Champions Trophy : Match 4 - New Zealand vs Sri Lanka : New Zealand Preview

Before every big ticket ICC tournament, New Zealand is one team that tends to slip under the radar. Very few experts give them a chance of doing well, but they do have an impeccable record of reaching the later stages of ICC tournaments. Even if we look back at the performance of New Zealand in previous editions of the ICC Champions Trophy, the plucky Kiwis have reached the knock out stages of the tournament thrice, and have won it once.

New Zealand has a population of only 4.1 million. It also has to be said that most of those 4.1 million people are hooked to another sport – rugby. So, it just shows that this is a team made up of players who punch above their weight. New Zealand would certainly like to open their ICC Champions Trophy campaign with a bang by defeating Sri Lanka in their opening encounter today.

Pitch and conditions

The track at Cardiff has generally been a very good pitch for batting. However, on occasions, when overcast conditions come into play though, it can turn into a dicey wicket for batting. Before India thumped South Africa in their opening encounter of ICC Champions trophy, no team batting first had won at Cardiff. But even in that match, the track remained flat for the entire duration of the match.

Unlike in yesterday’s match at Edgbaston, when Anderson made the Australian middle-order batsmen dance to his tunes with reverse swing in dry conditions, it is hard to envisage the pacers generating much reverse swing at Cardiff.

Key players

Tim Southee - He is the leader of New Zealand’s pace attack. The swing-merchant made the red ball talk in the Test series against England. He can make the white ball swing at decent pace as well. Southee also has a very underrated bouncer. In the absence of Boult, Southee and the ultimate utilitarian of New Zealand’s side, Kyle Mills, have to strike upfront.

Brendon McCullum - McCullum took over the reins of captaining the New Zealand side under rather controversial circumstances. But to his credit, he has made a good fist of it. He is one of those few modern-day captains who is prepared to give away runs in an attempt to take wickets. In short, he backs his gambling instincts.

McCullum is also a key member of New Zealand’s batting line-up. He can generate enormous power through powerful forearms and quick hands. New Zealand’s think-tank will look to him and Ross Taylor to provide the much-needed impetus during the middle and end overs of the innings.

X-factor

Martin Guptill - With a very high back lift, Guptill can cause headaches to opposition ranks by consistently sending the ball into high orbit. Guptill was in cracking form in the ODI series against England, as he made back-to-back match-winning hundreds.

Prediction

New Zealand should fancy their chances against Sri Lanka. They have got acclimatised to conditions in England, and with recent triumphs against formidable foes like South Africa and England, their confidence should be sky high.

Possible line-up

Luke Ronchi (wk), Martin Guptill, Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, Grant Eliott/Colin Munro, Brendon McCullum (capt), James Franklin, Nathan McCullum, Tim Southee, Kyle Mills, Mitchell McClenaghan.