Key events
I didn’t get a moment to note it, but right at the start of Sky’s show, Nick Knight congratulated Katherine Sciver-Brunt on her OBE; “You can bow down,” she laughed.
But more seriously, what an individual she is. We’re lucky to have her.
With no championship points to snaffle and a T20 World Cup in Bangladesh imminent in October, both sides have space to experiment. I’m sure that’s one reason England have gone with three tweakers, but when you look at them – Sophie Ecclestone, Sarah Glenn and Charlie Dean – how can you not?
Heather Young would also have batted, but she thinks the track is a bit dry so should spin at some point. Her players have mainly been playing T20, but they’re well into the season and there’ve been some good performances during it. Otherwise, with Kate Cross absent injured, she’s gone for Lauren Bell, Lauren Filer and three spinners; Nat Sciver won’t bowl her full allocation because she’s nursing a knock.
It’s a young group, she said, but it’s time for them to take those good positions – that they had in the recent series – and converting them into victories.
New Zealand win the toss and will bat!
Sophie Devine thinks it’s a good, fresh wicket, so NZ want first go at it in order to put England under pressure.
It’s an absolute roaster in Durham; the ground must look an absolute joy. I can’t lie, when I got to cover the 2013 men’s Ashes Test, there, simply being in Chester-le-Street was the realisation of a dream – no doubt other Panini veterans and Bryan Robson fans will understand. But then the cricket started and SJ Broad went mad.
Preamble
It’s been a decent few months for England. Though they were walloped by India in the one-off Test at the end of the year, they won the preceding T20 series, then did likewise in New Zealand in both T20 and ODI – convincingly.
Then, at the start of the English not-quite-winter, they stuffed Pakistan in both formats, and now New Zealand return for what should be an entertaining tussle. Though it was not close the last time the teams met, in various of the matches there were times things might’ve gone the other way and Sophie Devine, the White Ferns captain, missed four of the eight contests, scoring an undefeated century in the last of them – an ODI her side won convincingly. Or, in other words, with her around anything is possible – especially when Suzie Bates is there too.
England, meanwhile, now have sufficient depth in their batting such that in almost every game, one of them – at least – does the necessary. And they have their own inspirational skipper too, Heather Knight cajoling the best from her charges while also taking charge, setting the tone in the middle whether making runs or galvanising fielders.
Of course, the hosts are still warm favourites, but the tourists arrive in England with matchwinning talent in their ranks – plenty of it – and with plenty of scope for improvement. This should be a lot of fun.
Play: 1pm BST
