When New Zealand last played at Trent Bridge, Tim Southee was in their team and Luke Ronchi in their dressing room. They batted first, scored 318 for four on the first day, 553 in their first innings, and lost. Four years on, with eight members of the 2022 side still in their squad, they finished the opening day on 361 for four but may have an old, bad memory impinging on their jubilation.
“There’ll probably be a few guys in the New Zealand changing room with that in the back of their minds. It’s always there in the memory bank,” said Southee, now England’s bowling coach. “In reality it’s a very different team compared to 2022, it’s different cricket, it’s a different surface,” said Ronchi, still the Kiwis’ batting coach. “That hasn’t really come into it.”
