England, New Zealand bring out the big guns as World Cup prep begins in earnest

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England, New Zealand bring out the big guns as World Cup prep begins in earnest

Big image: Lord’s finalists reunited

Change of week, change of format, change of headspace, similar opponents … kind of.

Forget the exploratory joustings that performed out in a deeply peculiar T20I sequence, one in which England have been a category aside till they weren’t, and in which New Zealand went from distracted cannon-fodder to harmful bomb-squaddies in the house of 48 hours. This time, issues might be lethal critical from the get-go. Got it?

Though not, let’s be clear, fairly as critical as they will be getting in Ahmedabad in little below a month’s time, at the 2023 World Cup curtain-raiser. And definitely not a patch on the timeless drama that introduced down the home at Lord’s 4 years in the past, on the final event that these two groups crossed swords in the 50-over enviornment.

Instead, we’re braced for … effectively, who rightly is aware of, in truth. After 4 years in mothballs, the ODI format is transferring centre stage as soon as once more, braced for a comeback of Sinatra-esque proportions if the full hype of a World Cup in India is something to go by. And but, the journey that these two groups have taken in the interim slightly epitomises the neglect that 50-over cricket has endured since that recreation of video games. Can England and New Zealand attain an ODI cruising altitude from a standing begin over the course of 4 video games in eight days? That’s what we’re all itching to search out out.

For England, the most notable speaking level is, inevitably, the return of Ben Stokes after his short-lived ODI retirement. And but, he is barely extra of a stranger to the format than a bunch of his fellow World Cup heroes. Joe Root, for example, final batted in a 50-over match on July 22 final 12 months, three days after Stokes had stated his farewells at Chester-le-Street, and has featured in simply 15 such matches in 4 years.

Jonny Bairstow can be getting back from a 14-month hiatus, albeit a lot of that pertains to his horrific damaged leg. But even Jos Buttler, the captain, has performed in barely half of England’s contests since the World Cup ultimate (23 out of 39), whereas Brydon Carse, the reserve seamer, has performed extra instances than their designated spearhead Mark Wood (9 to eight).

The ECB’s dereliction of the format post-2019 has been uncompromising – not least with the start of the Hundred relegating home 50-over cricket to a feeder competitors. And but, the lack of ODI game-time is way from a uniquely English situation.

Between their twin World Cup ultimate appearances in 2015 and 2019, New Zealand racked up a wholesome 76 matches (and 43 wins); that quantity has plummeted to 36 (and 21) in the 4 years since. And except for the near-permanent fixture, the captain Tom Latham (35 caps), no participant has featured in greater than 70% of these – least of all the most in-demand man in their ranks, Trent Boult, the final of whose ten caps got here virtually precisely a 12 months in the past in Cairns.

What does any of this really show in this point in time, nevertheless? New Zealand’s gradual begin to the T20I sequence might in half be attributed to their loopy, atomised build-up, with half the squad flying in from a low-key sequence in the UAE and the relaxation floating alongside through stints of various lengths in the Hundred. But, equally, their flying end confirmed how rapidly skilled outfits can discover ample cohesion amid the madcap treadmill life-style.

Besides, as England’s Test workforce have spent the previous 12 months and a bit proving with their Bazball revolution, who the hell cares about preparation today anyway? Stokes, Root, Bairstow, Moeen Ali, Wood and Chris Woakes are amongst the senior gamers to have peaced out on Brendon McCullum’s good vibes in current months – be it sacking off warm-up matches for an additional spherical of golf, or breaking the pre-Test stress with a six-hitting competitors on the apply strip.

And but, none of that carefree angle might ever have been allowed to take root had it not been trialled and authorized in the course of the white-ball renaissance that preceded it. And so for England in specific, this sequence is about coming full circle – about forgetting all circumstance and simply doubling down on the instinctual cricket that turned them into world-beaters in the first place.

