ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 – New Zealand vs Pakistan Preview & Prediction
THE FACTS
When is New Zealand vs Pakistan taking place? Wednesday 26th June – 10:30 (UK)
Where is New Zealand vs Pakistan taking place? Edgbaston, Birmingham
What is the expected weather for New Zealand vs Pakistan? 17-18c with cloudy conditions but no rain forecast
What television channel is New Zealand vs Pakistan on in the UK? Sky Sports Cricket
Where can I stream New Zealand vs Pakistan? Sky Sports subscribers can stream the match live on Sky Go
Where can I get tickets for New Zealand vs Pakistan? Tickets can be still be purchased for this game via Stubhub!
HEAD-TO-HEAD
Last meeting: Pakistan beat New Zealand by 6 wickets
THE TEAM NEWS
NEW ZEALAND
Coach: Gary Stead
Captain: Kane Williamson
- New Zealand remain just one of the two unbeaten teams in the 2019 Cricket World Cup along with India as they come off a narrow thrilling five-run win over West Indies on Saturday to all but seal their place in the semi-finals.
- Their remain plenty of question marks around their play despite the five wins with their catching continuing to be suspect while the over-reliance on Kane Williamson (373 runs) with the bat is far too great as he has scored almost double those of Ross Taylor (200) in second and 240 more runs than the third-highest scoring Kiwi batsmen in Martin Guptill (133).
- New Zealand have a completely settled starting line-up and have been one of the teams unaffected by injuries so there is little reason for them to change things around unless patience with Colin Munro has finally run out following his golden ball duck on Saturday as Henry Nicholls waits in the wings.
PAKISTAN
Coach: Mickey Arthur
Captain: Sarfaraz Ahmed
- Pakistan produced a performance somewhere close to their best on Sunday as they outplayed South Africa in a 49-run win at Lords in a game which they were always in complete control of to give their slim chances of a semi-final spot a boost.
- The inclusion of Haris Sohail for Shoaib Malik proved an inspired decision on Sunday as he came in at number five and smashed a stunning 89 from 59 balls to give the innings impetus and see them over the 300 mark to take the game away from South Africa.
- Following that win, the likelihood is that they name the same eleven for this match unless Hasan Ali rotates back in for Shaheen Shah Afridi for this crunch match at Edgbaston that is nothing short of a must-win game for Sarfaraz Ahmed’s men.
THE PREDICTION
New Zealand are coasting this group stage with five wins and one no result from their six games so far, but there are plenty of weaknesses within their play still. The opening partnership is questionable, they over-rely too heavily on skipper Kane Williamson with the bat, and their catching has been poor at times as they come off the match with the West Indies where Chris Gayle was dropped three times. They do keep finding a way to win matches however, but their unbeaten run will be seriously tested here. Pakistan were superb on Sunday and refocused well after losing to India ten days ago. Their batting remains strong and with Shadab Khan supporting star paceman Mohammad Amir well, they can exploit New Zealand’s weaknesses and keep their slim chances alive of a semi-final spot.
