Henry Nicholls back again as Black Caps seek to level test series versus England
Wednesday, 17 June 2026
What: Second test, New Zealand vs England. Where: The Oval, London. When: Wednesday 10pm NZ time (day one of five), live coverage on Sky Sport 1.
Henry Nicholls has done everything asked of him.
Now he’s set to be handed the biggest task of all - step in for Kane Williamson and help turn around the test series against England.
Nicholls looms as the obvious replacement for the now-retired former skipper in the second test at The Oval, starting on Wednesday night (NZ time).
The 34-year-old veteran of 58 tests was a run-scoring machine in the past domestic season in New Zealand, and his most recent test appearance - when Williamson was unavailable in Zimbabwe last year - made an unbeaten 150.
The left-hander looked on the verge of being dropped from the test team in March 2023, but made an unbeaten double-ton versus Sri Lanka at the Basin Reserve, before four failures on sharply-spinning wickets in Bangladesh later that year eventually saw him lose his spot as Rachin Ravindra established himself as a test regular.
One-down in the three-test series after the low-scoring loss on a woeful Lord’s pitch, the tourists received a further setback last week when Williamson called time on his glittering international career.
The 35-year-old was just three games away from becoming the country’s most-capped test player, but admitted he lacked the desire to continue, despite the Black Caps still to complete their tour of England and with test series against India (at home) and Australia (in Australia) also on their itinerary in the next six months.
Nicholls is his initial replacement, but barely makes the top-six batting line-up any younger, as others will also come under the microscope.
Daryl Mitchell and wicketkeeper Tom Blundell, both 35, will feel pressure if they miss out with the bat on what is expected to be an excellent batting pitch.
Mitchell hasn’t scored a test century since March 2023, and while Blundell made a ton in the test win over Ireland last month, he needs runs in big games to stave off the challenge of Mitch Hay and other keeping contenders.
Coach Rob Walter and captain Tom Latham will be hoping Matt Henry will be fit again to lead NZ’s pace bowling quartet. Henry suffered back spasms on day one at Lord’s and was only able to manage 11 overs in the test.
He had a long bowl at NZ’s first training session since Lord’s at the weekend, but if not fully fit, Blair Tickner looms as the likely replacement to join Will O’Rourke, Kyle Jamieson and Nathan Smith, with Glenn Phillips the main spin option.
England’s XI features four changes from their winning first-test side, with captain Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson stood down after breaking team protocols while celebrating the 115-run victory.
Joe Root will be the interim captain, while middle-order batter Jordan Cox and fast bowler Sonny Baker will make their test debuts.
Fellow quicks Jofra Archer and Matt Fisher will also play with Ollie Robinson, who took seven wickets and the Player of the Match award at Lord’s, out with a knee problem, while spinner Shoaib Bashir, who didn’t bowl in London, has been left out.
There could even be a third debutant if Jamie Smith goes on paternity leave, with the birth of his second child imminent, with James Rew standing by.
Cox is likely to bat at No.7 - he was Cox poised to make his test debut on the tour of New Zealand in late 2024 (which Smith missed for the birth of his first child) but suffered a thumb injury when batting in the nets and had to return home. He recently made a double-century in the County Championship for his Essex side.
Archer wasn’t available for the first test after finishing his IPL campaign, while Fisher will play his second test more than four years after his debut.
Likely New Zealand XI
Tom Latham (capt), Devon Conway, Henry Nicholls, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell (wk), Glenn Phillips, Nathan Smith, Kyle Jamieson, Matt Henry, Will O’Rourke.
England XI
Emilio Gay, Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root (capt), Harry Brook, Jamie Smith (wk), Jordan Cox, Jofra Archer, Josh Tongue, Matt Fisher, Sonny Baker.