MENU
The Cricket World Cup continues to near and this time, we are going to preview the match between Bangladesh and New Zealand. The two sides will meet on June 5, 2019, in Match 9 of the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup at The Oval in London.
Bangladesh (11-20-1 World Cup Record)
Bangladesh enters the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup banking on their victorious performance in the tri-series against India and West Indies. The win was the first ever multi-team ODI trophy win for the experienced and versatile Mashrafe Mortaza-led team. Bangladesh is also looking to build on their 2018 Asia Cup campaign where they went all the way to the final match despite a depleted record.
Bangladesh Squad: Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal sub, Mahmudullah, Rubel Hossain, Mohammad Mithun, Sabbir Rahman, Soumya Sarkar, Abu Jayed, Liton Das, Mosaddek Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman sub, Mehidy Hasan, Mohammad Saifuddin.
New Zealand (48-30-1 World Cup Record)
New Zealand is currently the fourth-ranked betting favorite in the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup. odds board at +900 at Bet365 as of 5/29/19. They are also the 4th ranked ODI team in the world. This is a side that reached the ICC Cricket World Cup Final the last time out, eventually losing to Australia in the title game.
New Zealand squad Kane Williamson (capt), Tom Blundell, Trent Boult, Colin de Grandhomme, Lockie Ferguson, Martin Guptill, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Colin Munro, Jimmy Neesham, Henry Nicholls, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor
Who Wins?
Without doubt, Bangladesh has picked their best ever team in ODI competition to represent them in the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup. Their 15-man team basically revolves around the quintet of Mashrafe Mortaza, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Tamim Iqbal, and Mahmudullah. The five are surrounded by young talents which give them depth to match-up with the big boys. The selectors have also picked many all-rounders to give the team plenty of flexibility.
The strength of this team is the fact that they have retained the core of their 2017 ICC Champions Trophy team. With the exception of Imrul Kayes, Sunzamul Islam, Taskin Ahmed, and Shafiul Islam, they are basically sending the same team that took them to the semi-finals of the ICC Champions Trophy in 2017. Having said that, Bangladesh is a team whose players already know their roles on the team.
Mortaza’s veteran leadership has often provided his younger teammates with plenty of inspiration on the field and gets them to play out their best. This will be Mortaza’s final appearance in the Cricket World Cup, giving his teammates an extra motivation to win as many games as they can.
From a batting perspective, Bangladesh has a unit that has plenty of experience. This team also has a deep batting rotation with Mortaza expected to bat at #9. If this batting unit delivers as expected, it has both the depth and ability to reach 220-230 quite often. The question for this team though is if they can be consistent enough to give the big boys problems.
New Zealand’s seam attack led by Trent Boult, aided by Tim Southee’s wiles and Lockie Ferguson’s raw pace holds the key to the Kiwi’s success. Meanwhile, the triumvirate of Martin Guptill, Ross Taylor, and Kane Williamson lead the batting department. Among the three, Taylor is in the best form of his career with an average of 81 since the 2017 Champions Trophy.
New Zealand is a team that is probably the most consistent in this tournament. The past 11 editions of the ICC Cricket World Cup has been held in different formats but New Zealand has consistently made it out of the group stages. The All-Blacks have made it out of the preliminary stage in all except two instances- in 1983 and 1987 and you can be sure that the current members of the Blacks’ team weren’t born at that time yet.
No other team has made it past the first round nine times during the same span. Australia and England have done it eight times. Meanwhile, India, Pakistan and West Indies have accomplished it seven times each. In the past four years, the Blacks have played 28 World Cup matches against the five lowest ODI ranked teams in the tournament and their record against these teams is 24-4, giving them the best record against those teams. It’s worth noting that Bangladesh is ranked #7, making them one of New Zealand’s favorite victims. With a standout record against teams ranked lower than them, I’m picking New Zealand to win.
