‌ENG vs NZ | Bethell remains at no. 3 as England announces unchanged XI for second Test

Arijit Kundu
no photo

England youngster Jacob Bethell will continue to bat at a responsible position of no. 3 after England’s convincing triumph against New Zealand in the first Test at the Hagley Oval, Christchurch. Vice-captain Ollie Pope will continue to bat in the lower-middle order and don the keeping gloves.

England will persist with the same XI that induced an eight-wicket victory against the Black Caps in their backyard in the three-match Test series. Bethell, who impressed with a 37-ball fifty in the second innings will continue to bat one drop. As a result, Pope will bat at no. 6 and keep the gloves until Jamie Smith is set to return. 

"They always say when you don't notice a keeper he's done a good job and Ollie certainly did that. He was brilliant last week, stepping into a role he hasn't done a lot of. Obviously, he can keep and has done previously for England, but to step up at short notice like that and do the job he did was fantastic. For him to score runs just shows his character, putting his hand up for the team without any fuss and cracking on. to move to number six, get such a good score for us, and contribute to a big partnership was massive,” Chris Woakes expressed. 

Both captains Ben Stokes and Tom Latham have been docked three demerit points, and all the players from both teams were penalized 15% of the match fees due to a slow over-rate. They were short by three overs each. Although the penalties would not mean much to England, who are already out of contention for the World Test Championship Final, they could be a defining factor in the Kiwis' hopes of finishing top two.

Currently, New Zealand are positioned fifth in the league table with 47.92 percentage points while the Three Lions are stationed sixth with 42.50 percentage points. The second Test starts on December 6 at 3:30 AM IST. 

England Playing XI for second Test: ⁠Zak Crawley, ⁠Ben Duckett, ⁠Jacob Bethell, ⁠Joe Root, ⁠Harry Brook, ⁠Ollie Pope (wk), ⁠Ben Stokes (capt), ⁠Chris Woakes, ⁠Gus Atkinson, ⁠Brydon Carse, ⁠Shoaib Bashir

Get updates! Follow us on

laught0
astonishment0
sadness0
heart1
like0
dislike0

Comments

Sign up or log in to your account to leave comments and reactions

0 Comments