ICC World Cup 2019: Match 41, England vs New Zealand, Preview – Kiwis look for upward thrust in English land

All the years of hard work sometimes come down to one game, one over or one ball. This is it for England, they can confirm their place in the semifinals with a win in this game but the Kiwis, who have had a terrific campaign before the two losses to Pakistan and Australia, will be keen to get back their momentum.

No team will be watching this more closely than Pakistan apart from the two involved. They need a favour from New Zealand to win or England to win by a huge margin. New Zealand winning could be a more feasible option for the Men in green as England winning this fixture will add a lot of pressure on them to register a massive win against Bangladesh.

Jonny Bairstow‘s hundred and Chris Woakes’ brilliance with the ball did the job for England against the mighty Indian lineup. They will go all out once again at the Chester-le-Street and they need their middle order to contribute in a better to impose a stronger challenge. Kiwis looked like a flat tire against the Aussies and it’ll be interesting to see if they gathered any confidence for this one.

Playing Combinations

England

England will go unchanged for it and they’re delighted to see Jason Roy back in the mix. Ben Stokes in the middle order has been contributing profusely with the bat and needs more support from the likes of Eoin Morgan and Jos Buttler. Jofra Archer and Chris Woakes were brilliant against India with the ball and Adil Rashid too was quite economical. Plunkett got some big wickets and his experience will once again count big.

Probable XI

Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan (c), Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler (wk), Chris Woakes, Liam Plunkett, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood

New Zealand

Martin Guptill and Henry Nicholls is the new openings pair for the Kiwis after the management’s patience with Munro ended. They’re too dependent on Ross Taylor and Kane Williamson in the middle order to get runs. James Neesham and Grandhomme in the middle order are two very important players in this XI. Matt Henry could come in place of Ish Sodhi after their ploy to go with two spinners didn’t work well.

Probable XI

Martin Guptill, Henry Nicholls, Kane Williamson (C), Ross Taylor, Tom Latham (wk), Colin de Grandhomme, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi/Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult

Focus will be on

Eoin Morgan (England)

After the heroics against Afghanistan, Eoin Morgan has found a new weakness to get dismissed for short-pitched deliveries. He was dismissed very early in the innings against India and England, which in a way cost them those games. Morgan batting well can completely change the dynamic of this side. All eyes will be on the English skipper for this big game.

Trent Boult (New Zealand)

If New Zealand had won the World Cup last time, Trent Boult would certainly have picked up the player of the tournament. He picked up a hat-trick in the previous game and is bowling beautifully again, making him one of the most valuable players in the world. The Kiwis’ semifinal hopes are not precisely in danger, but a big defeat to England can put them in a precarious position. Hence, they need him to be at his best on Wednesday.

Head to head

Matches played – 89 | England won – 40 | New Zealand won – 43 | Tied – 2 | No result – 4

Stat Attack

242 – Jos Buttler scored just 242 runs this edition, out of which one was a hundred against Pakistan. Morgan would be expecting a big score from England’s most prolific ODI batsman in recent years.

Broadcasting details

TV: Star Sports

Streaming: Hotstar

Match timings: 10:30 local time, 15:00 IST