New Zealand vs England, 2nd ODI – Match Predictions

After losing to the Blackcaps in an absolute thriller in the opener of the ODI series in Hamilton, England will be looking to draw levels as the two teams move to Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui for the second fixture. Kane Williamson, the New Zealand skipper will be hoping that his side will indeed recapture the form they had in the first ODI played in Seddon Park. A win in the upcoming encounter against a familiar foe would perhaps erase the latter’s impressive ODI series win in

England have had a great time in 50-over Cricket since the 2015 World Cup and it’s only recently that they beat Australia 4-1 in their own backyard, so they would be pretty confident about their chances in the series even though they are 0-1 down at the moment.

Probable Nature of the pitch

There were a lot of games played at this venue during the U19 World Cup and most of those pitches were not typical New Zealand pitches. They were on the drier side and gave the spinners quite a bit of assistance which is not something common in the land of the Kiwis.

If it’s a dry deck again, batting first may be the right choice as chasing the target will be slightly difficult later, even with the small boundaries.

Playing Combination

New Zealand

New Zealand has been extremely dominant at home in 50-over Cricket and it wasn’t surprising for anyone to see them put on a first class show the other night at Seddon Park. They seem to have got all the bases covered for the home conditions with a nice blend of youth and experience in the batting department and skill present in abundance in the bowling department.

They, however, have a fitness concern ahead of the game as their skipper Kane Williamson is struggling with a bit of a hamstring issue. If he isn’t fit, Tim Southee will fill in as skipper, while Mark Chapman will replace Williamson in the XI.

Ross Taylor will again be the man to watch out for the hosts along with Tom Latham at no. 5. These two players have been rock solid in the middle order for New Zealand and have been instrumental in their success in this form of the game in the recent past.

Predicted XI: Martin Guptill, Colin Munro, Mark Chapman, Ross Taylor, Tom Latham (wk), Henry Nicholls, Colin de Grandhomme, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee (C), Trent Boult

England

England has Ben Stokes back in the ODI squad after suspension and it was a no-brainer that he walked straight into the XI. He has been one of their most valuable players in all formats of the game in the last -3-4 years and they were desperate for him to rejoin the squad.

Stokes although couldn’t make too much of a difference last game and looked a bit rusty, players of his quality don’t take too much time to find their A game. He will bat 5 and England will be hoping for a big knock from the charismatic left-hander.

England might be tempted to make a change and get Mark Wood in for David Willey. Wood had shown some serious gas in the Australia series and not only is he a fantastic prospect with the new ball swinging it up front, he is a wonderful exponent of Yorkers as well in the death.

Predicted XI: Jason Roy, Alex Hales, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan (capt), Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler (wk), Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid, Tom Curran, Mark Wood

Here’s what CricTracker predicts for the game

Head to Head

Played – 85 New Zealand – 42 England – 37 NR – 4 Tied – 2

Match Timings – 6.30 AM IST

Broadcast Details

TV – Star Sports Select 1

Live Streaming – Hotstar

The prediction is for the team batting first to win the match as the pitch might be dry and stroke play might not be easy as the game progresses.Tracker.com

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