The ICC Cricket World Cup is just over a month away and the top cricketing nations around the world have begun to ramp up their white ball preparations for the tournament. England will square off against New Zealand in a four match T20 series starting this Thrusday morning (AEST) and we have you covered with a series preview and betting tips below.
England vs New Zealand T20 Series Preview & Betting Tips
Game 1: Riverside, Thursday 31st August, 3am (AEST)
Game 2: Old Trafford, Saturday 2nd September, 3am (AEST)
Game 3: Edgbaston, Sunday 3rd September, 11.30pm (AEST)
Game 4: Trent Bridge, Wednesday 6th September, 3am (AEST)
Series Preview
There is no doubt that England are the undisputed white ball kings of the world at the moment. They will come into the ICC ODI Cricket World Cup as the reigning world champions of both the 50 over and 20 over format, but are they on the back end of the period of dominance kicked off by Trevor Bayliss and Eoin Morgan almost a decade ago?
If there is one nation that has given the Three Lions real issues over their successful period, it’s the Kiwis. The two sides have played three T20 series since 2018 for a total of nine games and New Zealand has come up trumps in four of those matches. Their most recent matchup came in last year’s T20 World Cup, where England were 20 run winners on the back of a brilliant batting performance by Jos Buttler, who smashed 73 off 47 balls.
It’ll be a massive few months for the England skipper, who has been in scintillating form of late in The Hundred and England T20 Cup competitions. If he can add another ICC Trophy to the England case then he will cement his legacy as the greatest white ball player in history.
England Best XI (from selected squad): Dawid Malan, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Will Jacks, Sam Curran, Luke Wood, Chris Jordan, Josh Tongue, Abdil Rashid
Tough to know exactly where England will go with this squad considering they have not played a T20 since back in March. There are a few certainties that will surely suit up in Malan, Bairstow, Buttler, Brook and Curran, the rest seem a bit of a toss-up at this point. Liam Livingstone is the incumbent middle-order batting all-rounder so will likely get first crack there, while the spinning duties will be fought for between veteran Abdil Rashid and up-and-coming star Rehan Ahmed.
New Zealand Best XI (from selected squad): Finn Allen, Devon Conway, Tim Seifert, Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Kyle Jamieson, Tim Southee, Lockie Ferguson, Ish Sodhi
The Kiwis are coming off a three match T20 series against the U.A.E in which they went 2-1. Their full complement of players were not available for that tour, but they’ll be near full strength for this series. The most notable inclusion for the Kiwis is Kyle Jamieson, who prior to the U.A.E series, had not played T20 cricket for New Zealand since all the way back in March of 2021. The pacemen adds another dimension to this Kiwi white ball setup and in my opinion, makes them one of the real favourites for the upcoming ICC World Cup.
Betting Tips
Series Winner
Have to give the edge to England here. I think the Kiwis have rolled out an incredibly strong squad for this series but it’s always hard to win in England, regardless of how much talent you have on the park. I think the travelling side might be one batsman short as well, with anchor Kane Williamson still recovering from a knee injury.
New Zealand will defnietely win at least one game, and it wouldn’t surprise me to see a draw in this four match series, but if forced to, I’m giving the slight nod to England here.
England To win series
$1.78
Player Prop Quick Tips
Jos Buttler Top ENG Series Batsman ($3.50) - Hard to look past the skipper Jos Buttler here. Will likely bat at No.3 for England in all four games and is in some brilliant form at the moment having avreaged 55.0 across his four games in The Hundred.
Sam Curran Top ENG Series Bowler ($4.00) - Curran the obvious choice here as I think he is likely the only bowler that will play all four games. The English have a good stock of pacemen to rotate through but Curran has been a mainstay as the 9th ranked T20 bowler in the world.
Devon Conway Top NZ Series Batsman ($2.87) - Conway leads a pretty inexperienced top four for the Kiwis in this series. Seifert, Allen and Phillips will all have their moments but lack the consistency that Conway has.
Kyle Jamieson Top NS Series Bowler ($5.00) - Really like Jamieson to make a splash in his return to top flight international T20 cricket. Is a world class player when fit and should give some of the English top order trouble with his extra bounce.
