New Zealand will take on England in the ninth match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 at Wellington on Friday. New Zealand won both their opening games, while England lost their first match to Australia, and are yet to open their accounts in this edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015. SCORECARD: New Zealand vs England ICC Cricket World Cup 2015
On paper, the match seems to be a grossly one-sided affair in favour of New Zealand. Their batting — led by Brendon McCullum, Kane Williamson, and Ross Taylor — are far superior to their English counterparts, while the fielding standard between the two sides is also vastly different. READ: England over crushing defeat against Australia, says Moeen Ali
The one area in which England can match — and perhaps even beat — New Zealand is the bowling attack. James Anderson, Chris Woakes, and Steven Finn have been in excellent form in recent times, while Stuart Broad remains potent as well.
Meanwhile, in Trent Boult, Tim Southee, Adam Milne, Mitchell McClenaghan, and Daniel Vettori, New Zealand have a bowling attack that is capable of blowing away sides on their day. But it is New Zealand’s batting that truly separates the two sides.
McCullum and Martin Guptill make a fearsome opening pair, while Williamson and Taylor ensure some stability and consistency in the middle order. With Grant Elliott around to arrest a slide and Corey Anderson and Luke Ronchi waiting to give the ball a big heave at the end, New Zealand are without doubt one of the most well-rounded sides of all.
England have much to ponder on following their defeat against Australia. The one positive was James Taylor’s fighting 98 not out lower down the order which left England with some semblance of respect after the rest of the batting folded up without a fight. England rely far too heavily on the top three batsmen, and in the event that they have a collective failure, there does not seem to be anyone else capable of playing a long hand. READ: Umpiring error leaves James Taylor stranded on 98 not-out
As things stand, New Zealand are the clear favourites. They are on a roll, having already won two matches, and given that their third game is also on home soil, they can rest assured of a raucous show which could well be decided by how well the New Zealand batsmen can play the English bowlers.
Squads:
New Zealand: Brendon McCullum(c), Luke Ronchi (wk), Corey Anderson, Trent Boult, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Daniel Vettori, Kane Williamson, Grant Elliott, Tom Latham, Mitchell McClenaghan, Nathan McCullum, Kyle Mills, Adam Milne, Martin Guptill.
England: Eoin Morgan (c), Joss Buttler (wk), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Gary Ballance, James Taylor, Ian Bell, Chris Woakes, Stuart Broad, Steven Finn, Alex Hales, Chris Jordan, Joe Root, Ravi Bopara, James Tredwell.
Time: 06:30 IST | 01.00 GMT
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(Shiamak Unwalla, a reporter with CricketCountry, is a self-confessed Sci-Fi geek and cricket fanatic. You can follow him on Twitter @ShiamakUnwalla)
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