ENG v NZ: T20 WC PREVIEW

Few unpredictable results and rain washouts in Group A have opened up all possibilities. Heavyweights such as England and Australia are on the verge of elimination and must win their remaining games in order to remain in contention for semis. In addition to that, NRR is going to play a massive and desicisve role. Australia survive for another day after beating Ireland by 37 runs but they would have liked to finsih the game early but a Tucker masterclass denied them a big victory at the end.

The equation for NZ is simple. Win just 1 out of remaining 2 games and book a place in semis thanks to their NRR. Just like every year, NZ has turned up in an ICC event. Not many gave them a chance in Australian conditions where they hadn't won a single white ball game since Feb 2009. The experienced duo of Southee and Boult have has not allowed the opposition to get on top of them in Powerplay with 3 and 4 wkts respectively against Aus and SL.

England have no one except themselves to blame for the loss against Ireland where they fell short by just 5 runs on DLS score. With rain around, it was always imperative for Eng batters to get themselves ahead of par score while chasing a modest score of 158. Malan and Brook scored a combined of 53 off 58 balls.

Probable XI

England

Jos Buttler (c, wk), Alex Hales, David Malan, Ben Stokes, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Chris Woakes/ Chris Jordan, Adil Rashid, Mark wood

New Zealand

Finn Allen, Devon Conway, Kane Williamson, Glenn Phillips, James Neesham, Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult

Venue

The Gabba, Brisbane

Total matches 8

Matches won batting first 6

Matches won bowling first 2

Average 1st Inns scores 167
Average 2nd Inns scores 144

Highest total recorded 209/3 by AUS vs RSA
Lowest total recorded 114/10 by RSA vs AUS

Highest score chased 161/4 by AUS vs RSA
Lowest score defended 150/7 by BAN vs ZIM

Head to Head

Overall, Eng leads by 13-8.

Batting 1st: Both teams have won 6 games each

Batting 2nd: Eng leads by 7 -2

Last 5 encounters: NZ leads by 3-2

Most runs - Martin Guptil (471)

Most wkts - Mitchell Santner (16)

Recent Form

ENGLAND:

NR L W NR W

New Zealand

W NR W L W

Match Ups

Williamson vs Wood: 30 off 12 balls

Williamson vs Rashid: 42 off 37 balls

Daryl vs Woakes: 27 off 12 balls

Neesham vs Jordan: 55 off 29 balls, 3 outs

Hales vs Boult: 53 off 30 balls

Buttler vs Boult: 56 off 37 balls

Stokes vs Boult: 39 off 22 balls, 2 outs

Ali vs Boult: 53 off 27 balls, 1 out

Hales vs Southee: 36 off 20 balls, 2 outs

Malan vs Southee: 61 off 44 balls, 1 out

Hales vs Santner: 42 off 35 balls, 2 outs

Malan vs Santner: 49 off 35 balls, 2 outs

Buttler v Sodhi: 42 off 29 balls, 3 outs

Mooen vs Lockie: 39 off 24 balls, 1 out

Form Update
(Last 5 innings)

Key Players & Fantasy Picks

Devon Conway

Just like his intl and IPL debut, Conway has made a brilliant start to his world cup campaign. He was instrumental in NZ reaching 200 and that was the highest individual score by a visiting batter in Australia. The intent of Fin Allen with the stability Conway provides at the top has turned out to be a lethal combo for NZ. Conway's biggest plus point is his ability to take down any kind of spin. He was dearly missed in the final last year after getting ruled due to a self inflicting injury. An opener should be a 1st priority in any Fantasy 11

Jos Buttler

Similar to Conway, another opener you dare to miss out on is Eng's own run machine in Jos Buttler. It has been an incredible last 12 months for Jos Buttler who scored a 100 in last t20 wc, some 850 odd runs in the IPL with 4 100s and won the man of the match against Aus at Perth a couple of weeks back. Jos also keeps wkts which could further fetch you decent points in Fantasy XI. He has so far failed to make a mark in both the games

Glenn Phillips

He was the standout performer in last game against SL and scored a 100 when NZ were struggling at 15-3. He is only the 3rd batter to score 2 100s batting at 4 or below in t20is.

Mark Wood

Almost every time he has played since returning from injury, whether it was in the Pakistan series, Australia series, or World Cup, he has breathed fire. Since September, he has picked 14 wkts in 6 games and is clocking 150+ every now and then. He is the perfect candidate to take down NZ's line-up

Sam Curran

He has picked 13 wkts in last 5 games. Bowls at the death and is a more than capable to use the long handle in the end overs.

Fantasy XI