England v New Zealand LIVE: Result and reaction from Cricket World Cup 2023 opener as Kiwis win by nine wickets
England take on New Zealand in the Cricket World Cup opener at the 132,000-seater Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad
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Your support makes all the difference.England’s World Cup defence began with a punishing nine-wicket defeat in Ahmedabad as New Zealand helped themselves to a slice of revenge four years in the making.
Organisers scheduled a repeat of the 2019 final to kick off this year’s tournament, but rather than a nail-biter to match the tension of that Lord’s classic, they had to settle for a thoroughly one-sided affair.
England needed a super over and a boundary countback to get their hands on the trophy last time around, but two majestic hundreds from Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra meant the Black Caps romped home in the rerun with almost 14 overs to spare.
Conway finished 152 not out while his Wellington team-mate Ravindra reeled off an unbeaten 123 - more than double his previous ODI best.
The absence of Ben Stokes with a hip injury robbed the reigning champions of some middle-order firepower but their score of 282 for nine was nowhere near enough to constrain an outstanding Kiwi chase.
Follow the latest news and updates from England vs New Zealand below and get the latest match odds and tips here.
New Zealand captain Tom Latham at the toss:
“We’re going to have a bowl, it looks a reasonably good surface but hopefully later on when he get a chance with the bat, it gets better.
“Preparation has been great, we’ve had guys in all parts of the world and we came together about a week ago, had a couple of good warm-up games and guys are excited to get stuck into things.
“Any matches you play leading into a World cup are vitally important, we had an exciting series with England that unfortunately we came out on the wrong side of but it was great preparation.
“Unfortunately, Kane Williamson is not quite ready yet but hopefully it’s a day by day thing. Lockie Ferguson has got a bit of a niggle so he’ll miss out.”
England vs New Zealand teams
England XI: Bairstow, Malan, Root, Brook, Buttler, Ali, Livingstone, Woakes, Curran, Rashid, Wood
New Zealand XI: Conway, Young, Ravindra, Mitchell, Latham, Phillips, Chapman, Neesham, Santner, Henry, Boult
England v New Zealand – Cricket World Cup 2023
A few pictures from this morning’s warm-up in Ahmedabad:
England vs New Zealand
The Cricket World Cup begins today with a rematch of the 2019 final as England take on New Zealand at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Jos Buttler’s men will defend their crown during this tournament in India and will be hoping to get off to a winning start today. Ben Stokes misses out and we’ll have the official team news shortly.
New Zealand win the toss and choose to bowl first
Tom Latham, New Zealand’s captain, wins the toss and decides to field first meaning England will set a target for them to chase down.
Kane Williamson isn’t fit to play and neither is Lockie Ferguson and Tim Southee.
England captain Jos Buttler says that he would have liked to have bowled first as well but is looking forward to getting this World Cup campaign started.
As expected Ben Stokes misses out with a hip niggle and so does Reece Topley, Gus Atkinson and David Willey.
Babar Azam backs unsettled Pakistan in India
Tomorrow’s match will see Pakistan take on Netherlands, but Pakistan captain Babar Azam feels like he’s playing a Cricket World Cup at home, even if his lineup is unsettled.
The world’s top-ranked ODI batter — for more than two years — is searching for the right balance for his starting XI going into Pakistan’s opening day-nighter against Netherlands on Friday at Hyderabad.
Babar was in good touch despite Pakistan’s losses in warm-up games to New Zealand and Australia, scoring 80 and an unbeaten 90. Mohammad Rizwan, Saud Shakeel and Iftikhar Ahmed were also among the runs as Pakistan went close to 350-run marks in both games before finishing on the wrong side of the results.
“We are here for a week in Hyderabad, so we do not feel like we are in India, it’s like we are at home,” Babar said of the central Indian city, which has a large population of Muslim people, during a pre-tournament news conference.
The six-week tournament was opening Thursday with a rematch of the 2019 final between England and New Zealand.
Babar and his teammates were given a warm reception when they arrived in India after they were issued visas less than 36 hours prior to their departure from Lahore.
“We received good hospitality, and we were not expecting this, but I think the way people responded to us, everyone enjoyed it,” Babar said. “I think it’s a golden opportunity for everyone to give 100% and enjoy the tournament.”
Cricket World Cup schedule
The first match will see a repeat of the thrilling super-over final in 2019 which England won at Lord’s on the final ball. It was a final that few could forget, and it was England who won their first ever 50-over World Cup title.
India are one of the favourites as tournament hosts, despite having not won the trophy for over a decade – in fact they did not make the final in either of the last two tournaments. Their first match will be worth the wait of an extra few days when they take on Australia on 8 October in Chennai.
Cricket World Cup 2023: Full schedule, fixtures and match dates
Every game of the Cricket World Cup after trophy-holders England play last time runners-up New Zealand in Ahmedabad
England v New Zealand team news
Buttler said England’s Ben Stokes sustained a “hip niggle” ahead of the match, and he was notably absent during the warm-up against Bangladesh.
England will be hoping Stokes can pull through and train well enough on the eve of the tournament to be passed fit for the opener against the country of his birth. If he cannot, Harry Brook is likely to replace Stokes at number four in the batting order.
Kane Williamson marked his return from a six-month absence with a half-century during the Kiwi’s warm-up against Pakistan.
Williamson ruptured his ACL in March 2023 during the opening Indian Premier League match and had to undergo surgery, but the opener against England is expected to be a bit too soon for the captain.
Predicted line-ups
England XI: Bairstow, Malan, Root, Brook, Buttler, Livingstone, Ali, Curran, Woakes, Rashid, Topley
New Zealand XI: Young, Conway, Nicholls, Mitchell, Latham, Phillips, Ravindra, Boult, Santner, Jamieson, Ferguson
How to watch the match
England vs New Zealand in the ICC Cricket World Cup will be shown live in the UK on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Cricket, with coverage starting from 9am.
For those in India, Star Sports will be showing the match in five different languages on TV.
The game can also be streamed online on the Disney+Hotstar app or website.
If you’re travelling abroad and want to watch major sporting events, you might need a VPN to unblock your streaming app. Our VPN roundup is here to help: get great deals on the best VPNs in the market. Viewers using a VPN need to make sure that they comply with any local regulations where they are and also with the terms of their service provider.
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