As England prepare for their first Test match under new head coach Chris Silverwood, XAVIER VOIGT-HILL looks at five key things to watch out for as Mount Maunganui hosts its inaugural Test this week
Thursday's opening over will be the first in Test cricket at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui, with the coastal city rewarded for its decade of hosting domestic fixtures for Northern Districts and white-ball internationals by becoming New Zealand's ninth men's Test venue.
It will be something of a homecoming for Blackcaps skipper Kane Williamson, who hails from just two bridges away in more inner-city Tauranga. He will be keen to replicate the form from his one and only first-class appearance at the ground to date, as he top-scored with 83 as his side strolled a chase against Otago last October after 21 wickets tumbled on the opening day.
As for what we can expect from the ground, that particular day of seamers thriving in overcast conditions is unlikely to repeat itself this week. A third of sides batting first in red-ball matches have gone on to pass the 400 mark in their first innings, and the forecast is fair for the opening day (around 20 degrees) and only set to improve as the Test goes on.
If batsmen are able to get on top of the seamers in these conditions, there are plenty of runs to be had, as Central Districts batsman Brad Schmulian demonstrated by reaching a ground-best 203 on his first-class debut in 2017.
The Bay Oval will be hosting its first Test match after several men's and women's white-ball international fixtures
The idea of Jofra Archer and Lockie Ferguson tearing in on Thursday is both impossibly tantalising and increasingly likely, with both having broken into their respective squads across all formats after setting the World Cup alight five months ago.
Between them, the fearsome quicks claimed 41 wickets in the tournament, and only the hauls of the comparatively veteran Mitchell Starc and Mustafizur Rahman came anywhere close. The Test arena, however, could play host to their greatest battle yet.
Of course, this could all turn out to simply be the premature bluster of an adrenaline junkie hunting for sheer speed: having made the squad, the uncapped Ferguson now needs to find his way into a Blackcaps seam attack boasting the formidable might of Trent Boult, Tim Southee, Neil Wagner and Matt Henry; although he managed five wickets, Archer's three-day outing against New Zealand A in Whangarei last week was his maiden first-class appearance outside of England and Wales.
Nevertheless, we can but dream, and with these two looking to make a real lasting splash at Test level there is every chance things could kick off at a brisk rate come Thursday morning.
The latest chapter in England's never-ending search for Test openers will continue this week as either Dom Sibley or Zak Crawley will debut and become the nineteenth man to get a go up top since Andrew Strauss retired in 2012.
With Jason Roy quickly discarded and Joe Denly set to bat at three to accommodate Joe Root at four, hundreds for both newcomers in the opening red-ball tour match in Whangarei last week have kept Chris Silverwood's options open, but it is most likely that Sibley will join former Surrey colleague Rory Burns after leading all County Championship batsmen with 1,324 runs in 13 outings this season.
Rory Burns and an 18-year-old Dom Sibley put on an opening partnership of 171 against Yorkshire at The Oval in 2013
At least for the time being, Burns can be certain of his place by virtue of his 390 runs in this summer's Ashes being an innings away from eclipsing the series total of the five other openers combined, but the prospect of a Burns-Sibley reunification is highly promising.
In their 10 County Championship matches opening together before Sibley's departure for Warwickshire mid-way through 2017, the pair managed an average partnership just shy of 56 in 21 overs, individually mustering over 40 apiece.
If this form can be replicated – and with Sam Curran and Ollie Pope also prime candidates for middle-order spots – it could be another big fillip for the Oval's youth pipeline.
It has barely been nine weeks since England sealed a drawn Ashes series at the Oval despite the very best efforts of Matthew Wade, but there has been plenty of opportunity for change behind the scenes in the aftermath of the somewhat mixed home summer.
Head coach Trevor Bayliss has stepped aside, and instead of enjoying the Tauranga sunshine he is instead at the helm of Team Abu Dhabi for their inaugural T10 League campaign. He's taken Moeen Ali with him too, while Jason Roy is back in T20 mode in the Mzansi Super League, and Craig Overton and Jonny Bairstow have been deemed surplus to requirements.
Former bowling coach Chris Silverwood now takes the reins and, much like the Bayliss era prioritised white-ball prosperity, Test success and the “holy grail” of an Ashes victory in Australia in two years time seems to be the management's end goal this time around.
After a five-match T20 aperitif earlier this month saw England wait until a nail-biting Super Over before sealing victory over the Blackcaps – where have we heard that before? – only Sam Curran, Joe Denly (who missed that series due to injury) and the uncapped Lancastrian duo of Matt Parkinson and Saqib Mahmood remain with the squad for the Test portion of the tour.
Despite the two-game series not holding World Test Championship status, with the esteemed likes of Root, Buttler, Broad and Stokes at his disposal in a competitive encounter for the very first time, it seems only fair to prepare for this Test series as the opening salvo for Silverwood's next generation.
The opening Test will be Chris Silverwood's first match in charge with senior players like Joe Root and Ben Stokes at his disposal
Of course, it isn't just England welcoming lynchpin players back into the side this week, with home skipper Kane Williamson set to resume his role after a nagging hip complaint ruled him out of the five white-ball fixtures, and World Cup teammates Tom Latham and Henry Nicholls also back in action now the red Kookaburra is in play.
New Zealand have played just two Tests since being edged out at Lord's this summer, coming away with a win and a loss from their August trip to Sri Lanka, where hundreds from Tom Latham and BJ Watling to seal an innings victory in Colombo managed to salvage 60 Test Championship points from a spin-heavy series where neither side truly emerged with all that much else to shout about.
On home soil, however, Gary Stead's side will be eager to hit the ground running in their first match since the visit of Bangladesh was cut short in March in the aftermath of a terrorist attack in Christchurch. With Virat Kohli's world-leading India side coming to town early next year and New Zealand boasting a record of just one loss from their last 15 home Tests, flashbacks to England's 58 all out at Eden Park only 20 months ago will be certain to inspire.
And there is, of course, that little matter of England's victory in the World Cup final – or England's theft of the trophy after a tied tie if you're on that side of the equator – to act as extra motivation.
In short, we're in for a real treat.
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