Cricket World Cup: Dutch face stern test after New Zealand’s high-flying start

Hyderabad: Having already played their opening encounters in the ongoing Cricket World Cup, it is time for New Zealand and the Netherlands to venture deep into the tournament, as they face each other here on Monday.

The Kiwis played the competition opener on Thursday against defending champions England, pummelling the 2019 champions by nine wickets and once again showing the intent to go deep into the tournament.

Although England posted a decent 282 for the loss of nine wickets, the New Zealanders chased down the target in 36.2 overs, thanks to Devon Conway (152 not out) and Rachin Ravindra (123 not out) playing blazing innings.

New Zealand achieved the win without their regular skipper Kane Williamson, who is yet to regain match fitness having nursed an ACL injury he suffered during the IPL earlier this year.

Tom Latham, who led the side against the Three Lions, will continue wearing the captain’s band on Monday as well after Kiwi head coach Gary Stead indicated Williamson is still not fully match-fit to feature against the Dutch.

”Kane’s also been progressing very well — I think the fielding is still the element for him that he’s just got to get a little bit higher and get a little more trust in his body,” said Stead on Sunday.

”But he is progressing really well, and we are pretty confident he will be playing the third match for us. We have got another training to get through today, so we will finalise the team once we have got through that training. At this stage with Kane, we are looking like the third game is when he will start the tournament,” he added.

While veteran pacer Tim Southee’s inclusion in the team also looks unlikely, as he is recovering from a broken and dislocated thumb, fellow speedster Lockie Ferguson should be available provided he clears the fitness test on Sunday.

As for the Dutch, they were in a tough encounter against Pakistan on Friday, which the latter won by 81 runs.

However, the Dutch did have their moments in the match, especially early on in the contest as they managed to get rid of three Pakistani batters in powerplay.

Also, with the bat, opener Vikramjit Singh (52) and Bas de Leede (67) gave a strong fight-back but still fell short.

While the Dutch bowling seems sorted, it is their batting that needs more consistency, especially in the middle order. Skipper Scott Edwards is yet to touch the 30-run mark in the last four ODIs.

The two sides have met on four occasions in the format so far, with New Zealand winning all the matches.

Squads:

Netherlands: Scott Edwards (c/w), Colin Ackermann, Wesley Barresi, Bas de Leede, Aryan Dutt, Sybrand Engelbrecht, Ryan Klein, Teja Nidamanuru, Max O’Dowd, Saqib Zulfiqar, Shariz Ahmad, Logan van Beek, Roelof van der Merwe, Paul van Meekeren, Vikramjit Singh.

New Zealand: Kane Williamson (c), Tom Latham, Trent Boult, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway (w), Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Will Young.

Match starts: 2:00 pm.