1st ODI Preview: England's batsmen ran rampant in the T20s, will they continue their flow? by Asher Wilson

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Scorecard:	New Zealand v England
Event:	England in New Zealand 2012/13

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DateLine: 16th February 2013

 

New Zealand v England
1st ODI 2013
Match Preview

 

England take on New Zealand at Seddon Park in Hamilton tomorrow, in the first of a three-match One Day International (ODI) series as they continue their tour of New Zealand after winning the T20 series by two games to one, earlier this week.

 

The Black Caps are at most times woeful and are sometimes resilient. They have limited overs talent in the ranks and when things click in the side, they can become a difficult prospect.

 

Brendon McCullum, Martin Guptill and Ross Taylor provide firepower at the top of the order and when they can create partnerships between them, New Zealand always have a chance. Martin Gutpill has been previously been regarded as a batsman who only scores runs against the modest teams and he really needs a few series to prove those people wrong. Guptill has had a fantastic T20 series against England but it has been in the longer formats where he has not performed well.The ODI series sees the addition of Kane WIliamson, another exciting youngster who may be able to add a shred of stability at the top.

 

Their bowling attack seems to blow hot and cold as well, with Mitchell McClenghan a fantastic prospect for the future although we feel where New Zealand may fall short in this series is in the bowling department. England’s batting, as the showed in the T20s, is among the best in the world and even on their home soil, the New Zealanders will be hard-pressed to contain them. Nathan McCullum and his wily spinners may be key in how the side navigates the middle-overs, with their pace men needing pin-point accuracy at the death.

 

England's batsmen ran rampant in the T20 series, recording their highest ever total in the first and the highest ever run chase without losing a wicket in the second. However, the batting line-up will change for the ODI series, Cook, Bell and Trott taking their rightful places. Kevin Pietersen has been rested from the series so Jonathon Trott will come back to take his spot. Chris Woakes might be able to show off his allrounder skills as he may get the nod to play.

 

This should make things even more difficult for the Black Caps, along with the additions of James Anderson and Graeme Swann. England are commanding in the limited overs formats of the game and go about executing their plans to perfection. Although they come into the contest following a series loss in India, it was still an improved performance on the subcontinent and they won’t be up against the same class of opposition here.

 

Seddon Park in Hamilton is a small ground with a good track, perfect for batting. There also may be some assistance for the spinners, bringing Swann and Nathan McCullum into the game. Although New Zealand’s T20 record here is sound, they’ve lost their last three ODIs here.

 

Teams:

 

New Zealand (probable) 1 Martin Guptill, 2 BJ Watling, 3 Kane Williamson, 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Brendon McCullum (capt & wk), 6 Grant Elliott, 7 James Franklin, 8 Nathan McCullum, 9 Kyle Mills, 10 Trent Boult, 11 Mitchell McClenaghan

 

England (probable) 1 Alastair Cook (capt), 2 Ian Bell, 3 Jonathan Trott, 4 Joe Root, 5 Eoin Morgan, 6 Jos Buttler (wk), 7 Chris Woakes, 8 Stuart Broad, 9 Graeme Swann, 10 James Anderson, 11 Steven Finn

(Article: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author only.
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