MENU
The 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup continues as England and New Zealand test each other on July 3, 2019, at the Riverside Ground in Durham, England.
Hosts England is back in business after defeating India in their last outing. The English were favorites heading to this competition but after suffering two losses in the group stage, they seemed to be on the ropes. The win over India should bring back their confidence. On the other hand, New Zealand is reeling from back to back losses to Pakistan and Australia. The Kiwis need a win to stop the bleeding.
England
England is coming off a huge win as they scored a 31-run victory over a previously undefeated Indian team. The English batsmen were impressive against India’s bowlers as they Jonny Bairstow put up a century to lead England to a total of 337. Jason Roy and Ben Stokes each had half-centuries to help England’s cause. The two batsmen provided England with the good start that they badly needed after losing to Australia and Sri Lanka.
Chris Woakes and Liam Plunkett also bowled very well for the English. Plunkett took three wickets while Woakes took two as they were key in putting away India for good. England’s death bowling was also impressive as they limited the scoring of Hardick Pandya and Rishabh Pant. England has 10 points from 8 games and with Pakistan just a solitary point back, England needs to win this game to ensure qualification.
Here is England’s World Cup squad:
Eoin Morgan (capt), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Jos Buttler (wk), Tom Curran, Liam Dawson, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, James Vince, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.
On the other hand, New Zealand suffered its second straight setback after losing to defending champions Australia. Looking at their performance against the Aussies, The Kiwis’ bowling was good as Trent Boult and Lockie Ferguson both played very well. New Zealand conceded 243 runs against Australia.
As it has been all tournament long, New Zealand’s weakness was their batting as their batsmen were only able to score a total of 157 runs. The Kiwis struggled to handle the pace of Australia’s Mitchell Starc as no batsman was able to score more than 40 runs for the Kiwis. New Zealand currently has 11 points from 8 games and they are tied with India for second place with one match left to play.
These are the members of the New Zealand cricket team:
Kane Williamson (capt), Tom Blundell (wk), Trent Boult, Colin de Grandhomme, Lockie Ferguson, Martin Guptill, Matt Henry, Tom Latham (wk), Colin Munro, Jimmy Neesham, Henry Nicholls, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor.
Who Wins?
Fresh of their victory over erstwhile unbeaten India, England heads to this showdown as the cricket betting favorite to beat fellow early tournament favorite New Zealand. Both of these teams have had their moments of struggle in the current competition. But England has bounced back by stamping their class against leaders India. It was the kind of win that could turn their World Cup campaign around and for the better.
On the other hand, New Zealand’s woes continue as they suffered yet another defeat against the tournament-leading Australians. New Zealand is still in a position to advance to the next phase but they are slowly slipping in the team standings right now at third place and just two points ahead of fifth place Pakistan.
Batting has always been New Zealand’s main problem in this tournament and against an excellent bowling team like England, their batsmen will be tested once again. With the Riverside Grounds known to aid pace bowlers, it will be difficult for both sides to score runs and that’s a bigger problem to New Zealand than to England.
As I’ve mentioned above, New Zealand’s main issue has been their batting. On the other hand, the main problem with England has always been inside their heads. If they get past that mental barrier, they will be a force to reckon with. That said, I think England broke that mental barrier against India and should be the better team here. Prediction: England
