Patrick Noone of cricket analytics specialists CricViz highlights three head-to-heads which will go a long way to deciding the result of England’s two-Test series in New Zealand.
Read CricViz analysis every month in Wisden Cricket Monthly
Kane Williamson v Joe Root
| Kane Williamson | Joe Root | |
| Age | 27 | 27 |
| Tests | 63 | 65 |
| Average | 50.62 | 53.28 |
| Centuries | 17 | 13 |
| Tests as captain | 15 | 12 |
| Average as captain | 56.04 | 55.35 |
| Centuries as captain | 4 | 2 |
Kane Williamson and Joe Root, the opposing captains, both boast superb records against all bowling types, with each statistically stronger facing spin rather than seam.
Left-arm pace is a relative weakness for Root – his overall average dropping from 53.28 to 46.05 against the southpaw seamers – which should offer some encouragement to Trent Boult. However, there have been signs that Root is improving in that area, being dismissed only once by Mitchell Starc in the recent Ashes.
With the gloves, Watling’s record is slightly superior, with his stumping success rate 75 per cent, compared to Bairstow’s 66 per cent. Watling has only dropped 9.5 per cent of the catching chances that have come his way, compared to Bairstow’s 12.5 per cent.
| Bairstow and Watling comparison | ||
| Batting | Bairstow | Watling |
| Attacking shot % | 29.6 | 21.1 |
| Average v seam | 37.6 | 36.5 |
| Average v spin | 41.7 | 42.7 |
| False shot % | 10.4 | 9.3 |
| Wicketkeeping | ||
| Catches (as keeper) | 119 | 161 |
| Stumpings | 8 | 6 |
| Drops | 17 | 17 |
| Missed stumpings | 4 | 2 |