As for New Zealand, they’re the workforce from whom England took these preliminary cues again in 2015, and for all the over-riding sense that their very own golden technology is now deep into transition, there’s nonetheless a ample effectively of expertise inside that dressing-room for them to go deep as soon as once more.

And that depth of knowhow, by the way, contains the as-yet unready Kane Williamson, who’s inching his approach again from long-term knee damage however is clearly a World Cup shoo-in given half a invoice of well being. His progress on the sidelines might be a subplot of the coming days, and a reminder too that a lot about this World Cup build-up is about being all proper on the evening.

Form information

England LWWWL (final 5 matches, most up-to-date first)
New Zealand WLLLL

In the highlight: Ben Stokes and Trent Boult

“Lol” was Ben Stokes‘ succinct response on Twitter / X when information of his England ODI recall was confirmed by the ECB – an echo of Moeen’s well-known response to Stokes’ personal “Ashes?” WhatsApp message, asking if he would contemplate a Test comeback as Jack Leach’s alternative. It is unclear whether or not Jos Buttler phrased his petitions fairly so succinctly, however the logic in each instances was unimpeachable. When there is a job to be finished, this specific England set-up values expertise and camaraderie over virtually all different traits. And in terms of 50-over cricket, no person does it higher than Stokes. Will it matter that he formally retired from the format 14 months in the past? Almost definitely not. He made approach final July as a result of he felt he couldn’t give “100% to the shirt”, and needed another person to make an unarguable case in his absence. And but, England have performed simply 11 ODIs in that point, 9 of them abroad, no less than six of which have been grossly overshadowed by the T20 zeitgeist – England’s World Cup-winning hangover in Australia final November, and the competing sights of the franchise circuit in Bangladesh the following March. As a consequence, Stokes has missed nothing of observe. Assuming his physique holds up, his thoughts – as we all know from confirmed expertise throughout all codecs – might be keenly attuned to his activity.

He was hardly the first in-demand cricketer to go freelance, however Trent Boult‘s resolution to show down a New Zealand central contract final 12 months was a notable second nonetheless. At the age of 34, he stays considered one of the pre-eminent left-arm seamers in the world, however this might be his first worldwide outing in any format since the T20 World Cup in Australia final November. Since then, the selectors have been resolute in their want to offer possibilities to those that are keen to decide to the nationwide facet – resulting in the barely absurd situation earlier this 12 months, when a Test match towards England passed off in his house city of Mount Maunganui, with Boult kicking his heels just a few miles down the street. But with the big present approaching, there isn’t any considered protocol holding sway any longer. His document throughout 99 profession ODIs is excellent, 187 wickets at 23.97, however in reaching the ultimate in every of his two earlier World Cup campaigns, Boult has racked up 39 wickets in 19 matches at 21.79. And in his rare 50-over appearances in the previous 4 years, that common plummets to 16.21. He stays a vital weapon and a key cause to consider one other deep World Cup run is inside the workforce’s grasp.

Team information: England bring out the big guns

England’s ODI ambitions really feel as although they have been frozen in time since July 14, 2019, and so their first-choice XI has a fittingly retro really feel, with as much as 9 World Cup medallists set to take the area collectively for this opening fixture. That quantity ought to embody 5 of the 2019 prime six, with solely the retired Eoin Morgan assured to make approach … for Liam Livingstone in the first occasion, though as everyone knows, Harry Brook is making an outstanding case for his inclusion (though he has but to hyperlink up with the squad after being added at the final minute). Perhaps the most important micro-reunion is because of come at the prime of the order the place Jason Roy and Bairstow will, niggles allowing, as soon as once more be charged with setting the tone in the trailblazing method that set England aside in the earlier World Cup cycle.

