Ahmedabad, OCT 4: The ICC Cricket World Cup is set to resume its action, picking up from where it left off four years ago. Ahmedabad, the world’s largest cricket stadium in India will host a clash between the 2019 finalists, England and New Zealand. If the opening match of the 2023 edition manages to match the excitement of the 2019 final, it will undoubtedly kickstart the tournament with a bang.
In terms of team compositions, not much has changed since 2019, with both England and New Zealand retaining the core of their player squads. However, there have been notable leadership changes.
England’s limited-overs cricket poster boy and World Cup-winning captain, Eoin Morgan, has passed the baton to his then-deputy, Jos Buttler. Meanwhile, New Zealand has temporarily entrusted Tom Latham with captaincy duties as Kane Williamson recovers from a persistent knee injury.
New Zealand is eager to claim the elusive World Cup title that slipped through their grasp in the previous two finals, while England aims to establish dominance in the game by becoming only the third team, after the West Indies and Australia, to successfully defend their title.
Despite missing their captain and prolific batsman, New Zealand enters the tournament with confidence, having recently defeated Bangladesh in an ODI series. They will, however, feel the absence of the experienced fast bowler Tim Southee, who is recovering from thumb surgery.
In the England camp, the major concern is the potential absence of Ben Stokes due to a hip injury. Buttler has emphasized the importance of not risking Stokes if he’s not fully fit, considering the length of the tournament.
Head to head, these two teams have met 95 times in the ODI format, with England slightly ahead on the wins tally, with 45 victories compared to New Zealand’s 44. Four matches ended without a result, and two were tied, including the memorable 2019 final, which was decided by a tiebreaker based on boundaries scored.
Pitch report
Pitch conditions at the Narendra Modi Stadium are expected to favour bowlers, particularly pacers who may find early seam and swing. This could pose challenges for the batsmen initially, but they should be able to play their shots more freely after getting accustomed to the conditions. Teams winning the toss are likely to choose to bowl first, with the average first innings score being around 212.
Probable playing XIs
England: Jos Buttler (captain, wicketkeeper), Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid, Reece Topley.
New Zealand: Devon Conway, Will Young, Henry Nicholls, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (captain, wicketkeeper), Rachin Ravindra, Matt Henry, Mitchell Santner, Lockie Ferguson, Ish Sodhi, Trent Boult.
