After New Zealand beat England 1-0, we present a combined England-New Zealand XI based solely on performances across the two-Test series.
Devon Conway
306 runs @ 76.50, one hundred, one fifty; HS: 200
A shoo-in. The standout batsman of the series, Conway immediately looked at home at Test level.
Rory Burns
238 runs @ 59.50, one hundred, one fifty; HS: 132
A welcome return to form for Burns, the only England batsman to contribute multiple scores of note across the series. The series would have looked even uglier from an England point of view were it not for his valuable returns.
Will Young
90 runs @ 45, one fifty; HS: 82
It’s an indicator of New Zealand’s impressive bench strength that Young is unlikely to feature in next week’s World Test Championship final. An impressively assured performance at Edgbaston in only his third Test.
Ross Taylor
127 runs @ 42.33, one fifty; HS: 80
Looked out of sorts at Lord’s where he was worked over by Ollie Robinson in the first innings. Taylor used all his experience to navigate his way through a tricky period early in his innings at Edgbaston before cashing in as his knock progressed.
Henry Nicholls
105 runs @ 35, one fifty; HS: 61
Another New Zealand middle-order batsman who enjoyed a solid, if not spectacular, series. A difficult man to dismiss, he is, from the opposition’s perspective, an irritating presence in the engine room of the New Zealand batting line-up.
Dan Lawrence
81 runs @ 40.50, one fifty; HS: 81*
A gutsy half-century sandwiched between a pair of ducks. Lawrence has possibly done enough to jump ahead of Pope in the England pecking order ahead of the anticipated returns of Stokes and Buttler.
Tom Blundell
34 runs @ 34, no fifties; HS: 34
In truth, none of the wicketkeepers enjoyed series to remember with Blundell and BJ Watling playing a Test each and James Bracey enduring a difficult start to his international career. Another player who demonstrates the Blackcaps’ impressive bench strength.
Ollie Robinson
Seven wickets @ 14.42; BBI: 4-75
Superb on debut at Lord’s even as off-field events overshadowed his performance on the field. Comfortably the standout England bowler in the series opener.
Tim Southee
Seven wickets @ 11.42; BBI: 6-43
An excellent showing at Lord’s where the veteran seamer ran through the England middle-order took Southee to a career-best Test bowling ranking of three, behind only Pat Cummins and Ravichandran Ashwin.
Matt Henry
Six wickets @ 19; BBI: 3-36
One of six New Zealand replacements for the Edgbaston Test, Henry made a mockery of his oddly mediocre Test record.
Ajaz Patel
Four wickets @ 14.75; BBI: 2-25
The sole specialist spinner on show, taking three top seven wickets across the second Test. Patel now has every chance of making the XI for the World Test Championship final.
