New Zealand vs England, 4th T20I: Preview – Brits fight batting woes with an eye on staying alive

England’s start to the T20I series was a great one, brushing aside New Zealand at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch. James Vince’s 59 took the Brits over the line. Even in the second and third matches in Wellington and Napier, the Three Lions got the chance of chasing down targets. However, unlike the first time, they failed while batting second, and have gone 1-2 down after taking the initial lead.

At the Saxton Oval, Eoin Morgan and Co needed 41 runs off the final 31 balls with eight wickets in hand. But the visitors ended up losing by 14 runs, scoring only 27 runs and losing five wickets. The fourth T20I of the series is scheduled to be played at the MacLean Park in Napier and England have to resurrect their batting issues. The Black Caps, on the contrary, have peaked at the right moment.

Prior to the series, Kiwis didn’t have the greatest of records against the Brits, losing 10 out of their 16 matches. But the hosts have managed to cash in with England not having a full-strength team. Napier has hosted only a solitary T20I back in 2017 where New Zealand beat Bangladesh in a fairly low-scoring game. For the time being, Morgan’s men look rattled and don’t have room for error.

Team Combinations

New Zealand

Lockie Ferguson won’t be a part of the final couple of T20Is. The speedster has been replaced by Trent Boult. The Kiwis’ batting has put forth a collective effort with Colin de Grandhomme, being the leading run-scorer with 102 runs. The bowling hasn’t been shoddy either, barring Ish Sodhi, who has an economy rate of 9.54. Fellow spinner Mitchell Santner is the top wicket-taker with seven scalps.

Probable XI

Colin Munro,  Martin Guptill,  Tim Seifert (WK),  Colin de Grandhomme,  Ross Taylor,  James Neesham,  Ish Sodhi,  Tim Southee (C),  Trent Boult,  Blair Tickner,  Mitchell Santner.

England

Jonny Bairstow didn’t feature in the last match and he may come back in place of James Vince, keeping in mind their rotation policy. There is a chance for Chris Jordan to stake a claim back into the playing eleven. Jordan has been the Brits most economical bowler in the series. Tom Banton looked impressive on debut with a 10-ball 18, but would be wishing for a significant score under his belt.

Probable XI

Dawid Malan,  Jonny Bairstow,  Tom Banton,  Eoin Morgan (C),  Sam Billings,  Lewis Gregory,  Sam Curran,  Tom Curran,  Adil Rashid,  Chris Jordan, Matthew Parkinson

Focus will be on

Colin Munro (New Zealand)

Colin Munro can take bowling attacks to the cleaners, but he has blown hot and cold in the series. The southpaw only has 34 runs in three matches at a forgettable average of 11.33. His strike-rate of 103.03 isn’t on the higher side as well. Munro has been fighting with poor form for quite some time now. But it’s only a matter of time before a player of his class arrest his slump.

Dawid Malan (England)

Dawid Malan could manage only 11 in the Christchurch T20I. However, he has started to gradually pick up with the progression of the games. In the last two matches, he turned up with scores of 39 and 55, and was arguably, the standout batter of the visitors. In a batting order that hasn’t yet stepped up, the left-hander can’t afford to drop his guard by any means.

Head to Head

Matches played – 19, New Zealand won – 7, England won – 11, No result – 1

Broadcast details

TV – Star Sports Select 1, Star Sports Select 1 HD

Live streaming – Hotstar

Match Timings – 6:00 PM local time; 10:30 AM IST