England vs New Zealand, 3rd Test, Stats Preview: Players records and approaching milestones

After facing the beast mode of Jonny Bairstow and losing the series at Trent Bridge in Nottingham, New Zealand would look to win a solitary Test by getting over the line in the third and the final match beginning on June 23, 2022, at Headingley in Leeds. Bairstow demolished the Kiwis completely with his onslaught as the Yorkshire man hammered 136 off just 92 which included 14 fours and seven maximums with England reaching the target of 299 in style and sealing the series 2-0.

Having already lost the series, the inaugural World Test Champions will hope to sign off the tour with a win under their belt. Daryl Mitchell and Tom Blundell have been the star performers with the bat for the visitors so far with the former scoring 373 runs in four innings at a staggering average of 124.33. Wicketkeeper-batter Blundell is the third-highest run-getter in the series with 240 runs to his name. Mitchell’s rise as a batter has been the biggest positive for the Kiwis on the UK tour.

If it was Joe Root who smashed a century and took the game away from the Blackcaps in the first Test, then it was Bairstow’s turn to put the Kiwis to the sword in the second. Nevertheless, New Zealand’s regular skipper Kane Williamson, who missed the last match due to COVID-19, is back and will be available for selection as he looks to avoid a clean sweep for his side. Tall pacer Kyle Jamieson is injured and has been ruled out of the clash. For the hosts, Jamie Overton will make his Test debut with veteran pacer James Anderson rested. New captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum would like to whitewash the tourists 3-0 and begin their new era in red-ball cricket in a spectacular fashion.

Meanwhile, here are some of the important stats and numbers ahead of the 3^rd Test between England and New Zealand:

Head-to-Head: England and New Zealand have met each other in 109 Test matches so far with England emerging victorious on 50 occasions and New Zealand on 12. 47 games between the two sides ended in a draw. In England, both have clashed against each other in 58 matches with the hosts winning 32 encounters and New Zealand just six. 20 games ended up in a draw.

1 – Ben Stokes (99) is just one six away from completing 100 maximums in the Tests. He will become the third batter after Brendon McCullum (107) and Adam Gilchrist (100) to achieve the feat.

2 – Stokes (898) needs two fours to complete 900 fours across formats.

17 – Kane Williamson (15483) requires 17 runs to reach 15500 runs across formats.

7 – Tim Southee (343) needs seven wickets to get to 350 wickets in Test cricket.

6 – Neil Wagner (244) is six scalps away from reaching 250 wickets in Test cricket.

2 – Tom Blundell (48) requires two grabs to reach 50 catches in the Tests.

6 – Southee (644) also requires six wickets to get to 650 wickets in international cricket.

4 – Stuart Broad (546) needs four scalps to complete the milestone of 550 wickets in the Tests.

2 – Devon Conway (198) requires just two fours to get to 200 fours in international cricket.

6 – Trent Boult (544) needs six scalps to reach the milestone of 550 wickets in international cricket.

11 – Henry Nicholls (289) is 11 fours away from completing 300 fours in the longest format of the game.

38 – Jonny Bairstow (4962) requires 38 runs to reach the landmark of 5000 runs in Test cricket.

1 – Stokes (149) is also one grab away from reaching 150 catches across formats.