🏏ICC Men's T20I WC 2022: Super 12 - Group 1 - ENG vs NZ - 01/11/22🏏

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Super 12 - Group 1

England vs New Zealand on 01/11/2022 at 1:30 PM IST at The Gabba, Brisbane

England in must-win territory against New Zealand in replay of last year's semi-final

New Zealand will still be well-placed even if they lose, though they would likely need to beat Ireland to ensure progress to semi-final

The last time England and New Zealand met, the former were knocked out of the 2021 World Cup at the semifinal stage rather convincingly in Abu Dhabi. If that result repeats on Tuesday, England could virtually be out of contention this time around as well given how close Group 1 has been thanks to a couple of washed-out games. On the contrary, a win could make New Zealand the first semifinalist of the ICC T20 World Cup 2022.

In that context, New Zealand's five points already appear to be a cushion that England lack. While it will be the first game for both teams at Brisbane in the Super 12 stage, England has a slight edge having played one practice game where they beat Pakistan quite convincingly chasing down 161 in under 15 overs. "It's the ground we played the warmup game against Pakistan, and the boys enjoyed the surface," said England's assistant coach Paul Collingwood ahead of the game.

Unlike the other surfaces and conditions in Australia, the Gabba has not shown overt assistance for the seamers vis-a-vis swing or movement off the pitch in a couple of games so far. But Australia changed that narrative a little in the game against Ireland, where Mitchell Starc got the ball to move in the air. If similar conditions welcome the two teams on Tuesday, Trent Boult (6 wickets, ER 6.17) and Tim Southee (4 wiickets, ER 2.92), who have been pivotal to New Zealand's World Cup campaign, will be key once again.

However, this will be the third game on the surface in under 24 hours and will bring its own challenges, and possibly aid the spinners even more.

England vs New Zealand Pitch Report

The pitch at the Gabba is a balanced track. The new-ball bowlers may get some lateral movement off the surface, which gets better to bat on as the game progresses. Fans can expect a high-scoring affair at this venue.

Pitch and conditions

David Hussey describes the Gabba as "probably the best batting pitch in Australia for white-ball cricket", and the numbers back that up: the average scoring rate there in men's T20Is is 7.94 per over, the second-highest of any Australian ground. The pitch was on the slow side in Australia's win against Ireland on Monday, and the same strip will be used on Tuesday, which could bring spinners into play.

Bad weather has followed England around over the last week, and the forecast for the match is not the best either, with rain due to fall throughout Tuesday morning. However, the weather is expected to clear up later in the day, and the Gabba's renowned underground drainage system could ensure the teams get on to the pitch.

England vs New Zealand Weather Forecast

Temperatures in Brisbane are expected to hover between 13 and 23 degrees Celsius. There will be a cloud cover throughout the day.

The ENG vs NZ match will start at 6 pm local time which is 1.30 pm IST on November 1. The 33rd match will also be the last of this T20 World Cup at this venue. There is a prediction of rain during the day. By the evening the rain is expected to stop and the temperature will be 18 degrees. The big ground dimensions at the Gabba will mean that a score between 150 to 160 will be a competitive score given the bowler’s bowl well.

Head to head

Total matches played- 22

Matches won by ENG: 13

Matches won by NZ: 8

Matches played in ICC T20 World Cup: 6(ENG 3, NZ 3)

ENG average score against NZ: 163

NZ average score against ENG: 157

Most runs for ENG: 428 (Eoin Morgan)

Most runs for NA: 471 (Martin Guptill)

Most wickets for ENG: 14 (Stuart Broad)

Most wickets for NZ: 16 (Mitchell Santner)

New Zealand:

Injured/Unavailable: There haven't been any injuries or concerns reported.

Tactics and matchups: The powerplay battle promises to be an interesting one, particularly with the newer conditions at The Gabba. So far, New Zealand have picked up 7 wickets across two games in this period while England have not crossed 40 in their two games. Southee-Boult vs Buttler-Hales promises to be mouth-watering action. The other conundrum will be the toss up between Mitchell Santner, who has five wickets in two games, and offspinner Mark Chapman who could be a better match-up against an England line-up with four left-handers.

Probable XI: Finn Allen, Devon Conway, Kane Williamson, Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner/Mark Chapman, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult

England

Tactics and matchups: The big battle could well be Mark Wood, who has picked up 14 wickets in 5 T20I outings this year, against the big-hitting likes of Finn Allen and Glenn Phillips which promises to be high-octane.

Probable XI: Alex Hales, Jos Buttler, David Malan, Ben Stokes, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood

Probable best batter: Glenn Phillips

Glenn Phillips was the star for New Zealand in the last game against Sri Lanka. He scored a blistering century under pressure at a time when the Kiwis had lost their top-order with hardly anything on the board. Phillips scored 104 runs off 64 deliveries as the BlackCaps registered a 65-run win. He was also adjudged the Player of the Match.

Probable best bowler: Sam Curran

The New Zealand batters must play Sam Curran with due care in his four-over spell as the youngster has the ability to do some serious damage with the ball in hand. He already has a fifer in this competition and currently has seven wickets to his tally. The star all-rounder has the potential to keep the explosive Kiwi batters quiet with his tight bowling.

Did you know

-England have lost 9 of their 12 run chases in 2022 but have won 8 of 11 matches while batting first in the year

- Ish Sodhi has dismissed Jos Buttler 3 times in 14 balls in T20Is

- Alex Hales has a strike-rate of 226 against Trent Boult in T20Is

Stats and trivia

Buttler will become the second player to reach 100 men's T20Is for England after Eoin Morgan, and will overtake his predecessor as their all-time leading run-scorer in the format if he can makes at least 64.

Malan has dominated Sodhi during their previous meetings in T20Is, hitting 105 runs off the 58 balls. It is one of only five head-to-head match-ups in T20I history where a batter has scored more than 100 runs off a single bowler, where ball-by-ball data is available.

Allen has the highest strike rate in T20 history among batters with at least 1000 runs.

New Zealand have never played a T20I at the Gabba, and have a poor historic record there across formats. They have not won a game in Brisbane in the last 20 years, their most recent victory coming in an ODI against South Africa in January 2002.

Quotes

"It's frustrating when you've got the rain around in Melbourne: it was almost like English conditions there. It's nice to come up to Brisbane where it's a lot warmer, and we're all looking forward to getting a full 40 overs in."

Paul Collingwood is hoping for a dry evening at the Gabba after the washout against Australia at the MCG

"Our brand of cricket might not look as aggressive as them, but we need to stick to what we have done well for a period of time, and make sure we throw our own punches in our own way."

Lockie Ferguson doesn't expect New Zealand to make any major adjustments to their style of play against England

Thank you, Raji, for the thread and for tagging me. 🤗

It's difficult to decide whom do I support !!

I prefer to see an interesting match today.