Summary
- England defeated New Zealand in the third test by 7 wickets
- Poms secure series whitewash under new captain Ben Stokes
- England prepares for one off test against India on July 01
England’s performances in test cricket slumped over the last two years and forced Captain Joe Root to resign.
It looked like England had lost the plot in test cricket by concentrating too much on the ODI and T20 format. Cricket fans were calling for wholesale changes to England’s cricketing structure but the England and Wales Cricket Board decided to make only two significant changes.
They accepted Joe Root’s resignation as they believed it was time for someone else to lead the team. They appointed Ben Stokes as the new captain and Kiwi Brendon McCullum as the new head coach of the test team.
England has looked a completely different team in the 3 match test series at home against New Zealand. They have played a different brand of cricket under the leadership of Ben Stokes and the results speak for themselves.
England ended up winning the third test by 7 wickets on 27 June and in doing so secured a 3-0 series whitewash against the Kiwis. This was a tremendous performance by McCullum and Stokes who have managed to turn around the fortunes of the England test team in their very first series working together!
With the burden of captaincy removed from him, Joe Root showed once again why he is one of the best batters in test cricket. He finished with the man of the series award scoring a total of 396 runs and taking 1 wicket.
Some of the other star performers for England during this series included Ollie Pope who has taken over Joe Root’s position at 3, Jonny Bairstow who has cemented his place in the side and Jack Leach who took 10 wickets in the third test.
England’s next challenge is a one-off test match against India at Edgbaston. The test will run from July 01 to 05 and the hosts are going in with a lot of confidence and momentum.
India are already on the back foot as their captain Rohit Sharma is reported to have contracted COVID-19 and is likely to miss playing the first test.
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