England and New Zealand will face off in the first One-Day International (ODI) of the five-match series at Edgbaston, Birmingham, on Tuesday. After a terrific — but short — Test series, the two sides will hope to break the stalemate in the shorter format.
If England had their noses ahead at the start of the Test series, New Zealand are the overwhelming favourites in the ODIs. New Zealand’s now-trademark aggression will stand them in good stead against a new-look English side that is yet to find its feet.
England will look to the in-form Ben Stokes to provide them with some firepower in the middle order, while the inclusion of Jason Roy and Alex Hales at the top, along with Jos Buttler in the lower-middle order means that this English side has enough players to play the big shots. James Taylor and Joe Root, therefore, will have the job of holding the innings together. Eoin Morgan has been short of runs recently, though he seemed to turn things around during his stint with Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) during Indian Premier League (IPL) 2015.
For New Zealand, all eyes will be on the usual suspects. Brendon McCullum had a brisk but brief time with the bat in the Tests, and he will hope to make a more substantial contribution to the team. Martin Guptill too did not do much with the bat, and will want to remedy that this time around. Kane Williamson scored a tremendous century at Lord’s, but he fumbled a bit since, while Ross Taylor did little of note.
That New Zealand still won was in no small part due to Luke Ronchi and Tom Latham, though the latter might find it tough to break into what looks like a set line-up. Seasoned pro Grant Elliott was in cracking form in the tour match, and given his exploits during ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, ought to walk into the side no questions asked.
On the bowling front, England might find their pickings a bit on the slim side in the absence of James Anderson and Stuart Broad. Liam Plunkett, Steven Finn, and Chris Jordan will need to step up. For New Zealand though, Trent Boult and Tim Southee along with Matt Henry and Mitchell McClenaghan ought to be more than a handful. READ: Resting James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Ian Bell and others for ODI series against New Zealand can work in England’s favour ahead of The Ashes 2015
On paper, the Black Caps are the clear favourites despite the alien conditions. McCullum has led the side with tremendous charisma in recent times, and will look to continue the upward swing New Zealand have enjoyed. England will need to raise their game a couple of notches if they are to have any hope of beating New Zealand.
Squads:
England: Eoin Morgan (c), Alex Hales, Jos Buttler (wk), Jason Roy, James Taylor, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Adil Rashid, Chris Jordan, Mark Wood, Steven Finn, Liam Plunkett, Sam Billings, David Willey.
New Zealand: Brendon McCullum (c), Martin Guptill, Luke Ronchi (wk), Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, Corey Anderson, Grant Elliott, Nathan McCullum, Tim Southee, Mitchell McClenaghan, Trent Boult, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Mitchell Santner, Ben Wheeler.
Time: 14:00 local | 18:30 IST
(Shiamak Unwalla, a reporter with CricketCountry, is a self-confessed Sci-Fi geek who loves cricket more than cricketers. His Twitter handle is @ShiamakUnwalla)
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