Going into their clash against Bangladesh, New Zealand has plenty to ponder indeed. They commenced their tournament with a fine performance over Australia and seemed in control of the game for a majority of the portion. They could only rue their luck when the skies opened up leading to points being shared. Up against England in their next game, they didn’t have a memorable outing as the hosts thrashed them at the Sophia Gardens at Cardiff, and now just with one point in two games, New Zealand are desperate.
The over dependence on Kane Williamson has come to the fore and despite having a lot of experience, the middle order has now returned with underwhelming outings in two games. Bangladesh isn’t the strongest of sides in this competition, but then they aren’t even the weakest. Even they are placed with one point in two games, and the team losing here would well be on its way back home.
New Zealand would have to get their boxes ticked in order to overcome Bangladesh. This is just skipper Kane Williamson’s second ICC tournament as the captain of the side, he made it to the semis on the first occasion. Can he do the same this time around needs to be seen?
Recent form:
New Zealand comes on the back of a crushing defeat against hosts England at Cardiff. Upon bowling first, the bowlers bowled decently to keep England down to 310, despite a late flurry from Jos Buttler. It was during the chase when one saw the demons in the wicket and the uneven bounce made life incredibly hard for the Blackcaps. Barring skipper Kane Williamson, none of the batsmen stood up to the challenge.
Talking Points:
For New Zealand, having two all-rounders in the middle order hasn’t given them any rewards. Jimmy Neesham and Corey Anderson both had poor outings against New Zealand, but Anderson did slightly better considering he struck with the ball. Thereby, a genuine wicket taker in the form of Mitchell McClenaghan should be considered at the expense of Neesham.
Ross Taylor has years of experience behind his back, and there’s no better time than now to use it. Williamson alone cannot win New Zealand games, as he requires able support from the middle order. It’s high time that Taylor justifies all that experience for this game tomorrow.
New Zealand Predicted XI:
- M. Guptill 2. L. Ronchi (wk) 3. K. Williamson (c) 4. R. Taylor 5. N. Broom 6. C. Anderson 7. M. Santner 8. M. McClenaghan 9. T. Southee 10. A. Milne 11. T. Southee