World Cup 2019, England Vs New Zealand: Predicted Playing 11 and Key Players for New Zealand

New Zealand will take on hosts England in the 41st fixture of the 2019 World Cup at the Riverside Ground, Chester-le-Street.

This match holds a lot of importance as it could put the losing team in trouble of missing out of the 2019 World Cup semi-finals. While New Zealand have 11 points from eight games, England are placed one spot below with 10 points from eight games.

England will be coming into this contest full of confidence after registering an impressive win against India. Prior to that game, England had their World Cup hopes hanging by a thread after losing against Sri Lanka and Australia. However, their win against India has put them in a good spot to claim a semi-finals spot.

On the other hand, New Zealand have endured a downslide after having a relatively easy start to the campaign. The Kiwis have had a stumble in the last three games, losing two of them and that has put them in a tricky situation with the semi-finals to be played just a few days from now.

Apart from Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor, New Zealand's top and middle order has been completely out of form. Against an in-form England bowling unit, all the batters will have to come to the party if New Zealand look to avoid a group-stage exit.

With both the teams set to play their final game, Pakistan are the team who will cause a serious threat to these teams as the Sarfaraz Ahmed-led side have 9 points and a game left against Bangladesh. If Pakistan win their last match, one of New Zealand or England will be eliminated.

In light of the important clash, let us have a look at New Zealand's predicted playing 11.

Openers

Martin Guptill, Henry Nicholls

Apart from the 73 that he scored against Sri Lanka in the first match, Martin Guptill hasn't produced any noteworthy performances in the World Cup. Constant failures at the top have put too much pressure on the rest of the batting line-up.

Henry Nicholls will be Guptill's partner. The left-handed batsman replaced another southpaw, Colin Munro in the previous game after a string of failures for the latter but could not make too much of an impact, scoring just 8 against Australia. He will be needed to come good.

Middle-Order

Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, Tom Latham

New Zealand have two of the best limited overs batsmen Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor in their middle-order. Williamson has lead from the front by averaging a fantastic 113.50 in this World Cup. Although Ross Taylor's form has dipped a bit in the last few matches, his transformation in ODI cricket in the last 2-3 years still gives hope to New Zealand that this is just a minor blip.

However, Tom Latham's form ever since his comeback from injury has been a major cause of concern. In spite of the availability of Tom Blundell as a reserve wicket-keeper batsman, New Zealand are still expected to place their faith on Latham.

All-Rounders

James Neesham, Colin de Grandhomme, Mitchell Santner

James Neesham has been a revelation for New Zealand ever since comeback into the national team against Sri Lanka in January after a two-year absence from international cricket. He has scored 182 runs at an average of 45.50 while also being useful with the ball.

The same can be said about Colin de Grandhomme and his all-round performances have been a major positive for New Zealand.

The team's spin bowling allrounder and one of the best finger spinners in limited overs cricket, Mitchell Santner has had a quiet tournament. While Santner has just three wickets from seven matches, he has bowled at an economy rate of 4.84 and will be key in the middle overs.

Bowlers

Tim Southee, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult

The experienced Tim Southee might replace leg-spinner Ish Sodhi in the playing 11. Unbelievably, if selected, this will be Southee's first match in this World Cup.

A move to open the bowling with Colin de Grandhomme might be a risky option against England and in order to partner Boult, Southee could be drafted into the side.

Lockie Ferguson has been New Zealand's enforcer after the first 10 overs. While his express pace has been an X-factor, his consistency and accuracy in terms of line and length has come as a pleasant surprise for the BlackCaps.

As usual, the team's spearhead Trent Boult has been superb in this tournament with 13 wickets from 7 innings and will yet again hold the key against a formidable England batting unit.

Key Players

Kane Williamson- Kane Williamson has been absolutely brilliant in the World Cup. Everytime Williamson has come to bat in this World Cup, it has seemed as if he has scored most of his runs through the third man region with his nudges.

The Kiwi skipper has also shown that he isn't one dimensional by scoring big when the requirement has come up, similar to his knock against South Africa. With the other batsmen not firing, Williamson might have to take the bulk of responsibility of scoring yet again.

Lockie Ferguson- An express pace bowler, Ferguson has already made a lot of batsmen uncomfortable in this World Cup with his pace and bounce. While New Zealand have had several quick bowlers in the recent past like Adam Milne and Hamish Bennett, none have been as effective as Lockie Ferguson.

he most impressive thing about Ferguson is that he seems to plan and set up most of his dismissals. That is why his tally of 17 wickets in this World Cup can't be put down to just his pace.

Predicted Playing 11

Martin Guptill, Henry Nicholls, Kane Williamson (C), Ross Taylor, Tom Latham (WK), James Neesham, Colin de Grandhomme, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult.

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