New Zealand vs England - 5 things to look forward to

New Zealand plays their third game on Friday against England, a match which is crucial for the latter. The big ticket match, following three days involving associate teams has plenty to offer for the cricket lover. While New Zealand go into the match with two wins under their belt, against Sri Lanka and Scotland, England will try to shed away the effects of the demoralizing 111 run loss to arch-rivals Australia, where their batting and bowling came undone at the hands of one of the tournament favorites.New Zealand will be playing in their own backyard, Wellington, in a D/N match. Here are a few things to look forward to, come Friday.

#5 Brendon McCullum vs James Anderson

New Zealand’s blazing opener versus England’s premier and highly skilled fast bowler could give us a contest worth remembering. In many ways, the contest could determine, which way the match will swing. James Anderson, a particularly proud cricketer will be hurting from the hiding received at the hands of Australia.

Brendon McCullum would be naturally aggressive, no matter who the bowler is. That definitely sets up a terrific contest.

#4 Clash of the former teammates

Brendon McCullum and Eoin Morgan, skippers of New Zealand and England respectively, were former teammates at the Kolkata Knight Riders. McCullum has really come a long way since then, going from strength to strength and realizing his full potential.

The talismanic Kiwi captain had a fabulous year in 2014, picking his nation’s top award for sports persons. Eoin Morgan, on the other hand, hardly had any time to build his team after the unceremonious sacking of Alastair Cook. His own form has been depressing, with four ducks in his last five innings, scoring two runs in the other.

Two players, who made a name for themselves with big hitting in shorter formats of the game, will have plenty riding on their shoulders. New Zealand are virtually guaranteed a quarter-final place, if they win this clash while England will be under pressure against lower-ranked teams like Bangladesh if they lose this.

#3 New Zealands bowling variety against Englands batting class

England’s batting boasts of plenty of class in the form of Ian Bell, Joe Root and James Taylor. This will be thoroughly tested by a New Zealand bowling attack that has a lot of varieties. Left-arm and right arm swing bowlers, fast hit-the-deck bowlers, seam-bowling all-rounders and a wily spinner – New Zealand have all the options to throw at England’s batting. It will be interesting to watch if Ian Bell and Joe Root in particular, would live up to the expectations and perform in the big match.

#2 A tear-away fast bowler

He hasn’t quite smashed the stumps of batsmen yet, but Adam Milne is an exciting prospect for New Zealand. He is in the Shane Bond mold, a tall bowler with clean action, generating enough bounce. While Wahab Riaz of Pakistan has managed to clock 154kph in their match against India, Milne will not be too far behind. All eyes will be on that speed gun when he gets a chance to bowl against England. The 22-year-old has played 18 ODIs for New Zealand picking 16 wickets.

#1 The Big Strikers

New Zealand is one of the favorites for this World Cup owing to the number of big hitters they have in their side. They boast of all-rounder Corey Anderson, who besides boasting of a strike rate of 130 in ODIs and the second fastest century, also showed some of his hitting strength against Sri Lanka in a Man of the Match performance.

Luke Ronchi, the wicket-keeper, like Corey, strikes at nearly 125 while maintaining an average over 35. The skipper Brendon McCullum, has a career strike-rate of 92, setting up the tone for a strong total against Sri Lanka. England too has some firepower, particularly in the form of Jos Buttler, the wicketkeeper with a strike-rate of over 108.