The Australia versus New Zealand rivalry may not be as intense as the one between India and Pakistan, but it is bitter enough. Neither of the two teams really like each other. There is just too much familiarity between them for comfort.
The captains of both teams have their say, and have so far been respectful of one another. That may change in the heat of the battle, but Steven Smith of Australia and Kane Williamson of New Zealand have sought to cool things down a bit.
Smith said about his opponents: “They’ve got some good new-ball bowlers who can swing the ball around, and if there’s a bit there we’ll have to be quite watchful. If it’s good batting and the sun is out, then hopefully we can put a bit of pressure on those guys.”
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Williamson reiterated that his team was confident going into the clash. He said, “Any time you play Australia, whatever team they put out, they are very tough to beat. We are usually involved in series, where you kind of get into games and, hopefully, improve throughout. But tomorrow’s a one-off fixture and it’s tournament cricket, so it’s important we start strong.”
Australian players have been distracted by a pay dispute with the Australian Cricket Board which has been threatening to boil over. Smith will try to bring the focus back into cricket.
While Australia has the edge over New Zealand in head to head clashes between the two teams, fact is in recent years, both teams have been fairly even. New Zealand have won most of the games played between the two in New Zealand, and likewise, Australia has won most of the games in Australia, most famously the final of the 2015 World Cup.
Australia have four premier fast bowlers – Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and James Pattinson and they all look in great form. New Zealand have excellent seam bowlers in Trent Boult and Tim Southee and other decent fast bowling options in Adam Milne and Mitchell McClenaghan.
Australia do have the edge in the batting department, but only slightly. New Zealand aren’t inferior by any means, and have batting depth right down to no. 9. So this is going to be an exciting clash, which any team could win. But Australia start are favorites.
The Teams
Australia: 1 David Warner, 2 Aaron Finch, 3 Steven Smith (capt), 4 Glenn Maxwell, 5 Travis Head, 6 Chris Lynn, 7 Matthew Wade (wk), 8 John Hastings/Marcus Stoinis, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Pat Cummins, 11 Josh Hazlewood.
New Zealand: 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Tom Latham/Luke Ronchi (wk), 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Neil Broom, 6 Corey Anderson, 7 James Neesham, 8 Mitchell Santner, 9 Tim Southee, 10 Colin de Grandhomme/Adam Milne/Mitchell McClenaghan, 11 Trent Boult.
Match conditions
Edgbaston has one of the best batting conditions in England, so expect a lot of runs. The pitch is a belter, and even a 300+ score wouldn’t be safe here. Side batting first has to make 350+.
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