IN BRIEF
Date: England vs. New Zealand will take place on Thursday 5th October 2023 at 14:00. (IST) and at 09:30 (UK)
Venue: England vs. New Zealand will take place at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, India
Weather: Conditions are expected to be very hot at the start of play with bright sunshine and temperatures reaching highs of 33c, but should get cooler across the scheduled hours of play as the night sets in with light winds throughout.
TV & Streaming: Viewers in India can watch this match live on Star Sports channels, or stream it via the Disney+ Hotstar app. Viewers in Pakistan can watch this match live on both PTV Sports and A-Sports or stream it through the PTVFLIX App. Viewers in Sri Lanka can watch this match live on Maharaja TV or stream it on Sirasatv,lk. Viewers in Afghanistan can watch this match live on Ariana TV, whilst viewers in Bangladesh can watch it on Gazi TV or stream it through Rabbithole. Viewers in the UK can watch this match live on Sky Sports or stream it via the Sky Go App. Viewers in Australia can watch this match live on Fox Sports or stream it via the Foxtel or Kayo Sports app. Viewers in South Africa can watch this match on SuperSport channels or stream it via the SuperSport app. Viewers in the USA and Canada can watch this match live on Willow TV, whilst viewers from the USA can also stream it via the ESPN+ app.
KEY BETTING STATS
· England have won each of their last four completed ODI fixtures, five if you include their Cricket World Cup warm-up triumph against Bangladesh – To Win the Match
· Dawid Malan has scored 277 runs across his last three ODI innings for England against New Zealand, each of which came last month – Team – Top Batter
· Trent Boult has taken eight wickets across his last two ODI appearances against England, both of which came last month – Team – Top Bowler
BETTING ANALYSIS
2019 Cricket World Cup winners England head to India as one of the favourites to lift the trophy once again in 2023. Their depth of batting is the envy of many nations and multiple players make a case for investment. When taking into account the form of Dawid Malan though, it’s hard to look beyond him at present. Opening the batting, Malan has averaged an incredible 92.33 across his last three official ODI innings and in just 21 ODI innings for England, has already passed 1,000 runs scored for his country. Backing Malan to score over 35.5 runs against New Zealand via the ‘Batter Match Runs’ market has to be favoured, but those bettors looking to make a riskier play for a more profitable return should consider utilising the ‘Batter Milestones’ market and back the 36-year-old to score 70+ runs. Conditions in India typically favour spin-bowling and with that in mind, Joe Root is another England batter who could come to the fore here. Whilst the experienced top-order star has not been in his best form recently in white ball cricket, Indian conditions should suit his playstyle and Root is at his most dangerous when he has a point to prove. Explore backing him to finish this match as England’s ‘Top Batter’. With the ball, Adil Rashid will have a vital role to play as England’s premier spin bowler and may profit should New Zealand look to try and attack his slower bowling. A sensible play would be backing Rashid to pick up over 1.5 wickets across the contest.
If 2019 Cricket World Cup runners-up New Zealand are to be successful in this first game, they’ll need fast-bowler Trent Boult to make inroads for them early on with the ball whether they are bowling first or second. The left-arm pacer twice ripped through England’s top order last month, picking up three of England’s top four batters in back-to-back ODIs and accumulating eight wickets overall across both matches. Whilst backing him to take over 1.5 wickets represents a safe option, the value is there in backing Boult via the ‘Bowler Milestones’ market to accumulate 3+ wickets over the course of this match. Worrying for New Zealand recently has been their inability to put together a substantial opening partnership at the top of the order. In each of their last six ODI batting innings and last eight in total, if you include Cricket World Cup warm-up matches, New Zealand have failed to put up more than 50 runs for the opening wicket. Bettors can exploit this fragility within the Black Caps’ side via the ‘Team – Opening Partnership Total’ market and back New Zealand to record an opening partnership of under 26.5 runs in this encounter whether they be setting or chasing a target.
CRICKET 8’S EXPERT PREDICTION
Only last month, England defeated New Zealand 3-1 in a four-match home ODI series. Whilst conditions are expected to be significantly different in the subcontinent, the Black Caps were simply unable to contain England’s batters after winning the first game, losing the following three matches and that may well prove the case once again in this opening Cricket World Cup encounter. The world champions have both the depth and firepower down the order to cope if their top order suffers a collapse whether they are batting first or second, whilst New Zealand are perhaps a little over-reliant on Trent Boult to take wickets, especially in the opening powerplay. England have to be favoured to get their 50-over World Cup defence off to a winning start.
