Preview: England vs. New Zealand - Third Test prediction, squads, start time, Trent Bridge pitch lowdown

England will be looking for an immediate response after an inexperienced side suffered a 253-run loss to New Zealand in the second Test at the Oval.

With the series now tied at 1-1, this game at Trent Bridge is the decider and England are set to welcome back several of their top stars.

Match preview

The biggest news heading into this game surrounds Ben Stokes, who is set to captain England once again after he and Gus Atkinson were made unavailable for the second Test.

Stokes and Atkinson were out at a London nightclub celebrating England's victory in the first Test when an incident led to a member of the team's security staff getting struck by a Saracens rugby player.

The pair had stayed out beyond England's midnight curfew and were stood down from the second Test while an investigation was carried out.

That investigation has now concluded and the ECB have stated that the pair "breached specific contractual obligations that require England players to at all times maintain the highest standards of conduct and act in the best interests of England cricket", but were not to blame for the "violent conduct.

Both players have been given a written warning and been named in the squad for the decider, with Stokes taking back the captaincy from Joe Root.

Those returns, coupled with seamer Ollie Robinson and wicketkeeper Jamie Smith also being available, will come as a huge boost for England.

New Zealand, meanwhile, will be delighted with their performance at the Oval after suffering a 115-run defeat in the first Test on a difficult Lord's pitch.

Matt Henry was outstanding, picking up 5-80 in the first innings and 6-29 in the second, having been hampered by a hamstring issue and back spasms during the Lord's Test.

Henry Nicholls also impressed after being tasked with replacing the great Kane Williamson at No.3, scoring a sublime 121 in the second innings.

Batting all-rounder Glenn Phillips was the standout in the first innings, notching his maiden Test century.

However, it is worth noting that the Kiwis have failed to beat England in their last five Tests at Trent Bridge, with their last win coming all the way back in 1986.

Squad News

England have made several changes to their squad, with Stokes and Atkinson returning and James Rew and Sonny Baker getting dropped.

Both Rew and Baker made their debuts at the Oval, with Rew a late addition to the team after Smith dropped out of the side due to the birth of his second child.

23-year-old quick Baker did okay, picking up 3-161 in the match, while Rew struggled behind the stumps and managed scores of just 24 and 15.

Smith will come back into the side as wicketkeeper, while Stokes is set to replace Jordan Cox at No.7.

Robinson is set to be fit after missing the second Test with a knee issue and is expected to compete with Atkinson for a spot in the seam attack alongside Jofra Archer, Josh Tongue and Stokes.

England could also recall Shoaib Bashir, having gone without a spinner for the Oval Test.

New Zealand are likely to keep faith with the same side that won the second Test, with captain Tom Latham and Devon Conway continuing their partnership at the top of the order.

Nicholls, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell and Phillips will make up the middle order.

Henry will continue leading a fearsome bowling attack, with support from Kyle Jamieson, Will O'Rourke and Nathan Smith.

England squad:

Ben Stokes (c), Rehan Ahmed, Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Jordan Cox (wk), Ben Duckett, Matthew Fisher, Emilio Gay, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Jamie Smith (wk), Josh Tongue

New Zealand squad:

Tom Latham (c), Tom Blundell (wk), Devon Conway, Zak Foulkes, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Will O'Rourke, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Nathan Smith, Blair Tickner, Will Young

When will the third England vs New Zealand Test start?

The match is scheduled to get underway at 11:00am local time on Thursday morning.

Trent Bridge pitch update

In the most recent Test at Trent Bridge, England racked up 565-5 declared with Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope all scoring centuries in an innings victory over Zimbabwe.

We also saw both sides score more than 400 in the 2024 Test between England and the West Indies, while both England and New Zealand scored more than 500 in their first innings in 2022 so it is fair to say Trent Bridge is a good ground for batting.

However, spin did play a major role in the latest County Championship match at Trent Bridge, which saw Nottinghamshire beat Essex by an innings and 52 runs.

Left-arm spinner Liam Patterson-White picked up match figures of 9-109 for Nottinghamshire, while Essex off-spinner Simon Harmer picked up 5-165.

We say: England to win

England will have a much stronger and more experienced side for this Test, which should mean they get the win.

However, New Zealand will be full of confidence after their win at the Oval and it remains to be seen what effect the off-field issues will have on England.