchell and Tom Blundell have both done well with the bat. Skipper Kane Williamson needs to step up, along with Devon Conway. Trent Boult is the leading wicket-taker in the series with 12. But other Kiwi bowlers’ stats haven’t been impressive. In the final contest, Tim Southee, Wagner, and the other premier bowlers have to show their true potential in order to avoid a whitewash. Two changes in the playing XI are almost confirmed for the Blackcaps. Skipper will likely replace Michael Bracewell, while Neil Wagner may replace the injured Kyle Jamieson. Predicted Playing XI Top-Order: Tom Latham, Will Young, Kane Williamson (captain); Middle-Order: Devon Conway, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Tom Blundell (wicket-keeper), Tim Southee; Lower-Order: Neil Wagner, Ajaz Patel, Trent Boult. Read SL vs AUS 2022: Lankans eye first home series win over Australia since 1992 Weather and Pitch Condition There is a strong possibility of rain over the weekend in Leeds, and this may hamper the progress of the contest. Headingley is a classical surface which offers batters a chance to thrive for a big score. Therefore, the bowlers have to do their homework to put the batters under pressure. The toss-winning captain should bat first on this surface to score a big total in the first innings. Bottom Line The English side will play the match with no pressure as they have already sealed the ENG vs NZ Test Series 2022. This will give a significant advantage to England over the New Zealand team in the contest. On the other hand, the Kiwi side needs to find a strategy to outperform England during the match. This will put substantial pressure on the Blackcaps as the opposition side’s confidence level is currently very high. New Zealand's campaign will need exceptional performances from its players to prevent a whitewash. Read Stadium 974: FIFA’s Qatar World Cup 2022 brings world’s first transportable stadium

England made an incredible effort, led by Jonny Bairstow, in the fourth innings of the England vs New Zealand Second Test 2022 at Trent Bridge in Nottingham, to win the three-match series with a game to spare. New Zealand set a target of 299 runs, which would have been England's third-best run chase at home. Scoring 300 runs on day five is really tough, but England did so thanks to Jonny Bairstow's stunning effort. The ENG vs NZ 2nd Test 2022 match report as well as notable records are discussed in this article. Second Test Match Fifth Day Report: England vs New Zealand England made a fantastic effort by picking up three quick wickets late in the final session of day 4. New Zealand were down to 224/7 at the end of day 4. The hosts didn’t take too much time to pick up the rest of the three Kiwi wickets as they bowled New Zealand out for 284 within the first session of the final day. The target was set at 299 for the English side to clinch the match as well as the series. Had it been any other country, they would have played safe and drawn the match. However, England has become more aggressive over the years, and it was expected that they would go for the win. Read: Brutal Bairstow smashes England to series win over NZealand There was a concern of losing wickets while chasing such a big total, and it came true when England lost 4 wickets for 93 within the middle of the second session. Despite losing four wickets, England had shown real intent to chase down the target from the start of the fifth wicket partnership between Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow. At tea, the partnership made 46 off 52 balls and carried the total to 139/4 at Tea. With the equation of 160 off 228 balls to win the match in the third session, England had to come up with a lot more intent in the post tea session. Two unbeaten batters, Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow, came to the crease with an aggressive mindset and counter attacked the Kiwi bowlers. Amazingly, England had to play only 16 overs in the third session to collect those 160 runs. In other words, England took a T20 approach against New Zealand in the final session, which perfectly paid off for them. Bairstow, in particular, was ruthless and hammered the New Zealand bowlers all over the ground. It took him only 77 balls to reach the three figure mark, which is the second fastest century by an English player after Gilbert Jessop. Trent Boult eventually removed Bairstow when he was at 136, but by then England required only 27 runs to win. Read IND vs SA 2022: India Eye to Win Third T20I to Stay Alive in the Series Fastest Test Centuries by English Players Player Opposition Balls Gilbert Jessop Australia (1902, the Oval) 76 Jonny Bairstow New Zealand (2022, Trent Bridge) 77 Ben Stokes New Zealand (2015, Lord’s) 85   Source: https://www.espncricinfo.com/ An unbeaten 27-run stand between captain Ben Stokes and Ben Foakes for the sixth wicket guided England to a 5-wicket victory in the second Test. Stokes hit the winning run through a boundary. He also played an aggressive knock and was unbeaten with 75* runs. Read: Yasir Ali ruled out of WI Tests with a back injury Notable Records in the ENG vs NZ Second Test 2022 The majority of the records were set in the fourth innings of the second Test match between England and New Zealand at Trent Bridge. The following are some significant records set during the match. 1) Trent Boult of New Zealand became the highest run scorer in the Test format, batting at No. 11. He has scored 640 runs in 79 innings. Sri Lanka’s Muthiah Muralidaran (623) and England's James Anderson (618) are in second and third positions, respectively. 2) English pacer James Anderson took his 650th Test wicket in this match, becoming the format's only fast bowler to do so. He is currently the third highest test wicket-taker with 651, just behind Shane Warne (708) and Muthiah Muralidaran (800). Read Bangladesh vs West Indies Test Series 2022: Major Highlights of the Warm-Up Match 3) Jonny Bairstow played 77 balls to reach his ninth Test century, which is the second fastest by an English player. Gilbert Jessop hit the fastest Test century for England against Australia in 1902 at the Oval with 76 balls. 