The 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup officially begins on 5th October 2023. The world cup winner and the runners-up of World Cup will clash in the tournament opener at Ahmedabad. Following is the preview of England vs New Zealand Today Match of the 13th Edition of Cricket World Cup.
England vs New Zealand Today Match Preview
England won the last time when these two teams clashed in a world cup game and that defeat still hurts New Zealand. Losing on a boundary count is surely not fair and that is exactly the reason why boundary count rule has been scrapped this time.
Meanwhile, both sides have had good preparation ahead of the tournament. England played an ODI series against the Kiwis for preparation of the world cup 2023. England won that series comprehensively by 3-1. England also played a series recently against Ireland but no member of their world cup squad participated in that. In the ENG vs NZ series, England found out that except Root, Dawid Malan is another reliable batting option in their unit.
New Zealand on the other hand have also had good preparation. They did lose the series, but did not shy away from experimenting. New Zealand won’t have the services of Kane Williamson in the opening game so that is a big blow for them, but still, they have got plenty of in-form players.
Both sides have played at least one of their warmup games against an Asian Side and have faced good quality spin, which is the biggest challenge of this world cup. The weather reports are clear, we will have a dry and warm day. There would be little bit of help for the pacers, and the track overall will support the batters more. England, having an explosive batting lineup and having everyone available (except Stokes), will be the favorites to win this encounter.
England vs New Zealand WC 2023 Opener Playing XI
England expected Playing XI:
Ben Stokes’ inclusion is doubtful as it is reported that he has a hip-niggle. The rest looks for England. Their pace attack will comprise of Mark Wood, Sam Curran and one between Reece Topley and Chris Woakes. Topley is more likely to play because he is exceptional with the new ball.
Probable Lineup: Jos Buttler (C), Will Jacks, Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse and Adil Rashid.
New Zealand expected Playing XI:
In the absence of Kane Williamson, New Zealand will be led by Tom Latham. New Zealand are likely to open with Conway and one between Rachin Ravindra or Will Young. Rachin has a brilliant 97 in the warmup game to back his selection and his spin bowling could be useful too.
Probable Lineup: Devon Conway, Finn Allen, Tim Seifert, Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell, Mark Chapman, Kyle Jamieson, Mitchell Santner, Matt Henry/Lockie Ferguson, Tim Southee (C) and Ish Sodhi.
England vs New Zealand Head to Head Record
The head to head to record between England and New Zealand in ODIs is as close as it can get. Out of 95 matches between the two sides in ODI cricket, 44 have been won by England and as many are won by New Zealand. Both sides are leveled in head to head record. However, in world cup encounters, New Zealand have won 5 and England have won 4.
Players to watch-out for
Dawid Malan will be a star batter of the English side to watch-out for. He has 2 fifties and one hundred in 3 ODIs against New Zealand. In his last 7 matches, Malan averages 86.67. Adil Rashid in his last 5 ODIs has 12 wickets. If the track has even the slightest of support for the spinners, Rashid will be very difficult to handle for the Kiwis.
For New Zealanad, Trent Boult remains their biggest weapon. His new ball bowling is extremely dangerous to handle and he showed that in the warmup game as well. Boult has taken 10 wickets in his last 5 ODIs. With the bat, Daryl Mitchell is very crucial for New Zealand. He is likely to bat at 3 in Kane’s absence. Mitchell averages 50.2 in his last 6 ODI matches.
