New Zealand vs. England: Date, Live Stream, TV Info, Cricket World Cup Preview
Hosts New Zealand will look to continue their strong 2015 Cricket World Cup form when they take on England on Friday in Wellington, with the first delivery expected at 2 p.m. local time (1 a.m. GMT).
The Black Caps have won their first two matches with relative ease, cruising past Sri Lanka before avoiding an upset against a feisty Scotland team. England have been in action just once, an embarrassing loss against co-hosts Australia.
Powered by a very solid group of batsmen, New Zealand will try to take advantage of an English bowling attack that looked toothless against the Baggy Greens, increasing their lead at the top of the Group A standings in the process.
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Date: Friday, February 20
Time: 2 p.m. local/1 a.m. GMT
Venue: Westpac Stadium, Wellington
TV info and live stream: The official broadcasters of the 2015 Cricket World Cup are Sky Sports (UK) and ESPN (U.S.). Mobile coverage is available via the Sky Go app and Watch ESPN.
Preview
Following the 111-run loss against Australia, the pessimism surrounding the England team has seemingly reached a new low. Expectations coming into the tournament weren't extremely high, but the ease with which the co-hosts embarrassed the English bowlers had pundits and players alike at a loss for words.
Captain Eoin Morgan is looking for answers, and per Telegraph Sport, he has so far come up empty:
James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Chris Woakes, Steven Finn and Moeen Ali bowled 49 of 50 overs, and not one was able to keep his economy rate under 6.50, per ESPN Cricinfo. That's an ugly statistic.
It gets worse, though. Next on the schedule is a meeting with Kane Williamson, Brendon McCullum, Ross Taylor and their Black Caps' team-mates. Cricket writer Peter Miller fears the worst:
McCullum, Williamson and Martin Guptill looked excellent against Sri Lanka, all scoring more than 49 runs, and while the two openers produced just 32 runs between them against Scotland in an odd innings, their strike rate was well above 120.
New Zealand's bowling has been very effective so far, with Daniel Vettori setting the pace with five wickets. Depth has been the key, presenting even more bad news for England.
James Taylor's 98 runs were the lone bright spot for England's batsmen against Australia, who rode a red-hot Mitchell Marsh and a platoon approach to limit England's production. New Zealand use a similar approach, and the consistent sniping at the wicket is something England struggle with tremendously.
The pressure will be on both sides on Friday, and per NBC Sports' Arlo White, it's clear which squad are better equipped to deal with it:
The Black Caps want to finish the group stages at the top of Group A, but with two wins under their belt already and a meeting with Australia on the horizon, Friday's match won't hold the same significance as it will for England.
Another loss against one of the group's top teams would make it very clear to Morgan and his men where they stand in the pecking order. With Scotland and Ireland impressing so far and Sri Lanka bound to bounce back from their loss against the Black Caps, a trip to the next round may not even be a certainty at this point.
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