The series is tied 1-1 and the weather could play a big role in Nottingham, where temperatures are expected to be unusual in Britain of 31 C (88 F) and a dry surface looks good for the batsmen.
England are trying to stabilize after a crisis caused by captain Ben Stokes and fast bowler Gus Atkinson having a night off after the first test win at Lord’s.
They were left out for the second Test – won convincingly by the Kiwis last week – but were recalled for Nottingham, with Stokes reclaiming the captaincy from Joe Root. Wicketkeeper Jamie Smith is back from paternity leave and Shoaib Bashir is as a spin option, replacing pacer Sonny Baker.
New Zealand have lost two key players – strike bowler Matt Henry and middle-order batsman Glenn Phillips – to injury, while pacer Kyle Jamieson is left to manage his workload after recent back problems. Spinner Mitchell Santner has arrived, along with rookie seamers Blair Tickner and Ben Sears, who have seven caps between them.
Teams:
England: Ben Duckett, Emilio Gay, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith, Ben Stokes (captain), Gus Atkinson, Jofra Archer, Josh Tongue, Shoaib Bashir.
New Zealand: Tom Latham (captain), Devon Conway, Henry Nicholls, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell, Mitchell Santner, Nathan Smith, Blair Tickner, Ben Sears, Will O’Rourke.
