After a couple of ODIs, the caravan moves to London for the final two matches of the ongoing bilateral series between England and New Zealand. The 3rd ODI will be staged at the Kennington Oval, London followed by the final to be held at the mecca of cricket, Lord’s Cricket Ground.
The series is equally shared at the moment after England equalised the defeat they faced in the first ODI against the Black Caps. It was the centuries from Devon Conway and Daryl Mitchell that helped the Kiwis chase down a target of 292 runs in 45.4 overs with eight wickets to spare. There were four fifties in the England line-up, came from Jos Buttler, Dawid Malan, Ben Stokes and Liam Livingstone.
While Stokes announced his reincarnation to the ODIs with a valiant half-century, Buttler and Livingstone seem to have picked form in the lead-up to the 2023 World Cup. The English captain notched up a score of 72 runs and Livingstone contributed 30 runs, stepping up at the need of the hour. Livingstone is arriving on the back two half-centuries, with the latest one being 95 off 78 deliveries that saw nine fours and one six.
However, England had to drop Dawid Malan for the second ODI as he would fly back home due to the birth of his child. He racked up a half-century as an opener in the first game of the 50-overs format and was replaced by returnee, Jonny Bairstow.
On the flip side, the Tom Latham-led unit is looking to follow a rotation policy and give game time to most of their cricketers who are a part of the 2023 World Cup Squad. Daryl Mitchell has started to peak with the bat in hand after piling up a century and half-century respectively in the first two contests.
Rachin Ravindra has been impactful with his left-arm orthodox spin but the talking point has been the comeback of Trent Boult and his lethal new ball spell. The left-arm quick pushed the English top-order batters on the back foot in the 2nd ODI, claiming three wickets inside the first powerplay.
However, it’s worth noting that the likes of Mark Chapman and Jimmy Neesham are missing this series as they are back home on paternal duties. Another notable omission from the ODI squad that constitutes the 15-man squad for the World Cup 2023 is wrist spinner, Ish Sodhi. The 30-year-old desired a breather before a packed schedule and therefore the New Zealand Cricket Board permitted him to fly back.
What have they done so far?
This is England’s first bilateral series after the Ashes. Most of their players were involved in the domestic circuit, participating in the T20 Blast and the Men’s Hundred in the past couple of months.
The four-match T20I series saw an equilibrium between both sides. The Three Lions’ under the captaincy of Buttler won a brace, followed by the Black Caps’ triumph in two consecutive matches. After a decent outing, they suffered a defeat in the first ODI against New Zealand which meant their third successive defeat in the overall white ball series. But the home side turned the tables in the second ODI and managed to enforce an equaliser.
With the mega-event in the queue, the English side has a couple of ODIs left against the Kiwis, followed by three matches scheduled against Ireland to figure out their best possible combination for the honorary event.
Meanwhile, New Zealand have been topsy-turvy with their performances against England. They rubbed shoulders against UAE in the past month for a three-match T20I series, winning 2-1. Moving on, they buoyed with two consecutive victories after lagging 2-0 in the shorter version of white ball. Latham and his men carried the momentum to the ODIs with a victory and then suffered a setback in the second one.
Head to Head Record
The head-to-head battle between both nations takes an intense turn in the ODI format. Out of the 93 matches played between the two sides, New Zealand edges past England by a margin of just one win. The Black Caps have 44 victories compared to the Three Lions’ 43 wins. Two of the matches were tied while four matches had no result.
Key Players
Liam Livingstone is the highest run-getter for England in the ongoing ODI series
Liam Livingstone (England): The all-rounder has been in breathtaking form during the coveted series against New Zealand. The 30-year-old smacked the Kiwi bowlers all around in both ODIs. He is riding on the back of consecutive fifties and missed out a ton in the second ODI by a mere five runs.
Currently, he is the leading run-getter for England in the ODI series. Livingstone can also be handy with the ball in hand. He has a mix of leg break and finger spin in his armoury and is also a gun fielder at the deep region.
Trent Boult (New Zealand): Although not centrally contracted, Boult is very much like a freelancer for the Black Caps. The left-arm quick is renowned for his new-ball bowling and devastated the English top and middle-order in the last match, snapping three wickets within the first powerplay.
The 34-year old is available for the ongoing series and an indispensable part of the World Cup side in October. Boult can also be lethal during the slog overs and bucket wickets.
Predicted XIs
England: Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler © (wk), Moeen Ali, Liam Livingstone, David Willey, Adil Rashid, Gus Atkinson, Reece Topley
New Zealand: Devon Conway, Finn Allen, Will Young, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham © (wk), Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Rachin Ravindra, Trent Boult, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry
Prediction
New Zealand and England have been equally good in the ongoing series and it’s quite difficult to state who’s going to come on top. But with the conditions being favourable to Sam Curran, Gus Atkinson and others who played a considerable amount of cricket here in recent times, England could edge past the opposition.