England Vs New Zealand Betting Tips & Predictions
Taking place across November and December, England conclude their Test duties for the year with a three-match series in New Zealand.
Ben Stokes' team will be looking for a response after their 2-1 series defeat to Pakistan in October, whereas New Zealand's last Test series endeavour finished in an historic 3-0 sweep of hosts India earlier this month.
The first Test of the three-match series will start at 10pm GMT on Wednesday 27th November at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch.
Tip 1 - New Zealand to win first Test @ 21/20
It is fair to say New Zealand's Test team may have already peaked in 2024.
Their eye-catching 3-0 series sweep of India in October ended the home side's run of 18 consecutive home series wins in the format - a record which went back to 2012.
Building on that is now key and the Kiwis look capable of following up with victory over England, at least in the first Test of the series.
This is bowler Tim Southee's last series before he retires from Test cricket and New Zealand will want to give the veteran bowler the appropriate send-off.
And the way they handled conditions in India in their most recent Test series was seriously admirable.
Their series began with them bowling India out for just 46 in the first Test and their bowlers could cause plenty of problems for an England batting line-up lacking in experience.
Jacob Bethell has come into the Test squad along with Jordan Cox, with wicketkeeper Jamie Smith set to miss out due to the birth of his first child.
That alone weakens England's batting options and they are not helped by the adverse form of Ollie Pope or the fact that Stokes is still finding his feet back in the side.
England lost both of their away Test series this year against India and Pakistan and they may not fare much better in New Zealand.
Tip 2 - Rachin Ravindra top New Zealand first-innings runscorer @ SP
Will Young was named player of the series in New Zealand's triumph over India, but another batter to keep an eye on in this series is Rachin Ravindra.
Ravindra did not have the most explosive Test series performance of his career against India, although he contributed 173 runs in the first Test and 74 in the second.
Crucially, he is a consistent presence at the crease with an average of 42.18 in the Test format and some of his best performances have come on home soil, including a ridiculous 240 against South Africa at Mount Maunganui and 82 against Australia in Christchurch.
He is worth a bet to be his team's top runscorer in their first innings.
Tip 3 - Ben Duckett top England first-innings runscorer @ SP
As far as England batters go, it is hard to find a consistent dangerman at the crease in Test cricket, but Ben Duckett could rise to the challenge in New Zealand.
As mentioned, there is less experience in this England Test squad and with Pope and Stokes not at their best, there could be more pressure on Duckett to deliver.
In the team's 2-1 series defeat to Pakistan, the left-hander made scores of 84, 114 and 64 across the three Tests and his average of 40.98 in the format should not be dismissed.
He scored a total of 151 runs across two Tests with New Zealand back in February 2023 and is a decent pick to be England's top runscorer in the first match of this series.