4) England successfully chased down the 299-run target and clinched the match. This was England’s fifth most successful run chase in the fourth innings and third best at home. 5) Jonny Bairstow’s 136 runs was the third best in the fourth innings among the English batters in winning matches. Read: ICC T20 World Cup 2022: Participating Teams, Venues, Super 12 Fixtures, Top Favourites 6) Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow’s 179-run fifth wicket stand was the third best in the fourth innings for England in winning matches. Bottom Line England's Test team has struggled a lot under Joe Root's leadership in the last one year. Therefore, the ECB made a major decision in handing over the captaincy to Ben Stokes. Besides, former New Zealand batter, Brendon McCullum was appointed as head coach. The Three Lions won their first Test series since January 2021 against Sri Lanka with a victory in the ENG vs NZ Second Test 2022. Jonny Bairstow's knock was crucial in clinching the victory, and he deservedly took home the player of the match award. Bairstow's century will probably go down as one of the most memorable fourth-inning Test knocks ever. Furthermore, Ben Stokes is off to a strong start as captain, with the England Test team looking rejuvenated under his leadership.  Read ICC T20 World Cup 2022: Participating Teams, Venues, Super 12 Fixtures, Top Favourites

England have gained control of the ENG vs NZ first Test 2022 at Lords at the end of day three. With five wickets in hand, the hosts just need 61 runs to win the match. England are hoping to win the match without losing any more wickets with Joe Root and Ben Foakes at the crease. Though, given the way the match has gone so far, another twist is likely on day 4. Let's have a look at the scenario for the first Test match between England and New Zealand. First Test Match Scenario between England and New Zealand New Zealand's regular captain, Kane Williamson, has returned to the Test team for the England series after missing numerous international matches owing to an elbow injury. On the other hand, leg-spinner Matt Parkinson and medium pacer Matthew Potts made their debuts for England. Additionally, this is the first series for both newly appointed Test captain Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum. Here is the ENG vs NZ first Test 2022 current match situation.  Read Shakib Al Hasan's Captaincy Record in Test Cricket: An Overview New Zealand’s First Innings New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson opted to bat first in order to put some runs on the board. However, the pitch was perfect for the pace bowlers to finish two innings on day 1. The English pacers exploited the pitch extremely well and picked up 6 wickets for 39 runs at lunch. New Zealand tried to make a comeback with a 41-run partnership between Colin de Grandhomme and Tim Southee for the eighth wicket. Their stand helped the visitors get past the 100-run barrier. The New Zealand batters were in an aggressive mood in the post lunch session and that helped them score some quick runs. They were eventually bowled out for 132 in 40 overs. Colin de Grandhomme remained unbeaten on 42*, while England's veteran James Anderson and newcomer Matthew Potts each took four wickets. Read Mitchell, Blundell combine to thwart England at Lord's England’s First Innings Unfortunately, England couldn’t take full advantage of their good work with the ball. Like the Blackcaps, the hosts also suffered a batting collapse in their first innings. They lost 7 wickets on day 1 for 116 runs. It took New Zealand only 6.5 overs in the first session of day 2 to pick up all of England’s wickets for 141 runs. England only managed to take a 9-run lead in the first innings. Openers Alex Lees (25) and Zak Crawley (43) gave England a good start by putting up 59 runs between them. But after their departures, England’s innings fell apart, and they continued to lose wickets at regular intervals. Tim Southee picked up 4, while Trent Boult got 3 wickets for New Zealand. Read Litton Das Reaches 12, Highest Ever Test Ranking in Career New Zealand’s Second Innings The pitch became a bit easier to bat on day 2. New Zealand once again found themselves in big trouble at the beginning of the innings. They lost 4 wickets for 56 runs. However, a magnificent 195-run stand between Daryl Mitchell and Tom Blundell for the fifth wicket took New Zealand's total to 251 runs. Blundell made 96 runs, while Mitchell made a century with 108 runs. New Zealand were eventually bowled out for 285 runs after giving England a 277-run target. Stuart Broad and Matthew Potts picked up three wickets each for England. Read Bangladesh vs West Indies Series 2022: Full Fixtures and Squads England’s Second Innings England started their chase in the first session of day-three and they tried to attack the Kiwi pacers from the beginning of the innings. Like in the first innings, the openers gave a solid start for England. But the hosts also saw a dramatic collapse in their second innings, losing 4 wickets for 69 runs. Joe Root and skipper Ben Stokes then repaired the innings with a 90-run stand between them on the fifth wicket. Ben Stokes lost his wicket to Kyle Jamieson after scoring 54 runs. Root (77*) and Foakes added 57 runs for the sixth wicket before the end of the day’s play, taking the total to 216. The pair will come on to bat on day 4 to chase down the 277 run target. Kylie Jamieson has been superb in the second innings for New Zealand. He has already picked up four wickets for the visitors. Read IPL 2022: Meet the Top Individual Performers Verdict  The English team is still in danger of losing the ENG vs NZ first Test 2022 after losing five crucial wickets. Besides, this particular pitch at the Lords is doing the bowlers a big favour. The batters have struggled to shine on this surface because of this. However, batting is becoming more comfortable in the second innings, which is an optimistic sign. With two days remaining, England must be watchful and calm in their pursuit of the winning target. Oppositely, New Zealand bowlers will have to give it their best to take all of England's wickets. That's the only way they will be able to win the game.