McCullum hopes to finish series on a high
Like all good things, New Zealand’s tour of England must also come to an end. The series has provided plenty of entertainment for both sets of fans with a drawn Test series and a terrific ODI series won by England. New Zealand will wrap their tour up with a one-off T20 against the hosts.
England should have no trouble in shifting gears as they chased down 192 in 26 overs at Chester-le-Street on Saturday. James Vince and Reece Topley were added to the 13-man squad, Jonny Bairstow is to remain the keeper in place of the injured Jos Buttler. The hosts probably will come out with the same XI as the one they had in the final ODI.
New Zealand too is likely to stick with the same XI. Captain, Brendon McCullum, will hope to finish off on a high after the drawn and lost series.
Old Trafford is expected to produce a batting-friendly track, but it also generally offers pace, bounce and spin.
The match seems to be well poised with both teams eager to end with a win.
England (probable) 1 Jason Roy, 2 Alex Hales, 3 Joe Root, 4 Eoin Morgan (capt), 5 Ben Stokes, 6 Jonny Bairstow (wk), 7 Sam Billings, 8 Adil Rashid, 9 David Willey, 10 Mark Wood, 11 Steven Finn.
New Zealand (probable) 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Kane Williamson, 3 Brendon McCullum (capt), 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Grant Elliott/Colin Munro, 6 Luke Ronchi (wk), 7 Mitchell Santner, 8 Nathan McCullum, 9 Tim Southee, 10 Mitchell McClenaghan, 11 Matt Henry.