England v New Zealand Test Series 2026

[andy]

200'up for England

[andy]

Cox going after Jamieson

[andy]

209 all out NZ win by 253 runs

[sussexpob]

Echos of Neser/Boland with Henry's effort. Just nibbling on tight lines and lengths, and england lining up to get out. Just basic cricket isn't it. None of this 97 mph banging it in, just classic bowling

[Arthur Crabtree]

Blimey, that ended suddenly. Well done to the Kiwis. Turned out to be an ok Test match wicket.

[Durhamfootman]

Well, that was another rather shambolic chapter that can now be added to the history of the Key era.

Another monumental *modded* up

Learning the lessons turned out, as most people expected, to be mere lip service to hold onto jobs!

[Durhamfootman]

Blundell is doing the same thing.... and guess what.... because Brook can't dance down the pitch to stay out of trouble, he keeps getting pinned lbw in front of his stumps. NZ will be doing that because they've done their homework.... They got Root the same way I believe.

and again, I think

[Durhamfootman]

and after Key was so dismissive of keepers who can stand up, this just looks like further proof that Key hasn't got a clue about what he's doing

hopelessly out of his depth

[Durhamfootman]

I know I've banged on about this before, but nobody who spent 3 years masterminding such a catastrophically bad ashes campaign, should be able to stay in post afterwards

[sussexpob]

Duckett was barbecued by his partner in the first innings ; but this time he tried to play against his nature , pretty unhappily , and got out softly. Yet to show that dreadful Ashes tour wasn't the start of a decline. Perhaps he is missing Crawley ...Brook bothers me with all these good starts and not going on

We fault the approach a lot, but I would single out these two out of everyone as people who also have consistent technical issues that are becoming apparent. Brook is still performing acceptably despite the feeling of lost opportunity/not playing to his full potential, so I don't want to seek and destroy him - but his dismissal in the 1st innings is becoming more and more common. Bowlers who can get the ball to move in on a tight stump line can get him playing down the wrong line and being bowled/lbw. India worked this out and got him a few times in 2025, but checking the stats to test my suspicion, he has a very abnormal lbw/bowled rate - 22 dismissals to 36 caught, which for top order batters is huge. And I think people are sussing this out on how they bowled.

In Duckett's case, how many times do we see him attempting to drag balls outside off stump on the pull into the leg side, and how many times does that result in him ballooning it into the air for catching practice to the fielders infront of square on the leg side? I've lost count, he does it all the time. He plays the shot brilliantly when the line is there or the length is right, but he is so keen to unleash that pull he increasingly does it to balls not that short or balls which don't have the width to really pviot into the shot, so the ball ends up in the midwicket/mid on zone rather than behind square leg.

These are issues where I think good coaching identifies. Steve Waugh famously shelved the hook/pull shots for the same reason, he kept hitting them into the leg side field. Brook can be coached to get his head more still, judge the line under his nose better.... but when your batting is based on attitude and not technique, this is what you get.

[sussexpob]

That number three spot remains a problem. Bethell really isn't a three at this stage - and wouldn't be even if he had the advisable red ball lead in (which Cook pointed out should have been required , against KP's contrary opinion.) But who else ? Bring back Pope ?

I would genuinely love to sit down with everyone responsible for his selection, and ask them what the thinking behind it was. He averaged 27 for Warwickshire in 20 odd matches (and 80 odd with the ball), which is the type of the performance that gets your contract set on fire and you searching for a new career at 23 in normal circumstances, far below the performance you expect even from B team players at this level. Someone took this objective fact, and within the same boundaries decided that this performance represented a player who was ready for elevation to the elite level immediately. What possible thinking could this involve? It occurs to me that the only defence you could make in selecting him with his abject record is to justify it on the fact that he wasn't actually trying. He has the potential to score double the runs, but he just couldn't be bothered. Because if he is technically talented enough and was giving 100 percent effort, he wouldn't frigging average 27 would he?

[sussexpob]

Dobell going after Key in the Cricketer this evening. Says he doesn't know how he can continue now... has to go

[Durhamfootman]

Dobell has been going after him every day during this match

I agree with him.

Makes me wonder what input Marcus North had in the team selection for this game. Either it was none (and everyone assumed otherwise) or he's as bad at it as Key and McCullum

[bigfluffylemon]

Looks as if sanity has prevailed and Stokes and Atkinson back for TB with no further case.

The ECB handling of this has been utterly shambling, though not surprising really, given their previous. Pi s s up, brewery ,etc.

[Durhamfootman]

England have been docked 12 WTC points and the players have been handed the maximum permissible fine of 50% of their match fees after falling 12 overs behind on their over rate, even after time allowances were made.

12 overs

we get worried when the over rate on the scoreboard at CLS gets to -2 or -3.... imagine seeing -12 on the board. It's extraordinary

NZ could have been docked points too, because they were on -6, but England didn't survive long enough over the two innings to pass the 160 over threshold required for over any rate sanctions to be applied. They only managed to bat 143 overs before losing their 20th wicket