Cricket Match Preview: England vs New Zealand - Get ready for an intense battle as England takes on New Zealand in the Men's World Cup opener in Ahmedabad on the 5th of October!
England hosted New Zealand in a four-match ODI series in September. New Zealand won the first match and then England went onto win the next three and clinch the series.
It looks like New Zealand will be without their two most experienced players in Kane Williamson and Tim Southee who are both coming back from injury. I’m expecting England to be at full strength and will be favouring to win this match.
Narendra Modi Stadium Pitch Information
This pitch is likely going to assist the bowlers. Pace bowlers may see some seam and swing early on, and it may be difficult for the batters to get set. There have been 26 games played at this venue with pace bowlers picking up 211 wickets and spin bowlers 113 wickets.
England vs New Zealand predicated XIs
New Zealand: Tom Latham (c & wk), Devon Conway, Will Young, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Lockie Ferguson, Ish Sodhi, Trent Boult.
England: Jos Buttler (c & wk), Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood, Reece Topley.
Who to play in your GDS starting XI
Batters
The three batters that I’m likely going to start will be Daryl Mitchell, Devin Conway and Dawid Malan. Over the last ten matches these players average the following points based on the GDS scoring.
Mitchell – 96 points
Conway – 62 points
Malan – 77 points
Mitchell had a good series against England, scoring 196 runs and taking two wickets. This comes to an average of 85 points in GDS. Conway scored one century in the series against England but was dismissed early in the other three ODIs. He came away scoring 141 runs in the series averaging 48 points in GDS. Malan was the batter of the series scoring one century and two fifties. He only played three matches and scored 277 runs in the series averaging 117 points in GDS.
If you don’t have these three players in your squad, I have ranked the remaining batsman for England and New Zealand in the following order. Will Young, Joe Root and Mark Chapman.
If Williamson is to play, I would still be nervous starting him even though he looked in good form in the warm up matches. He may be a great player of difference (POD) if he is named to start.
All-Rounders
The four all-rounders that I’m likely going to start will be Mitchell Santner, Liam Livingston, Moeen Ali and Chris Woakes. Over the last ten matches these players average the following points based on the GDS scoring.
Santner – 64 points
Livingstone – 61 points
Ali – 75 points
Woakes – 85 points
I think picking the starting all-rounders is the hardest part of setting your squad for this match. I tend to favour all-rounders that bowl more as they generally score higher due to dot balls being worth one point in GDS. I’m expecting all these all-rounders to bowl more than the other all-rounders that are predicted to play. Even though none of these four players are likely to bat any higher than six, scoring runs is never a guarantee. Neither are dot balls to be honest but bowling all-rounders do offer a safer floor for fantasy points.
If you don’t have these four players in your squad, I have ranked the remaining all-rounders for England and New Zealand in the following order. Glenn Phillips then Ben Stokes.
Bowlers
The three bowlers that I’m likely going to start will be Trent Bolt, Adil Rashid and Mark Wood. Over the last ten matches these players average the following points based on the GDS scoring.
Boult – 121 points
Rashid – 77 points
Wood – 62 points
Bolt is the first picked for me. Over his last ten ODIs he has bowled 76 overs, taken 26 wickets and averages four dot balls an over. This is simply quite outstanding as five of these games were after he took a year off from ODIs. Rashid is the second picked as he has took 22 wickets over his last ten ODIs and average 2.5 dots balls per over across these games. Wood hasn’t played many ODIs in the past few years, but I’ve selected him based on his last two ODIs in India. Over these games he bowled 17 overs coming away with five wickets and an average of 3.5 dots per over. This came to a GDS average of 105 points per game.
If you don’t have these three players in your squad, I have ranked the remaining bowlers for England and New Zealand in the following order. Matt Henry, Reece Topley, Lockie Furguson and Ish Sodhi.
Wicket Keeper
If Williamson plays, Buttler will be my first choice. If Williamson doesn’t play, Latham would be my first choice. If Williamson plays, both keepers are likely to bat at five for their respective teams, but Latham will likely open the batting if Williamson is out.
Over the last ten matches Latham and Buttler have averaged the following points based on the GDS scoring.
Latham – 46 points
Buttler – 85 points
When a wicket keeper opens the batting, they offer more upside as they are likely to face more deliveries than a wicket keeper batting in the middle order. Even though Buttler’s form outshines Latham by a long way, I’ll be going Latham if he is to open the batting.