Time for the second cricket ODI on Sunday Sept 10th between England and New Zealand. The venue is the Rose Bowl at Southampton, and the start time is 11am.
Fingers crossed that the magnificent late summer weather continues, as England bid to square the series at one-each.
England vs New Zealand Tips
Team news
New Zealand are delighted to be one-up in the series after a resounding win the other day at Cardiff in a day/night contest.
Jos Buttler’s men posted a respectable 291 for 6, but Tom Latham’s tourists knocked them off with just over 4 overs and eight wickets to spare – a good pasting. The visitors are expected to make few changes, a situation mirrored in all likelihood by England unless any niggles are around that we’re unaware of.
ODI cricket is volatile results-wise by its mere nature but over 50 overs you do have an opportunity to employ arguably a little more match craft than in the shorter T20 format. England have been in rather magnificent order in white-ball cricket generally over the last few years but that doesn’t insulate them from the odd convincing reverse, as with the setback in Wales in game one.
For my selections, I’ve gone for a nice straightforward market, picking one gladiator from each side to hopefully boss proceedings with the bat for their respective nations.
Top NZ run scorer Daryl Mitchell @ 4/1
NZ invariably punch above their weight in whatever sporting sense you could think of, but certainly in this sphere. I believe the population is only around 5 million, and they’ve consistently produced fine players and competitive teams that on their day will give anyone problems.
The Rugby World Cup is upon us of course, with NZ’s All Blacks among the favourites despite an opening-day loss to hosts France – no shame there. They boast proud, battling, highly skilled and resourceful sports men and women across many disciplines, and always have.
So to Daryl. Batting at 4 in Cardiff he made a fabulous unbeaten hundred, which included 7 maximums. He averages just under 50 in ODIs, and 57 in Tests. He’s a serious talent, in prime nick, and I’m looking no further! The Rose Bowl pitch should favour the bat, and 4/1 is a very fair price I believe about someone I’d perhaps chalk up a point or so skinnier.
Top England run scorer Joe Root @ 3/1
Joe didn’t really fire the other day in that heavy loss, making just 6 in 15 balls. However – class is permanent and all that, and here’s a man with over 6,000 ODI career runs and batting averages of 50 in both this, and the Test cricket arena. Another serious, enduring and high-quality talent.
England will be smarting, and looking to square the series. Experienced players will be looked to – and there are few more seasoned than the Yorkshireman who’s been an international cricketer for over a decade. At 32 he’s got plenty of gas left in the tank and can play a prominent role in Sunday’s key clash, which should be a high-scoring belter.
Share Article
