Cardiff: After a comfortable outing in the tournament-opener, title favourites England are set to face a much stiffer test against New Zealand in a crucial Champions Trophy Group-A fixture here, Tuesday.
There is a lot at stake for both the teams. England will put their one foot in the semifinals with a second successive win while New Zealand will aim for two full points after rain denied them a crack at Australia and the two teams settled for a point each in a game that produced no-result.
England could not have hoped for a better start to the tournament as they thrashed a lacklustre Bangladesh in their first match. Apart from opener Jason Roy, the entire top order contributed to the hosts’ cause. Alex Hales, Joe Root and skipper Eoin Morgan were brilliant with the bat. England will however miss injured Chris Woakes, who has been replaced by Steven Finn.
Nonetheless, an exciting contest is in the offing with New Zealand showing a lot of promise against Australia. Captain Kane Williamson led from the front against the trans-Tasmanian rivals with a ninth ODI hundred. Luke Ronchi looked in ominous touch at the top of the order and alongside Martin Guptill, forms a dangerous combination.
The Black Caps lost their way towards the end of the innings and they would be aiming to rectify that in the game Tuesday. Their pace battery, comprising Tim Southee, Adam Milne and Trent Boult, looked in good shape and would be raring to go.
PTI
