The group stage is done and dusted and now we move onto the two massive semi-finals in the T20 World Cup! The first game sees England and New Zealand squaring off in ODI World Cup Final rematch early on Thursday morning!
We have you covered with a full preview and betting tips for the clash below, and remember, we'll be previewing both semis as well as the final so be sure to check out our Cricket Tips page for updates.
England vs New Zealand Betting Tips
Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Thursday 11th November, 1.00am (AEDT)
England
Eoin Morgan (c), Dawid Malan, James Vince, Chris Woakes, Liam Dawson, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler, Sam Billings, Chris Jordan, David Willey, Mark Wood, Reece Topley, Tom Curran, Tymal Mills
England rolled through the group stage, winning their first four games comfortably before dropping what was essentially a dead rubber to South Africa in their last game. They finished atop the group to book a date with New Zealand in the semi-final. Their squad has been pretty consistent throughout the tournament so far, having only made a few changes in total to give players a deserved rest.
They were dealt a blow in the loss to South Africa though, as opener Jason Roy went down with a tournament ending hamstring injury. Roy had played a big part in the tournament, scoring 123 runs through 5 innings at an average of 30.75. They have options to replace him, with James Vince waiting in the wings. Jonny Bairstow could also slide up the order with Sam Billings taking the spot in the middle.
Bowling has been the English side's strength through the tournament this season. Excluding the dead rubber against South Africa, they kept their opponents to an avreage of just 110.25 runs in their other four games. The combination of Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Tymall Mills, Chris Jordan and Abdil Rashid will likely be the bowlers selected for the semi.
I like the value of Jony Bairstow to top score for the English side here. As we mentioned, there is a chance he slides up to the top of the order for the injured Roy.
Bairstow Top ENG Runscorer
$3.75
New Zealand
Kane Williamson (c), Todd Astle, Trent Boult, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Martin Guptill, Kyle Jamieson, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Tim Seifert (wk), Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee
New Zealand went 4-1 through their group stage, losing only to Pakistan on their way to a 2nd place finish. The loss to Pakistan was all the way back in their first game, and since then they have been impeccable, smashing India, Scotland, Namibia and Afghanistan.
With the bat, it's been veteran Martin Guptill that has carried the load, scoring 176 at an average of 35.20. His opening partner Daryl Mitchell as well as skipper Kane Williamson have also chipped in with 125 runs each.
Like their opponents for this match, New Zealand's real strength in this tournament has been with the ball. They have kept their opponents to an average score of just 127.2 throughout the tourmanet, led by Trent Boult who has 11 wickets at an average of 10.45.
Boult Top ENG Wickets
$3.75
Match Prediction
I see this one as a bit of a 50-50. We saw how closely these two teams are matched when they went to a super over in the ODI World Cup Final and in their last seven T20 games, England holds a narrow 4-3 lead in H2H results.
For those reasons, I really like the value of the Kiwis here. The early scalp of Jos Buttler is the absolute key when it comes to beating England, and in his last two games against New Zealand, Ish Sodhi has claimed his wickets for a combined four runs.
The Kiwis key batsman Kane Williamson also really loves playing against England. In T20 internationals, he avearges 32.18 but that number rises to 42.0 in six games against the Poms.
