ENG vs NZL 1st Test Day 1 match prediction 2 Jun 2022

ENG vs NZ 1st Test Predictions & Betting Tips

England and New Zealand will clash in the first of the 3-Test series from Thursday, June 2 at the iconic Lord's in London. The match is scheduled to commence from 3:30 PM IST. The series is part of the ICC Test Championship (WTC) 2021-23. In the updated points table of the WTC 2021-23, New Zealand are ranked sixth after two wins, three defeats and a draw. England, on the other hand, are occupying the bottom (ninth) spot after seven out of their 13 matches. They have won a single match and played four draws.

A new look England team will be led by Ben Stokes who will be taking over the red-ball captaincy from Joe Root. Kane Williamson has also returned to lead the current Test champions New Zealand. Williamson will be back in the squad after missing as many as five Test matches due to a left elbow injury which has troubled him for more than a year now.

The nail-biting series is set to witness some very interesting match-ups like Joe Root vs Trent Boult, Kane Williamson vs James Anderson, and Stuart Broad vs Kyle Jamieson. The second and third match of the series will be played from June 10 and June 23 respectively. As we gear up for the first Test, I have brought you the best three betting tips from the ENG vs NZ head-to-head encounter.

ENG vs NZ Team Bet:

Mentioned below is the top team bet from the ENG vs NZ head-to-head contest.

New Zealand to win

New Zealand haven't lost a Test match in England since May 2015. The last time the travelled for a bilateral Test series they won it 1-0. England might lead the head-to-head record by 48-12, but New Zealand have been a force to reckon in the last decade. After winning the Oval Test in 1999, New Zealand almost 16 years to win their next Test match in England in 2015 but they haven't looked back since then. In fact, they trumped India in England to become the inaugural WTC champions.

New Zealand have stayed unbeaten in the last five matches between the two teams. England have failed to register a single win against New Zealand in their last five encounters. England, who once dominated England, could only win three out of 13 matches since July 2008.

The Three Lions have also failed to win in their last eleven Test matches. Out of the eleven Test matches, they have lost eight (six consecutive) and settled for draws three times.

New Zealand also lost in India 2-0 before settling for 1-1 draws against Bangladesh and South Africa at home, but they will enter the Lord's match as the favourites. In the presence of Kane Williamson, Trent Boult, Tim Southee, Kylie Jamieson, Tom Blundell and Neil Wagner, the visitors will be at their full strength and will come down all guns blazing against a new look England, who will look to settle themselves in under their new captain.

For England, the experienced duo of James Anderson and Stuart Broad have come back in the squad, but eyes will rather be on the batting unit, especially the openers. Ollie Pope will be seen in a new role - batting at the number three spot, and that would add some pressure on him which may further dent the confidence of the English batting line-up. We predict three early wickets from New Zealand which would put a lot of pressure on the middle-order where Joe Root holds they key for England.

New Zealand will miss the services of retired Ross Taylor and Henry Nicholls might also sit out due to injury, but the bowling core of the Kiwis look intact. New Zealand have won only one out of their 18 Test matches at the Lord's and will be motivated enough to better their record at the home of cricket. The bowlers will decide the result of the first match and keeping that in view, placing your bets on New Zealand would be a great option.

If you feel the same, head over to Pari Match to grab the best odds of 2.28 and place your bet on New Zealand from the ENG vs NZ 1st Test head-to-head encounter.

ENG vs NZ Player Bet:

Joe Root and Kane Williamson are my top two player betting tips for the ENG vs NZ 1st Test. Have a look at it for reaping the best returns.

Joe Root to score over 36.5 runs

Joe Root is currently the number one ranked Test batsman in the world. While most of the batting stars were busy playing in the IPL 2022, Joe Root played few first-class games for Yorkshire and scored 147 in the first innings against Lancashire. England lost the Test series in West Indies but their former captain shined there as well. Root scored back-to-back hundreds at North Sound and Bridgetown. In the third match he scored 0 and 5 as England lost the match and the series.

During the Ashes 2021-22, Joe Root showed grit and character on more than one occasion. He scored 89 in the second innings of the first Test in Brisbane, 62 runs in the first innings of the Adelaide Test and a fifty in the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne. With 322 runs in five matches at an average of 32.20, Root was third highest run-scorer in the series and the leading run-scorer for England.

The Yorkshire batsman is the leading run-scorer in the ongoing WTC 2021-23. Root (1175 runs) is the only batsman to cross the 1000-run mark in the ongoing cycle. Overall, the 31-year-old has played 117 Test matches and is just 111 runs short of joining the elusive 10000-run club. He averaged a staggering 49.19 in the format.

Against New Zealand, Joe Root has scored 992 runs at an average of 41.33 in 13 matches. He has hit two hundreds against the Blackcaps. At home he has scored 523 runs in six matches and averages 43.58 against New Zealand. Root's last five scores against New Zealand are - 4, 11, 42, 40 and 226. At Lord's Joe Root averages 62.50 against the visitors. Considering all the aforementioned facts, Joe Root looks certain of scoring over 36.5 runs in the first innings of the first ENG vs NZ Test. Pari Match is offering the odds of 1.87 for Joe Root to score 36.5 runs in the first innings. Waste no time and head to the official Pari Match website and place your bets on Joe Root from the ENG vs NZ 1st Test head-to-head encounter.

Kane Williamson to score over 32.5 runs

In the tour match against the FCC XI, Kane Williamson came to bat in the second innings and got out on a golden duck. The New Zealand captain and third ranked Test batsman in the world, has played a Test match since featuring in the Kanpur Test against India in November 2021.

Nevertheless, players like Kane Williamson don't take much time to get into destruction mode against their opponents. The 31-year-old had led his team to the inaugural WTC title and would be raring to bring this year's campaign back on track again.

The left elbow injury kept him away from red-ball cricket for a while, but once he enters the Lord's on Thursday, he will look to make up for the lost time. His scores in the last six Test innings read as - 18, 49, 13, 238, 129 and 251.

Kane Williamson has played 13 matches against England and scored 757 runs including three hundreds, at an average of 39.84. However in England he averages a lowly 26.10 when compared to the high standards set by him. With one century to his name, the Tauranga-born has scored 261 Test runs from five matches in England. But his average again improves at Lord's where he has scored 239 runs in three matches at 39.83. Kane Williamson's only hundred in England has come at the same ground. In his three innings at Lord's, Williamson has scored - 13, 132 and 60 runs. The former world number one Test batsman's last five scores against England read as - 13, 4, 51, 22 and 102.

Overall, Kane Williamson has scored 7272 Test runs at an average of 53.47 in 86 Test matches. Williamson, the most senior member in the team, will surely look to take the responsibility and score over 32.5 runs in the first innings against England in the first Test.

If you feel the same, proceed to Pari Match and bet on Kane Williamson to score over 32.5 runs at the odds of 1.87 from the ENG vs NZ 1st Test head-to-head encounter.

My Picks:

New Zealand to win @ 2.28 (Pari Match)

Joe Root to score over 36.5 runs @ 1.87 (Pari Match)

Kane Williamson to score over 32.5 runs @ 1.87 (Pari Match)