“It's like firing pea-shooters against cannons” was a phrase in common usage in the 1980s as a generation of England batsmen ducked and weaved against the great West Indies fast bowlers, while England hit back with a battery of medium-pacers. I am not sure what the batting equivalent to being outgunned is, but, whatever it is, it applies to this forthcoming series between England and New Zealand. Perhaps it is enough to say that England have good 'uns and New Zealand have, well, not-so-good 'uns and that there exists a chasm in class that should prevent New Zealand from adding to their four Test wins in this country.

While it remains an eternal cricketing truism that bowlers win matches, it is also true that without runs on the board, even the greatest attacks can be rendered ineffective. Not that New Zealand have a world-class attack, but with Daniel Vettori fit to take his place at the helm again, augmented by a decent new-ball pairing of Kyle Mills and Chris Martin and the frugal Jacob Oram, it is at least dependable, which is more than can be said for the batting. Apart from minnows such as Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, it is difficult to recall a team who have come to these shores recently with a more flimsy-looking line-up with the bat.

Not one specialist batsman remains from the previous time New Zealand played at Lord's, four years ago, a remarkable turnover in the context of the modern game. Mark Richardson has gone to the retirement home for former players that is the commentary box, while Stephen Fleming, Scott Styris, Craig McMillan and Nathan Astle are plying their trade in India. The biggest loss is Fleming, who looked a class apart from his colleagues throughout the winter and, but for a messily handled last six months, might still have been leading out New Zealand today.

Instead, spectators will have the chance to feast upon a line-up that is, by and large, untested and unproven. There will be debuts for Aaron Redmond (he will want to emulate his father Rodney's success - 107 and 56 - in his first Test, but will not want to join him in the "one-cap wonder" club) and Daniel Flynn. Ross Taylor, who has made the journey from babe to senior player in the space of about six months, needs to find his touch after a dreadful start to the tour.

The contrast with England's top six is an unenviable one for Vettori. His five specialists have played fewer Tests than England's least experienced batsman, Alastair Cook, and have only one Test century between them, compared with England's 58. On the eve of tour, John Bracewell, the New Zealand coach, spoke of the need for his batsmen to start “living above the line”, by which he meant above the average of 40 that is regarded as a benchmark in the modern game. All England's batsmen do, but not one New Zealander does.

Had not Vettori recovered from his spinning-finger injury in time, he would have been worth his place in the team as a batsman alone, which says much about his growing stature as an all-rounder and more about the fragility of his team's batting. Not that Vettori sounded cowed by the prospect yesterday. “I've been pleased with the form of guys like Aaron Redmond and James Marshall so far,” he said. “They are very excited about Lord's and they are good enough players and strong enough characters to do well. We've been crying out for a top four who are consistent in this form of the game. If they do it, it can set up the series for us.”

New Zealand's trump card is Brendon McCullum, who will bat at No5 in his normal aggressive style and, Vettori claimed, can make the jump to being “one of the best middle-order batsmen in the world”.

Michael Vaughan cautioned against taking New Zealand too lightly, as a captain must. Confirming both that Matthew Hoggard would be the man omitted and that he, Vaughan, would bat at first wicket down, he said that he expected to win, liberally sprinkling around words such as “dominate”, “convincing” and “explosive” to underline the general conviction that the manner of England's performance is as important as the result.

Vaughan believed that the inexperience of New Zealand's top order represented “an opportunity to exploit”. He welcomed the time that Marshall, Redmond and Jamie How had spent at the crease this summer because it had given England's backroom staff plenty of opportunity to gather video footage. He did not sound like a man about to suffer an interrupted night's sleep.

England: M P Vaughan (Yorkshire, captain), A J Strauss (Middlesex), A N Cook (Essex), K P Pietersen (Hampshire), P D Collingwood (Durham), I R Bell (Warwickshire), T R Ambrose (Warwickshire), S C Broad (Nottinghamshire), R J Sidebottom (Nottinghamshire), J M Anderson (Lancashire), M S Panesar (Northamptonshire).

New Zealand (from): J M How, A J Redmond, J A H Marshall, R P L Taylor, B B McCullum, D R Flynn, J D P Oram, D L Vettori (captain), K D Mills, T G Southee, C S Martin, I E O'Brien.

Umpires: S J Taufel (Australia) and S A Bucknor (West Indies). Third umpire: N J Llong. Match referee: R S Madugalle (Sri Lanka).

Television: Live coverage on Sky Sports 1 from 10am; Highlights on Five, 7.15pm-8pm and Sky Sports 2, 9.30pm-11.30pm.

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