This is the opening match of the 2023 ODI World Cup and pits the finalists of the 2019 World Cup up against each other.
New Zealand will be out for revenge, England will be looking to start their campaign with a priceless win against an ever-competitive Black Caps team who will want points on the board as early as possible themselves. There’s plenty at stake here, so this isn’t one to miss.
📝 England vs New Zealand odds
It’s not long to go now until this much-awaited clash between the two 2019 finalists who are both well-fancied to have a strong tournament here in India as well.
We’ll get onto some useful stats about these two teams in a minute and talk you through our top tips ahead of the match. But first up, here are the latest odds on the match-winner market from the best cricket betting sites.
Rajabets
Cricbaba
Pure Win
Sportsbet.io
- England to win at 1.46 with Sportsbet.io
- New Zealand to win at 2.72 with Sportsbet.io
Betshah
🔮 England vs New Zealand predictions
This match is a day-nighter at Ahmedabad. There have only been five matches played here since 2014 after the stadium was renovated with its capacity increased to 134,000, making it the largest cricket stadium in the world. In the process, it was also given a new official name- the Narendra Modi Stadium- after our current Indian prime minister.
First-innings scores of 274 (Sri Lanka), 176 (West Indies), 237 (India) and 265 (India again) in those four matches bring the average score of the team batting first to 238. In three of those four matches the team chasing won the game and on all four occasions it was India winning.
Dew may play a part so both sides will probably want to chase, while the team batting first will target around 265, knowing that gripping the ball with dew on the grass will make things tough when bowling second.
📊 England vs New Zealand key stats
Here are some good stats to be aware of.
- Remarkably it’s 44-44 in terms of the head-to-head over 95 matches, also including three ties and four no-results.
- They’ve only ever played each other once in India and it was precisely here in Ahmedabad, with New Zealand posting 239 and winning by 11 runs at the 1996 World Cup.
- Just looking at the last 10 matches between the two and it’s seven wins for England, two for New Zealand and that tie in the final of the 2019 World Cup, which England won in a Super Over.
- Joe Root, who will bat at three for England, is their all-time top scorer against New Zealand with 971 runs in 25 matches at an average of 46.23.
- Of the England bowlers who may feature here, Chris Woakes has the best record with the ball, taking 25 wickets in 15 matches against the Black Caps.
- Tim Southee, who has just recovered from a thumb injury, is New Zealand’s top wicket-taker against England with 40 wickets in 24 games.
England vs New Zealand betting tips
England start as pretty warm favourites to get off to the best possible start in their World Cup but there are better bets to be had on some of the side markets.
This is the first match of a World Cup where there no shortage of free bets and other bonuses up for grabs from the best cricket betting sites on the market. To see what exactly is on offer, head to our best cricket World Cup betting offers.
But back to the tips and here are three of the best.
New Zealand to be team with top batter – 2.42 odds (Rajabets)
As a unit, England have the better and more powerful batting line-up with Jos Buttler, Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root among the very best batsmen in the world.
But they can also have a tendency to go at it too hard and contribute with cameos of 30 or 40 runs in quick time rather than someone going on to get a big score.
New Zealand on the other hand have in batsmen like Henry Nicholls and Tom Latham accumulators who may be happy to play the long game of taking less risks and hoping one of them gets close to 100, while others around them are more aggressive.
This should be closer to 50/50 so the 2.42 that a Kiwi batsman has the highest score in the match looks like a value choice.
‘No’ on any player to score 100 – 2.08 odds (BetShah)
Only once in the last five matches (since the stadium’s refurbishment) has a century been scored in the match here at Ahmedabad. That was by Indian batsman Ambati Rayudu back in 2014, who scored an unbeaten 121 in a chase of 275 against Sri Lanka.
That one in five is proof that this can be a tricky batting track. If we’re expecting a first innings score of around 250-260, you can see how it will be hard for one player to get to a century.
Though there are fine batsmen on display, there are also some gun bowlers putting them under pressure and odds of 2.08 that no-one gets to 100 looks a pretty fair price.
Jos Buttler England Top Runscorer – 6.5 odds (Cricbaba)
Experience of playing in Indian conditions is going to be a massive advantage to batsmen in this tournament who at times will have to negotiate some lateral movement with the new ball and at others, over after over of accurate spin on turning wickets.
That lack of experience may cost opener Dawid Malan, while the usually reliable Joe Root has been badly out of form in this format for a while now.
Jonny Bairstow’s ‘go big or go home’ policy suggests a quick 40 off 30 is more likely than a long and measured innings, so he might be one to avoid, as well.
So, it may come down to a straight shootout between the highly experienced pair of Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler, the heroes of that 2019 World Cup final win.
Stokes has the advantage of batting a place higher at four, but Buttler has greater experience of playing in India courtesy of so many seasons in the IPL, a slightly better record in this format and is a bigger price of 6.5, to Stokes’ 5.5. So, the England skipper it is.
📺 How to watch England vs New Zealand at the 2023 Cricket World Cup
- Location: Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad, India
- Date and time: Thursday 05 October 2023, 14:00 IST
- How to watch:
- UK: Sky Sports Cricket
- New Zealand: Sky Sports 3
- India: Star Sports
- Live streaming available at: Disney+, ESPN+, Switch TV.
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