England vs New Zealand: Heading into 2nd Test, Kyle Jamieson says Joe Root holds the key

New Zealand paceman Kyle Jamieson said the tourists were making fresh plans to combat star batsman Joe Root as they bid to draw level in their three-Test series away to England. The Black Caps, the reigning World Test champions, are 1-0 down in a three-match series heading into the second Test at Trent Bridge, starting on Friday And that's mainly because former England captain Root made an unbeaten hundred to guide the hosts to a five-wicket win in the first Test at Lord's completed on Sunday. That fourth-innings knock of 115 not out also catapulted Root back to number two in the latest edition of the International Cricket Council's Test batting rankings published Wednesday. Root remains just behind Australia's Marnus Labuschagne, but three places above New Zealand captain Kane Williamson, and could go into top spot if he is in the runs again in Nottingham this week.

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In guiding England to a morale-boosting win over New Zealand in the first Test, Root surpassed the 10,000-run milestone to become just the 14th cricketer to reach the mark. Root has a total of 10,015 Test runs and is 5,906 behind Tendulkar, who notched up 15,921 in a career spanning 200 Tests.

Towering quick Jamieson, who took six wickets at Lord's, was well aware of Root's quality. "He was probably the difference in the game in the end, he certainly batted pretty well," Jamieson told reporters at Trent Bridge on Wednesday. "We will certainly go away and make some plans. We've had some conversations already around how we want to attack him." There was good news for Jamieson too in the ICC rankings, with the 27-year-old -- whose stellar start to his international career has yielded