T20 World Cup 2022: Match 33 - Predicted England Playing XI vs New Zealand

After a couple of upsets, England will now be facing the only unbeaten team in their group- New Zealand, as the two teams are set to lock horns in the 33^rd match of the T20 World Cup 2022 at The Gabba in Brisbane. England’s start to the tournament was amazing, as they bagged a victory over Afghanistan in the campaign opener.

But their journey thereon was topsy turvy, as rain played a spoilsport. In their second contest against Ireland, both teams put up a strong competition, but the rain stopped the play and Ireland emerged victorious by five runs by virtue of the DLS method. Their third game against arch-rivals Australia was supposed to be a must-win game, which was abandoned due to rain without a ball being bowled.

The rain washout has complicated the scenario, but nevertheless, the Jos Buttler-led team England would be looking for a positive end to their tournament. With just two more games to be played in the group stage, England will be eyeing a win in both fixtures.

Let’s look at England’s probable playing XI against New Zealand:

Openers: Jos Buttler (c & wk), Alex Hales

Before the start of the T20 World Cup 2022, the opening duo of Buttler and Hales looked in terrific form, especially in the T20I series against Australia where they wreaked havoc with the bat. But they have not been able to make an impact in the ongoing tournament, and have failed to amaze in their previous two fixtures against Afghanistan and Ireland.

They will have to pull up their sock as they can not afford another failed outing. The upcoming game being against New Zealand, and the opposition bowlers being in terrific form, it will surely be a task for the openers to put up a remarkable performance.

Middle Order: Dawid Malan, Liam Livingstone, and Harry Brook

Dawid Malan anchored England’s innings against Ireland after the openers failed to fire. He was one of the reasons that England was able to continue being in the contest even after losing three big wickets within the powerplay. England would want him to be at his best again.

Livingstone was not a part of the Australia series, and made his way into the team only during England’s last warm-up game against Pakistan, followed by the two World Cup Super 12 fixtures. He has been a proven matchwinner and would be looking to perform some good heroics.

Harry Brook failed to impress in the first game against Afghanistan, but looked a bit comfortable in the Ireland game. He was dismissed just as he got going in the game, but would be looking to keep his place on the field for a longer duration and notch up the crucial runs.

All-Rounders: Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran

Ben Stokes’ last five T20I innings have been awful with the bat, but he has managed to pick wickets here and there. He is one of the most crucial elements of the team, with the bat and with the ball, and would be expected to improve his game to bring the result in the team’s favor.

Moeen Ali, whenever given the opportunity to bat, has only impressed in his recent outings. In the rain-curtailed encounter against Ireland, he was the one who held the team’s hopes while batting down the order. His bowling hasn’t been the focus of late and he will be utilized as a batter this time again.

Sam Curran has been nothing less than impressive in the tournament so far. During the Afghanistan game, he became the first-ever England bowler to bag a five-wicket haul as he stormed through the Afghani batting order to claim a win for England. The chances of him batting would be less, but he will be expected to give his side the perfect start with the ball.

Bowlers: Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood

Chris Woakes has been on and off lately, and his recent performances have been average. He conceded 41 runs against Ireland in just three overs, and failed to pick up a single wicket. Adil Rashid does not have a single wicket under his belt from the tournament so far, and he has picked up only two wickets in his past 10 T20I outings, including the warm-up fixture.

Mark Wood, on the other hand, has been mighty impressive and has taken charge of England’s bowling attack. He hasn’t gone wicketless in either of the two games that England has played so far, and has a total of five wickets in the tournament under his belt. Thus, he would be expected to bring stability to England’s innings.

England Predicted XI: Jos Buttler (c & wk), Alex Hales, Dawid Malan, Liam Livingstone, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood