Cricket World Cup: England thrashed by New Zealand in opening game but no time to panic – yet

By James On Oct 5, 2023

This meeting between New Zealand and England was not decided by the narrowest of margins.

Four years after the Kiwis crossed the line to win the 2019 World Cup, England suffered a nine-wicket defeat at the hands of the same team in the opening match of the 2023 tournament.

New Zealand restricted their opponents – who were dropped from Ben Stokes for a hip niggle – to 282-9 before cruising past that score with 82 balls to spare, while Devon Conway (152no) and Rachin Ravindra (122no) continued unbeaten centuries in a score of 273.

We look at the talking points of England’s destruction in Ahmedabad…

England struggles with partnerships

Joe Root (77) and Jos Buttler (43) shared the highest partnership for England, with 70 off 72 deliveries, with the innings notable for players coming in and out.

England’s failure to post a substantial score came down to a lack of precision rather than being overly attacking against the man who led them to 2019 World Cup glory, Eoin Morgan, who said the Buttler’s team was not aggressive enough.

“They’re going to be kidding themselves a little bit. They didn’t throw a lot of punches. I don’t think they went hard enough,” Morgan said midway through the match.

Just as Harry Brook looked to attack, shattering New Zealand left-arm spinner Ravindra for two boundaries and then for a six, he missed a shot to deep square leg, leaving England four behind.

Every England batsman reached double figures – the first time this has ever happened in men’s and women’s ODI cricket – but no one really persevered, including Jonny Bairstow and Dawid Malan who came and went.

New Zealand, on the other hand, had two players reach triple figures, with Ravindra and Conway putting England to the sword after the early departure of Conway’s opening partner Will Young for a golden duck.

Sky Sports cricket Nasser Hussain said: “The sharp nature of bat-on-ball during the Ravindra-Conway partnership, the sound, showed what a good delivery this is. It was a masterclass in white-ball batting without losing their form. “

Root’s return to form

A few more question marks may have arisen for England after their thrashing in the opening match, but one question that has now been silenced is concern over Joe Root, who returned to form with his 37th ODI fifty.

England’s No. 3 had bagged three single-digit dismissals against New Zealand in the teams’ ODI series last month, in addition to a cracking 29 off 40 balls at The Kia Oval in which he was dropped twice.

But he looked back at the nick in Ahmedabad, scored smoothly, hit four fours and a six, and rolled out his trusty reverse sweep/scoop. Reliable, that is, until he was bowled playing a shot of that ilk against spinner Mitchell Santner.

We really needn’t have worried about Root, who averages well over 40 in ODIs in India and was a star at the country’s last World Cup, the T20 version in 2016, when he took England to the final helped.

“My experience in the game has taught me never to go against class and he is England’s classiest batsman,” he said Sky Sports’ Michael Atherton when asked about Root before the tournament.

That class was evident on Thursday, but Root now needs his fellow batters to step up and not gift them wickets after making promising starts.

England wayward with the ball

The tone for New Zealand’s chase was set in the first over, perhaps even the first ball. A high delivery from Chris Woakes was driven through offside by Conway for four, with the same player breaking another boundary four balls later.

Woakes’ second over contained two more boundaries. Ravindra this time put in balls that were too full or too short. It was the same deal in the Seamer’s third over. He strayed in line and length and New Zealand collapsed.

Mark Wood showed up early, but he too had a collar. His opening over was 17, with Conway and Ravindra enjoying his extra pace and quirky line. New Zealand was up 81-1 after the power play and never looked back.

“With the ball, we have to be consistent early on with good length. We leaked, giving them scoring opportunities on both sides of the wicket,” Root said afterwards.

Air sports pundit Morgan added: “England didn’t bowl well. They were so far off. They looked undercooked with the ball and bowled on both sides of the wicket, which isn’t ideal. It was a disappointing day. You have to able to compete to say you were outplayed and for much of the game they didn’t compete.”

