COLOMBO: New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner has won the toss and elected to bat first against England in a must-win ICC T20 World Cup encounter at the R Premadasa Stadium on Friday.
England hold a commanding 16-10 lead over New Zealand in the 27 men’s T20Is played between the two sides.
Looking on anxiously will be Pakistan, who shared the points with New Zealand when their Super Eight encounter was washed out and must consequently cling to the possibility of England making it three wins from three and then making up the net run rate deficit in victory over Sri Lanka.
The results margin from both games cumulatively needs to be around 70 runs, assuming the team batting first makes 180.
England’s ‘winning ugly’ art form
England’s campaign so far has turned the phrase “winning ugly” into an art form; the two-wicket triumph over Pakistan that sealed their semi-final spot was so defiantly slapdash it might well end up being nominated for the Turner Prize. The quest for the “perfect game” continues. Certainly, there is no danger of them peaking too early.
If there is one unsettling blot on their copybook so far, it is the continuing travails of Jos Buttler. His haunted look after dismissal for a fourth single-innings score in a row against Pakistan told the story of a horror campaign, but there is no sense yet that England are ready to pull the rug on their greatest white-ball batter of all time.
New Zealand’s resurgence
New Zealand are more in need of the win, even if a close-fought loss might do, but, after a dip at the 2024 World Cup when they were edged out in the first group stage by Afghanistan, they look back to their best as a high-functioning tournament side.
They came into this World Cup with several players battling injury and illness; Michael Bracewell, a key allrounder, was ruled out without playing a game. But they have won four out of five completed games with Bracewell’s replacement, the unheralded Cole McConchie, one of stars of their come-from-behind win over Sri Lanka.
No one should be surprised to see them get the job done again. A New Zealand win would put them top of the group, and also end the uncertainty around the semi-final venues, with Mumbai and Kolkata locked in. Pakistan will be hoping desperately it’s not that straightforward.
Pitch and Conditions: Spin to be Key?
The same surface will be in use as for New Zealand’s 61-run win over Sri Lanka, a deck that came in for implicit criticism from Dasun Shanaka for the amount it turned. In six games at the Premadasa in this World Cup, only one has been won by the side chasing. A settled weather forecast should at least remove the need for any DLS calculations to be made.
Squads
England: Harry Brook (c), Rehan Ahmed, Jofra Archer, Tom Banton, Jacob Bethell, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Liam Dawson, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Josh Tongue and Luke Wood.
New Zealand: Mitchell Santner (c), Finn Allen, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Jacob Duffy, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi and Cole McConchie.
