World Cup 2019: Unchanged England bat; Southee, Henry in for New Zealand

DURHAM: An unchanged England have opted to bat first after their captain Eoin Morgan won the toss against New Zealand on Wednesday at the Riverside Stadium. The winner of this match goes through to the semi-finals.

“We will bat first because of pitch and overhead conditions. There is more on the line so there is more excitement. This game is like a QF for us. Victory against India have boosted our confidence. New Zealand are a strong wide we have to play well to compete,” Morgan said at the toss. ALSO READ: England vs New Zealand, Live Score

New Zealand captain Kane Williamson admitted he’d have loved to bat first as well. New Zealand have made two changes from the side that lost to Australia with Tim Southee and Matt Henry coming in ahead of Ish Sodhi and Lockie Ferguson. This is Southee’s first match of the 2019 World Cup.

“I would have liked to bat first too but pitch doesn’t change much here,” Williamson said. “It is important that we do the job with the ball first-up. Southee and Henry come in place of Ferguson and Sodhi. Ferguson has been outstanding for us in this tournament especially in the middle overs. He has a hamstring niggle. Hopefully, he will recover quickly. Southee is very experienced. It is great that he is on the park for us today.”

New Zealand (Playing XI): Martin Guptill, Henry Nicholls, Kane Williamson(c), Ross Taylor, Tom Latham(w), Colin de Grandhomme, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Matt Henry, Trent Boult

England (Playing XI): Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan(c), Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler(w), Chris Woakes, Liam Plunkett, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood