New Zealand vs England, 4th T20I, Napier: Preview, predictions, likely XIs

Following back-to-back wins, New Zealand lead the 5-match series 2-1. The lead could easily have been England’s, for at one point in the third T20I at Nelson, they needed 42 in 31 balls with 8 wickets in hand. They then lost 5 for 10 in 18 balls and, with that, the match.

Despite that, England have reason to feel upbeat. They have rested Jofra Archer, Ben Stokes, and Moeen Ali, and even then four of their bowlers have gone for 7.25 or fewer. And three of their batsmen have struck at 130 or more, making up for the absence of Jason Roy, Jos Buttler, Joe Root, Stokes, and in the last match, even Jonny Bairstow.

However, with the series at stake, it is time now for Eoin Morgan and his men to put their experiments aside and lift their game. A lot will depend on Morgan himself as well as the ridiculously in-form Dawid Malan (8 double-digit scores in 8 matches including 5 fifties).

New Zealand have thrived mostly on the success of their all-rounders, Colin de Grandhomme, Jimmy Neesham, and Mitchell Santner. Not only does this allow Colin Munro, Martin Guptill, Tim Seifert, and Ross Taylor to go all out, it also enables them to play that extra bowler.

Talking about bowlers, Trent Boult will be back for the last 2 T20Is to add an extra edge to the New Zealand attack.

Head to head

Despite the back-to-back defeats, England still hold an 11-7 lead. This includes a 6-4 lead in New Zealand.

Key players

Tim Southee (New Zealand): The New Zealand captain has been economical, but his team needs him to provide those early breakthroughs. With Boult and Lockie Ferguson around and several all-rounders around, Southee’s own place in the T20I XI is not an assured one: he will want to do something about that.

Tom Banton (England): Banton lasted just 10 balls on debut, but his 18 runs included three exquisite shots that demonstrated what the fuss around him has been about. His first great innings in the format may come in this series.

Likely XIs

New Zealand: Colin Munro, Martin Guptill, Tim Seifert (wk), Ross Taylor, Colin de Grandhomme, Jimmy Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee (c), Ish Sodhi, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult.

England: Tom Banton, Dawid Malan, James Vince, Eoin Morgan (c), Sam Billings (wk), Sam Curran, Lewis Gregory, Tom Curran, Saqib Mahmood, Pat Brown, Matt Parkinson.

Prediction

New Zealand to win and clinch the series.