Patel increasingly looks difficult to overlook, on his impact alongside the quicks at Edgbaston. He offers a wicket-taking knack that Santner doesn’t at test level, and the latter’s batting isn’t compelling enough to demand inclusion. But it means a longer tail with Jamieson at No 7 and Southee or Wagner at eight. And will Patel trouble India’s batsmen, expert players of spin, on a pitch that may assist him but won’t be turning square?
Rui Vieira/AP
Spin is in for the Black Caps as Ajaz Patel celebrates a wicket with skipper Tom Latham. That’s where de Grandhomme enters the mix, with his tricky outswingers and powerful, game-changing batting at seven, in an all-pace attack which served them so well in the win over India at Christchurch in February 2020. His lack of cricket, and whether he can blaze away against India’s spinners Ashwin and Jadeja, is the question.
New Zealand defeated England by eight wickets in the second Test on Sunday and won the two-match series 1-0 - their first series triumph in England in 22 years. The win pushed New Zealand back to the No.1 spot in Test rankings.The win is New .