England v New Zealand - Test ground profiles

For those of you who like to bet on some of the more obscure markets or on the run totals, it is always worth looking back at the past Test history of the respective grounds to be used in a series and with Lord's, Old Trafford and Trent Bridge to be used for the England-New Zealand battles, there is plenty of history to examine.

Lord's, London
The Test season begins at Lord's on May 15 as England and New Zealand lock horns and while England are big favourites for the series and while they have home advantage, they will be wary of what often happens to opposing teams at cricket's headquarters - they play way above their usual selves.

The slope is always a problem for bowlers on their first visit and it usually takes time for them to find a line and length. Looking at the stats over the past 20 Tests there - see table below - there does not seem to be any advantage to batting first, with seven wins apiece, while the relatively high average runs/wickets figures, even in the third and fourth innings, suggesting that the pitch is usually a pretty good one to bat on.

However, though West Indies famously successfully chased 344 to beat England there on the final day in 1984, the next highest target successfully reached was just 282, interestingly achieved by England against New Zealand in 2004.

OId Trafford, Manchester
Conditions are always the key to events in Manchester. The average runs per wicket at Old Trafford are actually higher than at Lord's, but when there is cloud cover around, then there can be some pretty low scores and England's bowling attack should be looking forward to getting out there.

Of the past 20 matches, six have been won by the side batting first, compared to five for the side batting second, while the number of draws, at nine, is surprisingly high. That said, the pitch traditionally holds up pretty well, though the highest successful run-chase was a target of just 231, made by England against West Indies in 2004. Apart from that, it was just 145, so you don't want to leave yourself too much to do.

Trent Bridge, Nottingham
The famous old ground has been the scene of several dramatic matches and continues to be a favourite with England players and fans alike.

Not too much in it in terms of batting first - five of the past 20 Tests there have been won doing that, while the team batting second has won seven of them and the other eight have been draws.

The most obvious thing to leap out of the table below, though, is the drop in average runs per wicket in the final innings, falling from a high of 40 in the third innings to just 29, a considerable difference.

England chased down 284 to beat the Kiwis there in 2004, but apart from that, there have been only two other successful chases of targets above 200 in its 54-match Test history.