Australia vs New Zealand

Move over minnow bashing! It ‘s time for the big guys to square up against one another as Australia take on their neighboring rivals New Zealand in a Group A encounter in Nagpur as both nations look to step into the next gear after their opening round of matches.

Australia, despite coming into the tournament after a tennis scoreline thrashing of England, doesn’t carry the aura of invincibility that they once possessed. The inexperience in the lineup might eventually prove to be the difference between this and the previous Australian teams. Shane Watson has been in magical form over the last couple of years and Australia will look up to him to provide a solid foundation. Brad Haddin has to learn to convert the starts he gets into big scores while Ricky Ponting, in spite of scoring two fifties in the two warm-up games leading into the tournament, has a fair distance to go before returning to full form. Michael Clarke showed signs of returning to form against Zimbabwe and although Cameron White and David Hussey are amongst the best finishers in the game, the absence of Michael Hussey, who averages 77 in 12 matches in India, will be dearly felt. Callum Ferguson could have been a good option at No.6 but the selectors’ preference to Steve Smith as an all-rounder is well known. The bowling attack, led by the ageing Brett Lee, could run through batting lineups or could also end up leaking runs by the dozen. With Shaun Tait spitting venom, Douglas Bollinger is likely to sit out a few more games. One player who will be eager to get onto the field would be Jason Krezja. The tall offie will remember Nagpur as the venue where he picked up 12 wickets on Test debut.

New Zealand, unlike Australia, come into the tournament after back to back series defeats against Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. After a brief spell down the order, the management has decided to promote Brendon McCullum to top of the order along with Martin Guptill with Jesse Ryder coming in at No.3 followed by Ross Taylor, who is the mainstay of the batting. With an in-form James Franklin at No.5 and Scott Styris at No.6, the Kiwis have a pretty decent batting line up. Jacob Oram and Nathan McCullum will be the men to watch at the death. The Kiwi bowlers bowled out the Kenyans for a paltry 69 in their opening game but Hamish Bennett, Southee and Co. can expect a better fight from the Aussie batsmen.

Australia haven’t lost a World Cup game since the loss to Pakistan in 1999 and they will be looking to extend their streak of 30 consecutive matches without being beaten while the Kiwis will be looking to beat their Trans-Tasman rivals and notch up a victory for the people affected by the earthquake in Christchurch.

Probable Teams:

Australia: Brad Haddin (Wicketkeeper), Shane Watson, Ricky Ponting (Captain), Michael Clarke, David Hussey, Cameron White, Steven Smith, Jason Krezja, Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee, Shaun Tait.

New Zealand: Brendon McCullum (Wicketkeeper), Martin Guptill, Jesse Ryder, Ross Taylor, James Franklin, Scott Styris, Jacob Oram, Daniel Vettori (Captain), Nathan McCullum, Hamish Bennett, Tim Southee.

Live Telecast: Star Cricket (9:30 Local Time, 4:00 GMT

Tags: Australia, Chappell-Hadlee Trophy, Cricket, Cricket World Cup, Nagpur, New Zealand, Vidharba Cricket Association Stadium, World Cup