New Zealand skipper Tom Latham won the toss and elected to bowl against defending champions England in the opening match of the ODI World Cup in Ahmedabad on Thursday.
Latham is leading the side with skipper Kane Williamson missing the opening game due to an ongoing knee injury. Lockie Ferguson also missed out due to a niggle, while Ish Sodhi and Tim Southee all miss out.
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“Looks a reasonably good surface. Hopefully later on it gets better to bat,” Latham explained his decision to bowl first.
“Preparation has been great. Guys came together from different parts of the world a week ago,” he added.
England captain Jos Buttler said he would’ve bowled first too.
“Would’ve bowled first as well. Looks a really good wicket,” Buttler said.
“Preparation has been okay. Had a good series against New Zealand at home,” he added.
For England, Ben Stokes missed the game due to a niggle in his hip, while Gus Atkinson, Reece Topley, David Willey were also left out of the playing XI.
“Ben’s going to miss this game, has a niggle with his hip. Guys missing out are Atkinson, Topley, Willey and Stokes,” Buttler said.
ENG vs NZ Playing XIs
New Zealand: Devon Conway, Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (w/c), Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Matt Henry, Mitchell Santner, James Neesham, Trent Boult.
England: Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler (w/c), Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood.
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