England have won the LV= Insurance Test Series with one game still to play after Jonny Bairstow’s stunning hundred. As I did for the first Test, here are my player ratings.
Alex Lees – 8
67 & 44, one catch
Lees has looked more and more comfortable opening the batting for his country as his international career has gone on. He set the tone in the second innings with three fours in the opening over to begin England’s sensational run chase and has taken his series average to 39 with his scores in the second Test. He also has a more simple technique than other batsmen we have seen open for England in recent times.
Zak Crawley – 3
4 & 0, two catches
After Crawley top scored in England’s first innings in the first test, he has struggled, most notably against Trent Boult, who dismissed him in both innings at Trent Bridge. He got a good one in the first innings and not a bad one in the second, but must be looking over his shoulder, with Kent team-mate Ben Compton racking up another fifty in the latest round of County Championship fixtures.
Ollie Pope – 9
145 & 18
Pope has probably ended the no. 3 debate for a while, with his excellent hundred in the first innings and has gone a long way to cementing his Test future. Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum backed him in the media and have been rewarded by his second Test century. Pope will be looking to kick on now and show his undoubted ability.
Joe Root – 9
176 & 3, two catches
Root has returned to number one in the ICC Test Batting rankings, with his 27th hundred of his Test career and looks in as good a touch as he has been in since his debut ten years ago. He has ten Test hundred since the start of 2021 and is continuing to support his mate Stokes with a shed-load of runs. A failure in the second innings but the next two players on this list didn’t fret.
Jonny Bairstow – 10
8 & 136, one catch
There had been a lot of talk about Harry Brook coming into the side after Bairstow struggled in the first Test, but Jonny had other ideas. He blasted a 77-ball ton in the second innings fire England to victory and it is his third ton in his last six Tests – people seem to have a short memory and he is in England’s top five batsmen that’s for sure.
Ben Stokes – 9
46 & 75*, 2-85 & 0-62, three catches
Skipper Stokes scores a nine, with his unbeaten 75 combining with Bairstow’s brilliance to secure the series for England. An attacking innings in the first before falling to Michael Bracewell and two wickets in NZ’s first innings added to this and his three catches contributes to another impressive performance from the captain. Hopefully his knee isn’t too bad after appearing to injure it batting in the second innings.
Ben Foakes – 8
56 & 12*, six catches
Has looked in great touch throughout the series and this continued at Trent Bridge. He kept extremely well and scored his second Test fifty in the second innings. Matthew Potts will owe him a beer or two after running him out in the first innings but a great performance from England’s wicket-keeper earns him an eight in the ratings.
Stuart Broad – 7
2-107 & 3-70, 9, one catch
Hard-working as ever, he performed reasonably well during the Test, picking up five wickets. Bounced out Kyle Jamieson and Matt Henry on the final mornings England searched for quick wickets. The first innings was tough for everybody, but he is getting through overs and giving 100% as he always does.
Matthew Potts – 6
1-126 & 2-32, 3, one catch
It would be difficult to replicate what Potts did on debut at Lords, but he kept beating the bat and continued to run in on a surface that had more in it for the batsmen and picked up two important wickets in the second innings. A very good start to his Test career.
Jack Leach – 4
2-140 & 1-86, 0*
A largely ineffective Test match for Leach. It seems to me that he bowls and waits for something to happen. He doesn’t spin it big and bowls at roughly 60mph. Matt Parkinson bowls at around 47mph in the hope of turning the ball and is banging down the door, while Moeen Ali has stated his desire to play in this new era of English Test cricket, so Leach will be nervously looking over his shoulder.
James Anderson – 9
3-62 & 2-20, 9
Another good game from England’s best ever bowler. Jimmy went at two an over in the first innings while others went for three plus at the fast scoring Trent Bridge and managed three wickets. Another two in the second innings along with the Anderson reverse-sweep in the first innings before being stumped by Tom Blundell off Bracewell. He has now moved to 651 Test wickets, a remarkable achievement for the Burnley Lara.
JG Writes 