Roy, maybe surprisingly, has been England’s ODI mainstay since that epic ultimate at Lord’s, that includes in 32 of their 39 subsequent fixtures, however his type has at instances fallen via the ground. Dawid Malan, probably absent on paternity depart at some stage this week, and feeling the Brook pinch like few others, is itching to make his case as the reserve opener – and given Bairstow felt a shoulder twinge in the ultimate T20I, that likelihood might but come sooner slightly than later. On the bowling entrance, Sam Curran is the solely assured starter from the post-2019 technology, though Mark Wood could also be rested in the quick to medium time period, which means Gus Atkinson – in that provisional World Cup squad however but to be examined throughout 50 overs – may be in line to start his fast-tracking as England’s new 90mph choice. Moeen would possibly conceivably give option to an additional seamer, given Cardiff’s unfriendly dimensions for offspin.

England: (potential) 1 Jason Roy, 2 Jonny Bairstow / Dawid Malan, 3 Joe Root, 4 Ben Stokes, 5 Jos Buttler (capt & wk), 6 Liam Livingstone, 7 Moeen Ali / Brydon Carse, 8 Sam Curran, 9 Chris Woakes, 10 Mark Wood / Gus Atkinson, 11 Adil Rashid

After a T20 partnership that prolonged from Southern Brave’s Hundred marketing campaign into the T20I sequence, Devon Conway and Finn Allen have been separated for the 50-over format, with Allen’s place in the World Cup squad seemingly out of the image too. Instead Conway will entrance up alongside Will Young, who has averaged an imposing 49.33 with a strike-rate in extra of 90 in his 15 ODIs since 2019. Williamson remains to be recovering from a cruciate ligament tear in April, and will not be match to play in any of the 4 video games. Daryl Mitchell and Glenn Phillips will present the energy in the center order. On the bowling entrance, it is a acquainted forged of confirmed performers, with Boult’s return the stand-out choice. “It’s along the same lines as Stokes [for England],” Latham stated. “Having someone of world-class calibre come back into your side is always confidence-boosting.”

New Zealand: 1 Will Young, 2 Devon Conway, 3 Daryl Mitchell, 4 Glenn Phillips, 5 Tom Latham (capt & wk), 6 Henry Nicholls, 7 Mitchell Santner, 8 Matt Henry, 9 Tim Southee, 10 Lockie Ferguson, 11 Trent Boult

Pitch and circumstances

Cardiff, with its quick straight boundaries and deep pockets sq. of the wicket, gives the typical challenges for bowlers, with back-of-a-length bombs and extensive strains for the spinners prone to be the order of the day. The pitch itself is fairly near the centre of the sq. and has a little bit of reside grass on it. The surfaces served up a lot larger scores in the Blast than in earlier years, though these used for the Hundred proved to be pretty turgid. The climate is about to be sweltering.

  • Cardiff has hosted 29 ODIs in whole, and 15 involving England – most lately in July 2021, when Stokes’ Covid-affected scratch facet pulled off a outstanding nine-wicket win over Pakistan.

  • Overall, England have gained 9 and misplaced three of their accomplished matches at Sophia Gardens. Their most up-to-date loss was in the Champions Trophy semi-final, additionally towards Pakistan in 2017.

  • New Zealand have had a combined time of it at the venue, profitable 4 and shedding three of their seven video games, all of them in ICC occasions. Their most up-to-date go to was for a ten-wicket hammering of Sri Lanka at the 2019 World Cup.

  • Stokes’ ODI document gave the impression to be a finished deal till final month. Now, he is again, and desires 76 extra runs to achieve 3000 in the format, to associate with his 74 wickets at 42.39.

  • Boult is about to play his 100th ODI, and his first in virtually precisely 12 months.

    • Quotes

    “That’s the reality of being in a very strong team. We are a very strong team, and we know that. Competition for places is the best possible thing for us… I’m sure that a lot of the final decisions will, potentially, be made around some of the form that the lads show in this series.”
    Ben Stokes acknowledges that England’s “provisional” World Cup 15 is way from finalised

    “There are a lot of passionate All Blacks supporters in our dressing room so I’m sure that, if the time works, we’ll have it on the TVs at some point.”
    Tom Latham, New Zealand’s captain, expects the different World Cup in France to be a focus for his workforce

    Andrew Miller is UK editor of ESPNcricinfo. @miller_cricket

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