England vs New Zealand, ENG vs NZ, Today Match Prediction 08 September 2023

ENG vs NZ Match Prediction & Analysis

New Zealand’s tour of England moves ahead with the ODI series kicking off on the 8th of September at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff. The visitors bounced back in the recently concluded T20Is with back-to-back wins and tied the series 2-2.

Tom Latham will be leading the Blackcaps in the absence of Kane Williamson who’s been recovering from a knee injury. While the visitors have brought Trent Boult back in the side for this series, England are set to play their best squad that includes Ben Stokes.

Stokes will be playing his first ODI after coming out of retirement as England prepare for the World Cup in India. Another crucial development in this squad is the inclusion of Gus Atkinson, a right-arm medium-fast bowler who’s likely to be in the World Cup squad.

NZ bowling attack looks threatening and with the likes of Henry Nicholls and Tom Latham, the middle order is also quite promising.

RECENT PERFORMANCE

ENG

NZ

HEAD TO HEAD

TEAMS PREVIEW

England Preview

This is a great opportunity for England to prep for the World Cup and test their players before they confirm the 15-man squad for the tournament. Gus Atkinson will be one to watch out for.

The fast bowler is yet to make his ODI debut but was impressive in the recent T20Is picking up 6 wickets from 2 matches. Ben Stokes who played his last ODI in July of 2022 is another player to watch out for in this squad.

While there have been some voices critical of Stokes’ inclusion in the World Cup squad, he has been in great form in the longer format of the game and should look at this series as an opportunity to silence his critics.

Bowling all-rounders Sam Curran and David Willey will be crucial in the lower order and will be looking to make the most of every chance they get in the XI in this series.

With Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler, Jason Roy, and Liam Livingstone, England are coming into this series with full strength. Dawid Malan hasn’t been in the best form but is a crucial figure in the middle order. He has scored 769 runs from 18 ODIs at an average of 54.93.

In the bowling department, Mark Wood, Chris Woakes, Sam Curran, and Adil Rashid will be key players leading the attack.

England Predicted Playing XI:

Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Dawid Malan, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood, Adil Rashid, Gus Atkinson

England Actual Playing XI:

Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Adil Rashid, Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, David Willey, Jos Buttler, Dawid Malan, Liam Livingstone, Reece Topley, Harry Brook

New Zealand Preview

A confident NZ side will be up for the England challenge after an impressive comeback in the T20Is. Tom Latham and Henry Nicholls are back in the side and will be the ones to watch out for in the NZ middle order.

These two are experienced players who’ve played a key role in the longer format of the game for the Blackcaps. They’ve got the ability to strike partnerships and play longer innings.

NZ have also included Finn Allen and Glenn Phillips in the squad along with 3 batting all-rounders. Whether they use all three in the playing XI is to be seen.

Rachin Ravindra can bowl a few overs but is less likely to be selected over Mitchell Santner who has been a finisher on many occasions in the lower order.

Daryl Mitchell will surely feature in the middle order and will have a huge role to play for the team. Kyle Jamieson who’s played only 8 ODIs and has been impressive in Tests is someone NZ would like to test in this series.

The bowling trio of Boult, Southee, and Ferguson will lead the pace attack and is also likely to feature in the World Cup. The choice of 4th bowler will be between Matt Henry, Jamieson, and Adam Milne.

New Zealand Predicted Playing XI:

Devon Conway, Finn Allen, Will Young, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (c & wk), Henry Nicholls, Mitchell Santner, Lockie Ferguson, Tim Sothee, Trent Boult, Matt Henry

New Zealand Actual Playing XI:

Tom Latham, Devon Conway, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Henry Nicholls, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Tim Southee, Kyle Jamieson

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather Conditions

The pitch will assist the fast bowlers and there will be some movement with the new ball. Batters need to be patient on this track before they can get going and score big. The weather will be mostly cloudy with a high of 27 degrees Celsius in Cardiff on the match day.

ENG vs NZ Pitch Report

Sophia Gardens in Cardiff will host the first ODI of the series. The average 1st innings score here is 220 runs but the highest total was recorded by England against Bangladesh when they scored a whopping 386 for 6 batting first in the 2019 World Cup. Given that the highest score chased on this ground is 304 runs, we reckon a 280+ runs total would be quite competitive.

Toss: To Bowl

Teams bowling first have won 18 of the 30 ODIs played at this venue. Both teams will back their bowling attack to get early wickets and put them on top of the game. The hosts have depth in the batting lineup with many big hitters down the order who can chase down any total.