On October 5th the Cricket World Cup takes off when England meets New Zealand in the opening match of the 2023 Cricket World Cup. A rematch of the 2019 Cricket World Cup final, this should make for a scintillating start to the tournament. Let’s take a look at our ENG vs. NZ betting prediction.
Bet on England at odds 1.44 at Stake.com>>
Bet on New Zealand at odds 2.76 at Parimatch>>
England Overview
England comes into the ICC World Cup with a great batting lineup led by Jos Buttler, who is also the captain of the side. Whilst England might not come into the tournament with the greatest ODI batting lineup, the likes of Dawid Malan, and Jonny Bairstow will give England at least a worthy title defense. Add Ben Stokes to this list, who batted a magnificent 182 when England last met New Zealand on September 13th at The Oval and it is looking very promising. The most surprising omission is of course Jason Roy, but his lack of form after injuries was a blow for his chance to regain the title.
On the bowling side, England is also looking the par with Adil Rashid being the main man.
New Zealand Overview
New Zealand comes in as the underdog of this match despite having won the second most matches in the history of the Cricket World Cup, only after Australia. In the matchup against England, the batting depth is what is needed in order to take the victory. With Kane Williamson, Devon Conway, Glenn Phillips and Tom Latham in the squad, New Zealand has every chance to surprise.
Add the bowling from Trent Boult and Tim Southee and New Zealand suddenly look like they can match up equally to Englands strong squad. The main question for New Zealand is of course not the quality of their squad, but rather their fitness at the moment.
England vs. New Zealand Starting XI
England predicted Starting 11:
- 1: Jonny Bairstow
- 2: Dawid Malan
- 3: Joe Root
- 4: Ben Stokes
- 5: Jos Buttler (C)
- 6: Liam Livingstone
- 7: Moeen Ali
- 8: Chris Woakes
- 9: Sam Curran
- 10: Adil Rashid
- 11: Mark Wood
New Zealand predicted starting 11:
- 1: Devon Conway
- 2: Will Young
- 3: Kane Williamson (C)
- 4: Tom Latham
- 5: Daryl Mitchell
- 6: Mark Chapman
- 7: Jimmy Neesham
- 8: Mitchell Santner
- 9: Ish Sodhi
- 10: Trent Boult
- 11: Tim Southee
See the confirmed starting lineups below an hour before the match.
England vs. New Zealand Head-to-Head
Generally speaking, England and New Zealand shares a very combatitative history in ODI matchups, with England claiming victory in 45 matches and New Zealand in 44 matches in the 95 occasions they have met eachother in ODI matches.
If we take a look at their recent matchups, England appears to have the upper hand. Whilst New Zealand came away with a win on the 8th September at the New Zealand Tour of England, the English bounced back in the next three matches. They won the second ODI by 79 runs, the third by a remarkable 181 runs, and the fourth by a convincing 100 runs.
Thus, it is looking good for the English ahead of the 2023 Cricket World Cup opener.
Weather & Pitch Report
The match will take place at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad starting at 2pm local time.
Weather-wise, sunny weather is to be expected with the temperature starting out at around 35 degrees celsius, slowly dwindling throughout the match. The humidity level will be at around 56%, which could be a minor challenge, whilst a gentle breeze of around 3m/s would only affect ball movement a little bit.
As it is a day-night fixture the dew factor will enhance the batting conditions in the latter part of the game. This along with a generally betting friendly surface at Narendra Modi stadium should ensure a high scoring game.
England vs. New Zealand Prediction
England is the betting favourite to win this match, and it is with good reason. They are defending champions, not only in the ODI World Cup, but they are also the current T20 World Cup title holders. New Zealand will have to show perseverance and gut, especially after their heartbreaking loss in the last World Cup final to the English.
That might not be enough against a strong English squad. We believe England will come away with the win in a high scoring match.
England vs. New Zealand Betting Tip
We believe this will be a high scoring match, and that is why we think the bet of total wickets under 15.5 at odds 1.96 at Parimatch is a bargain.
There is a number of factors that favours this bet. First up, the pitch conditios at Narendra Modi Stadium are expected to be batting-friendly, especially as the match progresses. This will make it hard for the bowlers to consistently take wickets.
The second factor are the great betting lineups on both teams, which should make it hard for the bowlers to take wickets. The third factor is the recent head-to-head results in ODI encounters. These matches have been high scoring with bowlers struggling to take wickets.
That makes this a desirable bet.
Bet on total wickets under 15.5 at Parimatch at odds 1.96>>
If you want to check out our other Cricket World Cup match predictions, you can find them on our site shortly. In the meantime you can check out how to bet on the Cricket World Cup.
