Ahmedabad ,Gujarat, India, October 5: New Zealand won the toss and opted to field in the opening match of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup against defending champion England at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Thursday.
New Zealand will step out on the field to take revenge for the Cricket World Cup 2019 final which they had lost in the Super Over.
Kane Williamson will miss today’s match from the Kiwi’s side while England’s all-round Ben Stokes has been ruled out due to niggle in his hip.
New Zealand captain Tom Latham said at the toss, “Going to have a bowl. Looks like a reasonably good surface. Hopefully later on it gets better to bat. The preparation has been great. Guys came together from different parts of the world a week ago. Unfortunately, Kane’s not quite ready yet.”
England skipper Jos Buttler also said, “Would’ve bowled first as well. Looks a really good wicket. Preparation has been okay. Had a good series against NZ at home. Very proud of the achievement four years ago. Ben’s going to miss this game. Has a niggle with his hip.”
New Zealand’s Playing XI: Devon Conway, Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (capt/wk), Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Matt Henry, Trent Boult
England: Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler (capt/wk), Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood.
