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The absence of the Kiwis’ three biggest match-winners – Matt Henry, Glenn Phillips and Kyle Jamieson – from the playing-11 at the last moment is a suicidal wound for New Zealand, from which it will be impossible to recover.
New Zealand team entered the Nottingham Test against England without three big winners
New Delhi. The beauty of Test cricket lies in its uncertainties, but when this uncertainty hits the spine of a team in the form of injury, then the strategy falls apart. The same thing has happened with the New Zealand team just before the third and decisive Test against England at Trent Bridge. The series is tied at 1-1, both the teams have a chance to create history, but the absence of the Kiwis’ three biggest match-winners – Matt Henry, Glenn Phillips and Kyle Jamieson – from the playing-11 at the last moment is a suicidal wound for New Zealand, from which it will be impossible to recover.
It is not just the absence of three players, but the end of the winning momentum that they had achieved at The Oval. Let us analyze how big a loss the New Zealand team is going to suffer by taking the field without these three legends.
1. Lack of number-1 Test bowler Matt Henry (bowling edge blunted)
Matt Henry is currently in the best form of his career and has recently become the number-1 bowler in the ICC Test rankings. In The Oval Test, he single-handedly destroyed England’s batting order and took 11 wickets (11/109) in the match. His absence due to calf strain in his left leg is no less than a big relief for the English batsmen. Henry not only takes early wickets, but also puts pressure on the opposition team with the new ball and puts them on the backfoot. New Zealand will miss his absence in every over on the green pitch of Trent Bridge.
2. Glenn Phillips is out (lower-middle order weakened)
All-rounder Glenn Phillips was the strongest link in New Zealand’s batting and bowling balance. When the Kiwi team was in trouble at The Oval, Phillips became a trouble-shooter and played a brilliant century innings (100 runs). Apart from this, his off-spin bowling gave the team an excellent option for the fifth bowler. His absence due to side strain has created a vacuum in the middle-order, which will not be easy for any young player to fill.
3. Rested Kyle Jamieson (huge loss of workload management)
6 feet 8 inches tall fast bowler Kyle Jamieson is known to create fear in the minds of England batsmen with his extra bounce. Although he is not injured, but to manage his workload after a long-term back injury, the board has decided to rest him in this decisive match. Henry and Jamieson have been the highest wicket takers for New Zealand in this series (Henry 12 and Jamieson 10 wickets). The absence of these two means that New Zealand is on the field without its main strike bowlers.
Impact on the result of the series
This loss for New Zealand also doubles because while on one hand the Kiwi team has become weak, on the other hand their regular captain Ben Stokes and lethal bowler Gus Atkinson have returned to the England team. This match of Trent Bridge is very important from the point of view of the World Test Championship (WTC). Without these three big match-winners, it will be like a mountain to climb for captain Tom Latham to challenge the English Lions at home. If New Zealand has to win this series, then a new hero will have to perform miraculously.
About the Author
I, Rajeev Mishra, am currently working as Associate Sports Editor at Network 18. In this role, I am responsible for digital sports content planning, editorial strategy and anchoring. Sports magazine…read more
