England have not impressed with the bat or ball in T20Is of late, while New Zealand have blown hot and cold in the format and seem to have a mental block when playing in Bangladesh. On Saturday, the two teams, far from fancied to land the World T20 title -- even if one might have a better chance than the other -- will look to iron out those chinks and come away with something every team desires in a big tournament - win their first match.
If the two warm-up games, and indeed the T20 series in West Indies, are anything to go by, then England are not going to have a memorable World Cup. Outclassed by WI in the first warm-up and well beaten by India in the second, England come into the World T20 with plenty of questions, questions that show no signs of being answered.
New Zealand, on paper have a brilliant batting lineup, with the likes of Martin Guptill, Brendon McCullum, Ross Taylor and Corey Anderson all in good form. The only real issue might be the fact that they don't have a match-winning spinner in their lineup.
Nathan McCullum is a good T20 bowler, one who can keep the runs to a minimum - but he isn't exactly the wicket-taking machine you need to thrive in these conditions. Ronnie Hira is still unproven, leaving New Zealand to rely on their medium pacers/fast bowlers.
The same can be said about England as well, who also do not have the potent spinners to be able to win them a game often enough.
But then, the positive is the fact that the Chittagong pitch does not look like assisting the slower bowlers as much as it would in Dhaka. There is a bit of grass cover and the ball might come through a lot quicker than one anticipates on these shores.
"England are a huge challenge," Kiwi skipper Brendon McCullum said. "This competition is so wide open, it's hard to get a read on form lines, who's going to be the most dangerous team. We've been through some preparation and scouting, fine-tuning our plans and it's a matter of executing them against a very good England team initially.
"It's really important that we adapt to the conditions quickly. These conditions in Bangladesh will probably suit both us and England, more so than the subcontinent teams. If we start well we can get some confidence and build some momentum as the tournament goes on."
Where to Watch Live:
World T20 2014: England vs New Zealand Live TV and Streaming Information (Match starts 7.30 pm local time, 7 pm IST, 1.30 pm GMT, 9.30 am ET)
Country | TV Broadcaster |
India | Star Sports 1, Star Sports 3, Star Sports HD1 |
US and Latin America | ESPN |
Canada | Sportsnet |
UK and Ireland | Sky Sports |
Middle East and North Africa | OSN Sport Cricket |
Australia | Fox Sports |
Sub Saharan Africa & South Africa | SuperSport |
New Zealand | Sky Sport |
Europe | EuroSport |
Pakistan | PTV and Ten Sports |
Sri Lanka | CSN |
Bangladesh | Bangladesh TV, Maasranga TV and Gazi TV |
Country | Online live streaming links |
India | HERE |
US | HERE |
UK | HERE |
Middle East | HERE |
Canada | HERE or HERE |
Australia | HERE |
South Africa & Sub Saharan Africa | HERE |
Latin America | HERE |
New Zealand | HERE |
Europe | HERE |
Pakistan | HERE or HERE |
Sri Lanka | HERE |
Team news: England: Stuart Broad remains confident of playing a pivotal role in the World T20, despite his struggles with a knee injury, after coming through reasonably well from the India warm-up match in which he bowled two overs.
"The knee has come up pretty well from the India game," the England skipper said. "It was quite a new position for me as a player to have my first bowl and fitness test during a game, but with it being a warm-up game and India playing 15 players it was an opportunity that was presented to us.
"It actually gave me a lot of confidence having had 12 balls in the middle. We know how different it is bowling in nets. I'm pretty confident, no, very confident of playing a part tomorrow and in the rest of the tournament."
However, Luke Wright has been ruled out of the World T20 due to a side strain and will be replaced by Craig Kieswetter.
New Zealand: McCullum has a couple of decisions to make on whether to play Hira as a second spinner, while the skipper will select three of Kyle Mills, Mitchell McClenaghan, Tim Southee and Trent Boult.
Expected lineups: England: Michael Lumb, Alex Hales, Moeen Ali, Eoin Morgan, Ravi Bopara, Jos Buttler, Tim Bresnan, Chris Jordan, Stuart Broad (capt), James Tredwell, Jade Dernbach.
New Zealand: Martin Guptill, Kane Williamson, Brendon McCullum (capt), Ross Taylor, Corey Anderson, Luke Ronchi, Anton Devcich, Nathan McCullum, Tim Southee, Kyle Mills, Mitchell McClenaghan.