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England are all set to take on New Zealand in the first T20I of the four-match series at the Riverside Ground in Durham on August 30.
New Zealand are coming from a series-clinching victory over UAE and will be high on confidence. Meanwhile, England will play their first T20I leg after a thrilling Ashes draw against Australia. Jos Buttler will lead the English side against the Kiwi challenge. Meanwhile, Tim Southee will captain the Blackcaps on the tour.
Both England and New Zealand have some prominent and experienced names in their side and would be looking to start their campaign in the series on a high note. The reigning world champions have the services of a few star players in the form of Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran and Chris Jordan. On the other hand, New Zealand also have a wealth of experience featuring the likes of Finn Allen, Devon Conway, Tim Seifert, Mark Chapman, Glenn Phillips, and Mitchell Santner, among other notable names.
T20I stats and records at Riverside Ground:
- Total matches: 3
- Matches won batting first: 2
- Matches won bowling first: 1
- Average first innings score: 163
- Highest total: 195/5 (England)
- Lowest total: 118/7 (England)
- Most runs: 148 runs (Alex Hales)
- Highest score: 94 runs off 61 balls (Alex Hales)
- Most sixes: 4 sixes (Chris Gayle)
- Most wickets: 5 wickets (Jade Dernbach)
- Best bowling figures: 3/20 (Carlos Brathwaite)
Riverside Ground Pitch Report:
The Riverside Ground in Chester-le-Street is known to favour both batters and bowlers. However, fast bowlers tend to struggle at this venue, unlike other England stadiums. The surface becomes slow and sluggish as the game progresses, allowing the spinners to come into play in the later phase of the game. The average first-inning score at the ground is 163, and the team winning the toss would look to bowl first in the contest. Overall, a thrilling and high-scoring game is expected to take place between the two formidable line-ups.
Durham Weather Report:
The weather at the Riverside Ground in Chester-le-Street will be partly cloudy, with very less chance of rain. The temperature is expected to hover around 16 degrees Celsius with humidity levels to be around 61% and the wind blowing at a speed of 14 Km/hr. The spectators can anticipate thrilling encounters without any interruptions from rain gods.
ENG vs NZ 1st T20I, Probable XIs:
England: Jos Buttler (c), Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Will Jacks, Sam Curran, Chris Jordan, Adil Rashid, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse
New Zealand: Devon Conway, Kane Williamson, Michael Bracewell, Henry Nicholls, Daryl Mitchell, Scott Kuggeleijn, Tom Latham, Tom Blundell (wk), Tim Southee (c), Matt Henry, Neil Wagner
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