5 reasons why New Zealand can whitewash England in the Test series

#4 England’s wobbly top order

Mark Stoneman beaten all ends up in the recent Ashes series

Gone are the days when England had one of the best Test batting line-ups in the world.

The exodus of players like Jonathan Trott, Ian Bell and Kevin Pietersen has left a gaping hole in the middle-order, while the inability to find an adequate partner for Alastair Cook has not helped matters either. Only Cook and Joe Root can be regarded as truly world-class players.

Other than that, the top 4 consists of Dawid Malan and opener Mark Stoneman. Those are players who are still trying to find their feet in international cricket. So, as one can see, the wickets of Root and Cook, can often lead to a dearth of quality batsmanship.

Jonny Bairstow, Moeen Ali and Ben Stokes can all contribute but such a shallow top 4 can spell trouble for England on this tour.