England vs. Scotland: Date, Live Stream, TV Info, Preview

England and Scotland are both still yet to get off the mark in this year’s World Cup—that statistic has to change as the two clash at the picturesque Hagley Oval on Monday.

Date: Monday, February 23

Time: 11 a.m. local time/10 p.m. GMT

Venue: Hagley Oval, Christchurch

Weather: According to AccuWeather.com, it is going to be around 21 degrees with a small chance of rain. Perfect, English-style conditions for the battle of the Brits in Group A.

TV Info and Live Stream: The official broadcasters of the 2015 Cricket World Cup are Sky Sports (UK) and ESPN (U.S.). Mobile/online coverage is available via Sky Go and Watch ESPN.

Overview

Both teams head into the fixture off the back of defeats to New Zealand.

The difference, however, is that Scotland ended up giving the Black Caps more of a game in Dunedin than England managed to in Wellington.

Eoin Morgan’s side have had little time to lick their wounds and regroup after that eight-wicket loss on Friday. The day-night contest was so one-sided that the floodlights were not even required.

Having also lost heavily to Australia at the MCG on the opening day of the tournament, England will have to decide if the time is right to make changes to their side.

However, Morgan said in the aftermath, per ESPN Cricinfo, that it was not a time to “go into a state of panic where we make three or four changes for one game.” His quotes hinted the starting XI may be given one last chance to impress.

Scotland, meanwhile, will hope assistant coach Paul Collingwood can help plot the downfall of his former team.

The Durham all-rounder played 197 one-day games in his career for England. He was also the captain of the triumphant squad at the ICC World Twenty20 in the Caribbean in 2012.

Scotland only lost by three wickets to New Zealand in their one and only fixture in the tournament so far.

They recovered from a disastrous 12-4 to reach 142 before being bowled out, then capitalised in the field as the Kiwis looked to boost their run-rate in chasing down a small target. 

England have won two of the three previous meetings with Scotland—the other fixture was washed out.

Key players 

England

Captain Eoin Morgan has a big role to play for England, and not just in terms of how many runs he contributes. With his team lacking in confidence and looking fragile, he has to find a way to lift his troops. 

It would help, of course, if he found some form with the bat. While he finally made it into double figures again, having mustered two runs in his previous five innings, his knock of 17 from 41 balls against New Zealand was scratchy to say the least.

Scotland 

As mentioned, England’s morale will be low after their shocking start to the tournament. Scotland could heap more pressure on them by taking early wickets with the ball.

For that reason, Iain Wardlaw will be crucial. The former Yorkshire seamer claimed 3-57 against the Kiwis and has enough speed to keep opposing batsmen honest. A couple of strikes with the new ball would put the cat among the pigeons.

Squads 

England: Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Gary Ballance, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler (w), Steven Finn, Alex Hales, Chris Jordan, Eoin Morgan (c), Joe Root, James Taylor, James Tredwell, Chris Woakes

Scotland: Richie Berrington, Kyle Coetzer, Freddie Coleman, Matthew Cross (w), Josh Davey, Alasdair Evans, Hamish Gardiner, Majid Haq, Michael Leask, Matt Machan, Calum MacLeod, Preston Mommsen (c), Safyaan Sharif, Rob Taylor, Iain Wardlaw