With the series tied at 1-1, the weather in Nottingham is likely to play a big role, with UK temperatures expected to be a rare 31 degrees Celsius (88 degrees Fahrenheit) and a dry surface looking to favor the batsmen.
England are struggling to stabilize themselves after a night in which captain Ben Stokes and fast bowler Gus Atkinson sparked a crisis following their first Test win at Lord’s.
They were dropped for the second Test – which New Zealand won convincingly last week – but were recalled to Nottingham, with Stokes taking back the captaincy from Joe Root. With wicketkeeper Jamie Smith on paternity leave, Shoaib Bashir has been the backup option in place of pacer Sonny Baker.
New Zealand have lost two key players through injury – batsman Matt Henry and middle-order batsman Glenn Phillips – while pacer Kyle Jamieson is left to handle his workload after a recent back problem. Spinner Mitchell Santner was joined, as were rookie seamers Blair Tickner and Ben Sears, who played a combined seven Tests.
team:
England: Ben Duckett, Emilio Gay, Jacob Besser, Joe Root, Harry Brooke, Jamie Smith, Ben Stokes (captain), Gus Atkinson, Jofra Archer, Josh Tonge, Shoaib Bashir.
New Zealand: Tom Latham (captain), Devon Conway, Henry Nicholls, Lachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell, Mitchell Santner, Nathan Smith, Blair Tickner, Ben Sears, Will O’Rourke.
