New Zealand’s progress in the tournament was hampered by rain in their opener as their game against old rivals Australia was washed out. But that maybe saved them a point because the Aussies were looking pretty well set in their run chase in the match. With Australia’s second game getting washed out by rain as well when they faced Bangladesh on Monday, there is a big opportunity now for England to go and book themselves a semi final spot on Tuesday when they take on the Kiwis.
England opened with an easy chase of 305 that Bangladesh had posted in the opening innings of the opening match of the tournament, and a century from Joe Root helped England get there comfortably, losing just the two wickets in their chase. So will they be able to take down New Zealand and make progress, as expected, to the semi finals of the tournament? It was a couple of years ago against New Zealand which really started England’s resurgence as a good one day international side and will once again be hoping to get the better of them.
England v New Zealand Champions Trophy Cricket Betting Odds
England 1/2, New Zealand 13/8
England have suffered a setback with the loss of bowler Chris Woakes, but they have brought in the experience of Steve Finn and that may actually boost the tail end if he comes in and plays. England’s batting is looking so strong at the moment with the likes of Alex Hales, Eoin Morgan, Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes and Moeen Ali and Joe Root, so they shouldn’t really ever find themselves in a position in this tournament in actually having to rely on the tail end to get them runs.
This game is being hosted down in Cardiff and hopefully the weather stays dry so that the match can be played. However, if the conditions are a little damp then that will bring New Zealand into play more with the ball in hand. They can swing the ball as well as England can and there’s not a great deal to split the two bowling attacks if the conditions are a little overcast. If New Zealand get a chance to swing the ball that will pull England into trouble because their attack-minded batting just goes after everything.
Nine of the last fourteen have been won by the team bowling first and therefore winning the toss is going to be all important. It’s always easier to chase a total than it is to go out and defend one, and England have proven time and time again in the last couple of years, how comfortable they are in chasing down totals. But if they get stuck into bat first, this could really put them under some pressure. The Kiwi’s top man with the bat is Kane Williamson, one of the top batsmen in the world and he is a 5/2 outright favourite at Boylesports in the Top New Zealand batsman market.
In the England top batsman market, Jos Buttler is well worth a punt at 7/1 because he has a decent batting average in Cardiff, plus their batsmen are going to be tested more than they ever were against her one-paced Bangladesh attack. But if the pitch is lively and the ball bouncing and swinging around, you will want to back someone patient to wait for the ball and select their strokes. That’s a lean towards Eoin Morgan and Joe Root and it would have to be the latter again at 11/4 with Boylesports because he looks to be in consummate ease at the crease.
The average first-innings score in Cardiff is just 256, but last summer in games against Sri Lanka and Pakistan, England breached 300 on both occasions batting first. The weather may even out the bowling in this one, but the extra batting power that England have should get them through to the semi finals without having to worry about meeting Australia in their final group match, which would be nice for them.
