England v New Zealand Cricket World Cup predictions and cricket betting tips

Where to watch England v New Zealand

Sky Sports Cricket & Main Event, 9.30am Thursday

Best bets

Reece Topley top England wicket-taker
1pt 4-1 Hills

Will Young to score a fifty
2pts 11-4 bet365, Hills

England v New Zealand predictions

England and New Zealand were virtually inseparable in the 2019 World Cup final but world champions England are clear favourites for their rematch in the opening fixture of the 2023 tournament.

241-8 played 241 all out at Lord's four years ago before a tied Super Over and ultimately an England triumph by virtue of hitting more boundaries.

Jos Buttler's men, who won the T20 World Cup in more comfortable fashion last November, pose the biggest threat to home favourites India and should make a winning start in Ahmedabad, venue for next month's World Cup final.

New Zealand are missing their captain Kane Williamson, player of the tournament in 2019, as he continues his recovery from a serious knee injury. Veteran bowler Tim Southee is also sitting out the opener and BoyleSports offer 33-1 that the match goes to a Super Over.

With each team playing nine league matches, and the top four qualifying for the semi-finals, there is some margin for error but England will want to make a strong start to their title defence.

In 2019 sloppy defeats to Pakistan and Sri Lanka left them facing an early exit before crucial league wins over India and New Zealand and a semi-final demolition of Australia.

Meaningful 50-over form is scarce – England opener Jonny Bairstow, for example, has had only 21 ODI innings since the 2019 final – but Buttler's men beat New Zealand 3-1 in last month's home series.

Ben Stokes, who cracked a national-record 182 in the third of those games, is a fitness doubt due to a hip problem. However, Harry Brook is a top-class understudy and Dawid Malan cemented his place at the top of the order with 277 series runs against New Zealand so England's batting power should be decisive in Ahmedabad.

They chased down 197 in just 24.1 overs in their final warm-up game against Bangladesh, with number seven Moeen Ali smashing six sixes, and are hard to oppose at 4-6 to have the highest score in the first 15 overs and 4-7 to hit more sixes than the Kiwis.

Reece Topley, who took 3-23 in Monday's win over Bangladesh, is worth backing to be England's top wicket-taker. Getting into the team will be the first battle for the left-arm paceman but he has made a strong case for selection, playing all four ODIs against New Zealand in September and taking 3-27 at the Rose Bowl and 2-31 at The Oval.  

Will Young, like England's Malan, has nailed down an opening spot for his side, having scored two ODI centuries against the Netherlands in early 2022, and he looks a big price to reach 50.

Young's 14 knocks in 2023 include 86 not out against Sri Lanka, 86 and 87 in Pakistan, and 58 and 70 in Bangladesh last month, and he made starts in each of the recent ODIs in England, scoring 29, 33, 12 and 24.

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