• England is set to go with an extra batter for their T20 World Cup opener
• Jos Buttler’s side faces Afghanistan on Saturday as they begin their tournament
• Liam Livingstone is ahead of schedule in his return from injury and is set to play
• Left-arm bowler David Willey seems in line to replace the injured Reece Topley
• Alex Hales has emphasized the importance of England starting positively 

England plans to go into the T20 World Cup here on Saturday with all guns blazing after determining to pack their team to face Afghanistan with all their big-hitting batters. Liam Livingstone is set to return ahead of the timetable from the injury that appeared to damage his World Cup hopes and could bat as low as seven, while he will be combined in the middle order by Vice-captain Moeen Ali and rising star Harry Brook.

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England T20 World Cup

It represents something of a change of emotion by England T20 World cup Captain Jos Buttler, who likes to have as many bowling choices at his disposal as possible and was thought to be leaning toward the all-around talents of Sam Curran at seven. So now the skipper and coach Matthew Mott look certain to choose both to take on Afghanistan’s array of spinners, led by the outstanding Rashid Khan, at a Perth Stadium not renowned for helping the slower bowlers.

If any batsman is under threat it is believed to be Alex Hales, who seemed to cement his place at the top of the order when making 84 in the first of three internationals against Australia at the start of this tour but has done slightly since. Hales has done enough to make the team now, not least because of his experience and excellent record in Australia, but if England does decide to go with an extra bowler in subsequent competitions he could be vulnerable. Both Ben Stokes and Dawid Malan could open.

Chris Jordan

The desperately unlucky absence of Reece Topley, who fears he will need surgery on the ankle he damaged while stepping on a boundary marker in Brisbane on Monday, may open the door for the astonished choice of David Willey. The selection of Willey in Topley’s place would retain a second left-arm option for England along with Curran and he seems to be just ahead of England T20 World Cup Player Chris Jordan, recurring from injury himself, and Chris Woakes in the bowling pecking order.

England Vs New Zealand: Mott has been at pains here to say the line-up could be dissimilar in each game as England encounters different situations around Australia but picking the extra batter does seem to be something of a mission declaration. England knows, with only five games in a Super 12 group that comprises both last year’s World Cup finalists in Australia and New Zealand, that they cannot afford any early slip-ups if they are to reach the semi-finals, as Hales pointed out on Thursday.

We just have to get off to a good start,’ said Hales. ‘It’s dissimilar to franchise competitions.  ‘More often than not you have 10 to 14 sports in those and it’s not the end of the world if you’re finding your feet in the first few games. But with this being only five games it’s so important to find early momentum.’ Providing Hales does get the nod his arrival at the top of the order on Saturday will be the culmination of a return that looked as if it would not ever happen when he was initially left out of this squad.

Jonny Bairstow

But another freak wound, this one to Jonny Bairstow, opened the door for a man who was banished by England on the brink of their fruitful 2019 50-over World Cup campaign when it emerged he had failed a second test for fun drug use. ‘I’m very excited,’ he added. ‘I’ve enjoyed being back around the squad in Pakistan and now here. Australia is a place where I’ve got a lot of good reminiscences so that experience will be significant to me and hopefully play a big part in our batting line-up.’ To know more about England T20 World Cup Tickets click here.

 

England Vs New Zealand: A repeat of the 2021 Final awaiting New Zealand at the start of their 2022 movement

England Vs New Zealand: The ICC Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup is now in full movement and before long the competition will reach its next stage, the Super 12s, where New Zealand Enters the competition. Last year’s compressed finalists, the Black Caps will surely be among the front runners in this year’s competition as they look to avenge defeat by this year’s hosts Australia.  And ahead of their opener against Australia on Saturday – we look at the New Zealand squad in focus. 

2022 Prospects 

New Zealand has been drawn in Group 1 of the Super 12s, alongside Afghanistan, Australia, and England, with two extra teams – one from Group A and one from Group B of the first round also joining.  They will need to come in the top two of those six sides to spread the knockout stage, which they have done in the preceding two versions of the T20 World Cup. 

The Kiwis enter the competition in mixed form, having lost to South Africa and Pakistan, but recently enjoying victories against Bangladesh (twice) and against Pakistan in a T20 tri-series.  A 3-0 series overthrow to the West Indies before that shows how much their form has been up and down, but they will be hoping to head into Australia to recover their constancy. 

Having made it to the semi-finals in the previous two World Cups, New Zealand will expect to be there for a third successive time, but with both England and Australia there as well as Afghanistan – it may be easier said than complete. 

T20 World Cup History 

New Zealand has played its part in every single ICC Men’s T20 World Cup since the inaugural competition in South Africa back in 2007 – where they lost to Pakistan in the semi-finals.  In their next four competitions – 2009, 2010, 2012, and 2014, the Black Caps failed to make it outside the Super 8s or Super 10s and into the semi-finals. 

England Vs New Zealand: But, nine years after their last arrival in the knockout stages, the Black Caps finally returned there again, with all facets of New Zealand cricket dramatically improving at the same time. They lost that semi-final by 7 wickets to England and then went one better in 2021. 

Attainment of the knockout stages for the second successive T20 World Cup, New Zealand earned revenge on England in the process with a five-wicket victory, only to suffer an eight-wicket defeat to adjacent Australia in the final. Now they look to go one healthier and win their first-ever World Cup. To know more about New Zealand T20 World Cup Tickets click here.

Best Batters 

When looking at the best batsmen in the New Zealand cricket side, they simply do not come healthier than Kane Williamson.  Debatably New Zealand’s greatest ever, Williamson has been a key member of the Black Caps’ rise to fame in all three forms of the game and is still one of the best players in the world now. 

Mainly known for flourishing in Test cricket, where he remains sixth in the batting rankings, Williamson has an average of 32.72 at the T20 international level, including a high score of 95.  In the new narrow defeat to Pakistan, New Zealand T20 World Cup Captain Williamson top counted for the Black Caps, scoring 59 from 38 balls to assure over his form. 

Ranked 5th in the ICC MRF Tyres Men’s T20I Player Rankings, Devon Conway is the man to get New Zealand going as an opening batsman.  Averaging an astonishing 52.27 from his 25 innings, with an enticing high score of 99 not out, he is the man to set the tone for the Black Caps alongside Martin Guptill. 

Best Bowlers 

New Zealand’s batting is a strength, but they are not without a top-excellence bowling line-up either.  Their long-standing company consists of Trent Boult and Tim Southee, who, like Williamson have grasped the art of all three formats in New Zealand’s most successful run. 

Both Southee and Boult have unresolved records at the T20 level and are surely one of the most imposing opening bowling combinations in the T20 World Cup this year. Southee’s 122 T20 international wickets have come at an average of 24.62 and Boult’s average is even more impressive, taking 66 wickets at 22.71. The pair is finished by spinner Mitchell Santner, ranked 12th in the world, with 80 wickets and 22.4.

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