No time to panic

Those of you old enough to remember the sitcom Dad’s Army will be familiar with Lance Corporal Jones shouting, “Don’t panic!” That cry was often followed by a period of panic, but there is no sense that England will do the same despite their heavy defeat.

This is a side that knows how to deal with setbacks. At the 2019 World Cup, losses to Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Australia left them on the brink of elimination, before a four-match winning streak in which they dispatched India, New Zealand, Australia and New Zealand again to give them the title To deliver. .

In last year’s T20 World Cup, a rain-affected setback against Ireland and then a defeat against Australia jeopardized their knockout stage hopes before another four-match winning streak followed, with victories over New Zealand, Sri Lanka, India and Pakistan. that silverware secured.

Even last month, they were defeated by New Zealand in the first ODI and 55-5 in the second, before rallying to win that series 3-1. There are clearly things we need to work on – you can’t really cover up a nine-wicket hiding – but England don’t need to overreact.

Hussain said: “England have periods like this and they bounce back. Last month they lost to New Zealand and people said, ‘Root is gone, change sides, the bowling attack is rubbish’. But they came back.

“I don’t know how to win World Cups, but I think it’s important to pick yourself up and dust yourself off. With Jos I think they have that kind of leader.”

Root added: “We don’t need to talk for long, we know where we went wrong. When have you seen a World Cup campaign where there is no stumbling block? We have to stay calm.”

There you go. No time to panic. But loss against Bangladesh…

England miss Stokes – so when will he return?

“What Stokes does is take responsibility. He knows when to step in and when to go hard. It’s not just about going hard, it’s about assessing the situations and not leaving it to another batsman.”

Those are the words of Air sports pundit Nasser Hussain after England’s batting stuttered. This time they didn’t have a big Ben to save them, just as he had done in the last two World Cup finals.

Stokes’ replacement, Brook, provided fireworks, dragging Ravindra over midwicket for two fours and then cracking him over the same region for six as he smashed 14 runs in three balls. Before we leave for the fourth. Brook’s innings was fleeting, not decisive.

Stokes will return to the XI if possible, but when will that be?

When asked if his teammate would return for Tuesday’s match against Bangladesh, captain Buttler did not respond with a resounding ‘yes’, but instead with a ‘we’ll wait and see’ and ‘fingers crossed he’s fit as soon as possible’ .

There is no need for England to rush Stokes. This is a long tournament and, in fairness to Bangladesh, even tougher tests lie ahead, at least on paper. But Buttler wants him back as soon as possible.

New Zealand has informed other parties

If you were one of those who wrote New Zealand off, you should have known better. When it comes to World Cups, the Black Caps come alive. They have reached the final of the last two 50-over versions, as well as the T20 edition in 2020, and on this evidence they could be in contention this time too.

Their demolition job in England came without Kane Williamson at number 3 and Tim Southee and Lockie Ferguson in the seam attack, but Ravindra and Henry ensured they were not missed.

From the spot that Williamson has made his own, Rachin Ravindra played an 82-ball century in Sachin Tendulkar’s land on his World Cup debut as he and Conway took New Zealand to their target with more than 13 overs to spare. That came after pace bowler Henry had scored 3-48. If this was understrength New Zealand, what damage could they do at full strength?

Williamson will return somewhere in the middle, an area where the Black Caps are already so strong with the late-blooming Daryl Mitchell and six-hit Glenn Phillips.

Spin-wise, the slow left-armed Santner is one of the smartest players around. He scores 2-37 from his ten overs against England, and the long-legged Ish Sodhi is also an option to come into the side.

Add in the likes of Boult, Southee, Ferguson and Henry with the ball, plus Conway up top with the bat – a man who now has three centuries in his last six ODIs – and New Zealand looks a daunting proposition.

Is this the year where the frequent finalists finally win the big one?

Watch every match of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 live on Sky Sports. England are back in action against Bangladesh on Tuesday (first ball at 6am), with New Zealand’s next match against the Netherlands on Monday (9.30am start). Stream the tournament NOW for £21 per month for six months.