England’s final Super 8 match is a bit of a free hit, with semi-final qualification already achieved.
Victories over Sri Lanka and Pakistan secured a place in the last four, so the pressure is off in Colombo on Friday.
However, the same cannot be said for New Zealand, who need a win to bag the other qualification spot in the group at Pakistan’s expense.
So this should be another T20 cracker between two proud cricketing nations, and we have previewed the match in full below.
You will also find some handy cricket betting tips based on NetBet’s latest T20 World Cup odds.
Where can I watch England vs New Zealand in the UK?
England vs New Zealand will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Cricket, with the start of play scheduled for 1:30pm UK time.
England vs New Zealand Preview
England’s victory over Pakistan in Kandy on Tuesday was mostly down to one man – captain Harry Brook.
The Yorkshireman scored 100 (51), which is quite remarkable when you remember that England were chasing just 164, finishing at 166/8 with five balls to spare.
Brook’s promotion to No3 proved to be a masterstroke, and it will be interesting to see whether England persist with the new batting order against New Zealand.
After their match vs Pakistan was abandoned due to inclement weather conditions, the Kiwis recorded a comfortable win over joint-hosts Sri Lanka on Wednesday.
Well, it was actually not that comfortable until skipper Mitchell Santner and Cole McConchie put on an exceptional sixth-wicket partnership to help take New Zealand to 168/7.
But with the ball, the Kiwis nailed their skills perfectly, restricting Sri Lanka to just 107/8 after 20 overs – all-round spinner Rachin Ravindra taking 4/27.
So both of these teams are in good shape, and each possesses world-class operators in all departments, which paves the way for a high-quality Colombo contest.
The nations played a T20I series in New Zealand back in October, though two of the matches were rained off. The sole surviving contest saw England win by 65 runs after great knocks from Phil Salt (85) and Brook (78) saw the Three Lions post a mammoth score of 236/4.
England vs New Zealand Odds
*All odds are subject to change
England are slight favourites here at a price of 1.73, while a New Zealand victory is at odds of 1.94.
England vs New Zealand Betting Tips
New Zealand top batter – Finn Allen @ 3.60
Allen is a fearsome opening batter, one capable of taking down any attack. He could not convert a start of 23 runs into something more meaningful vs Sri Lanka, but this represents a fresh opportunity to rack up a big score. Allen averages 27.80 vs England in T20Is with a very healthy strike rate of 152.74, and came into this tournament on the back of a record-breaking BBL campaign with the Perth Scorchers. So we are tipping him to outscore the likes of Tim Seifert, Daryl Mitchell, Mark Chapman and Glenn Phillips.
England top batter – Jos Buttler @ 4.00
Buttler’s recent struggles have been well documented, although this pressure-free contest could be perfect for him ahead of the semis. The veteran batter can look to get himself in without the overriding fear of letting the team down at a crucial moment, and all it takes is a few balls to hit the middle of the bat for the form to return. Buttler averages 36.40 vs New Zealand in T20Is at a strike rate of 151.03.
England top bowler – Liam Dawson @ 4.75
Dawson was England’s top bowler against Pakistan with 3/26, and his brand of quick, consistent spin bowling should be well-suited to the conditions in Colombo. As such, we are backing him to upstage the likes of Adil Rashid and Jofra Archer once again.
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