England v New Zealand Cricket World Cup preview

England and New Zealand will open the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup in India in a repeat of 2019’s final. Both teams will have become accustomed to each other after playing out a four-match series in England in September, but who will come out on top on the big stage?

We break down the game below.

England v New Zealand – Thursday 09:30

The 132,000 seater Narendra Modi Stadium will play host to the opening game of the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup, though surprisingly it’s not host country India who will be involved from the get-go.

Instead, it’s the 2019 final that will open this year’s 6-week tournament, with England and New Zealand facing each other for a fifth time in just over a month. England ran out 3-1 winners in the recent ODI series, but will be wary that the Kiwis, for the most part, did not have their full-strength side.

It’s difficult to properly break down each nation in ODI terms given how infrequently the format is played these days. Unlike in 2019 when England spent almost half a decade revamping and perfecting their approach to the 50 over game, One Day Internationals seem to have taken a back seat to the ever-growing craze of T20s and the manic effort to preserve Test cricket at elite level.

However, if the previous four matches between these two nations in September are anything to go by, then England will justifiably begin as favourites, with William Hill offering odds of 4/9 for an opening day victory for the current holders. Jos Buttler’s side, after losing the first fixture, won by 79 runs, 181 runs and 100 runs in the subsequent three matches.

Opener Dawid Malan looks to be in fine form after amassing some serious scores in those four games, and is the joint 3/1 favourite alongside Jonny Bairstow to collect the most runs for England on Thursday. Joe Root’s odds of 10/3 probably don’t offer much value given his current form, so look out for Jos Butter (11/2) – who has been adding some very handy scores at number five recently – should the England top order get picked apart by New Zealand.

New Zealand’s white-ball squad depth isn’t much to shout about, but when their full XI is fit, they certainly have one of the most street smart and competitive teams in the world. The return of the irresistible Trent Boult is hugely significant, as evidenced when he ripped through the England top order in Cardiff last month, whilst an opening batting pair of Devon Conway and Finn Allen wouldn’t look out of place in a good IPL side.

The Kiwis will have to overcome odds of 7/4 if they are to pick up a win on Thursday, but as 2021’s T20 World Cup semi-final taught us, they are not a nation you can afford to underestimate. Their catching will be exemplary and their middle-overs bowling disciplined – it’s whether they have enough potency with the bat to really trouble the top sides.

And speaking of those batsmen, it’s the left-handed Conway who leads the betting at 11/4 to score the most runs for New Zealand, with Will Young (4/1) following him. Despite this, we like the look of the price of either Daryl Mitchell (9/2) – England’s nemesis throughout the years – or the aggressive Glenn Phillips (5/1) – who has experience in Indian conditions playing in the IPL.

Trent Boult is predictably the favourite to pick up the most wickets for the Kiwis at 9/4, whilst for England, leg-spinner Adil Rashid (10/3) will be looking to capitalise on the dry Indian surfaces, with the express pace of Mark Wood (10/3) also providing a threat.