England's dramatic Test series against New Zealand is level at 1-1 and James Milton has picked out his best bets for the third Test, which starts at Trent Bridge in Nottingham on Thursday.
Captain Ben Stokes returns to lead England in the series decider but he and his team are up against a Black Caps side buoyed by last week's 253-run victory at The Oval.
England v New Zealand third Test Tips Summary
Best Bet - Rachin Ravindra to be top New Zealand first-innings batter @ 4/1
Alternative Bet - England first-innings opening partnership - Over 32.5 @ 1/1
Bet Builder - New Zealand to win, Henry Nicholls 30+ runs & Under 11.5 match sixes @ 5/1
England v New Zealand third Test Prediction
Best Bet: Rachin Ravindra to be top New Zealand first-innings batter @ 4/1
New Zealand's middle-order batters set up their win at The Oval, where Glenn Phillips and Henry Nicholls scored centuries and Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell and Tom Blundell all passed 50.
Ravindra made 33 and 76, hitting 21 boundaries in the match and he could lead the tourists' charge with the bat in the series decider.
He had a tricky start to the tour, scoring 0 and 8 at Lord's and dropping some straightforward catches, but he is a class act, as England know from his unbeaten 123 against them at the 2023 ODI World Cup in India.
Before the first Test, played on a poor Lord's pitch, Ravindra's previous seven Test scores were 165 not out, 3, 176, 5, 72 not out, 46 not out and 121 and he looked in great touch at The Oval.
Alternative Bet: England first-innings opening partnership - Over 32.5 @ 1/1
England's new opener Emilio Gay has scored half-centuries in each of his first two Tests, sharing stands of 16, 52, 45 and 13 with Ben Duckett.
The hosts should be backed to put on a decent first-innings opening partnership at Trent Bridge, where Duckett has a superb record.
His first two Tests in Nottingham produced scores of 71, 76 and 140 and he made 42 and 203 not out for Nottinghamshire against Surrey in May's County Championship match at the venue.
England v New Zealand third Test Bet Builder Tip
New Zealand to win
Henry Nicholls 30+ runs
Under 11.5 match sixes
Pays 5/1
New Zealand were impressive winners of the second Test and, despite England naming a stronger team at Trent Bridge, the tourists can claim an eighth victory in their last nine away Tests.
Nicholls made a superb return to Test cricket last week, scoring 24 and 121, having averaged 96.66 for Canterbury in the 2025/26 Plunket Shield in New Zealand.
Under 11.5 sixes looks a good bet in a tense series decider, as only nine maximums have been hit across the first two Tests.
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Key Match Stats
Only two of England's last 30 home Test matches have ended in draws
Joe Root has scored five centuries in 15 Test innings at Trent Bridge
England opener Ben Duckett has not reached 50 in any of his last 14 Test innings
New Zealand have won seven of their last eight Tests away from home
Glenn Phillips has hit 31 fours in four innings during this series
New Zealand spinners did not take a single wicket in the first two Tests
Tactics, Form and Team News
England have recalled captain Stokes and fast bowler Gus Atkinson, while wicketkeeper Jamie Smith is available again after paternity leave.
The hosts did not play a frontline spinner at The Oval, but Shoaib Bashir returns for the series decider with James Rew, Jordan Cox, Matthew Fisher and Sonny Baker dropping out of the XI.
Ollie Robinson, player of the match in the first Test, has not made the cut despite having recovered from a knee injury.
Expected England XI: 1 Ben Duckett, 2 Emilio Gay, 3 Jacob Bethell, 4 Joe Root, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Jamie Smith (wk), 7 Ben Stokes (c), 8 Gus Atkinson, 9 Jofra Archer, 10 Josh Tongue, 11 Shoaib Bashir.
New Zealand could name the same team who won the second Test, although Blair Tickner and Zak Foulkes are options to freshen up their pace attack.
Batter Will Young was added to the tour party after Kane Williamson announced his international retirement following the first Test at Lord's.
Expected New Zealand XI: 1 Tom Latham (c), 2 Devon Conway, 3 Henry Nicholls, 4 Rachin Ravindra, 5 Daryl Mitchell, 6 Tom Blundell (wk), 7 Glenn Phillips, 8 Nathan Smith, 9 Kyle Jamieson, 10 Will O'Rourke, 11 Matt Henry.
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
