ICC Champions Trophy 2017: England vs New Zealand, 5 players to watch out for
New Zealand, who would still be hurting from the abandonment against Australia, take on the mighty England at Cardiff in the second game of the tournament for both sides. England are the table toppers having beaten Bangladesh in the Champions Trophy opener last week.
While New Zealand were expected to pose a stiff challenge to the Aussies, they weren't expected to have their neighbours’ backs against the wall in the manner that they did. Despite rain playing spoilsport, they would take a lot of confidence from that performance.
England, on the other hand, are fighting complacency after making light work of a 300+ chase in the first game. They are strong in all departments and although Chris Woakes' tournament came to a premature end, they have enough firepower in bowling and batting to cover for him.
Extra Cover: England v New Zealand: Everything you need to know
It would be interesting to see how New Zealand deal with the power-packed England batsmen at Cardiff. Here are five players who could change the course of the match.
#5 Martin Guptill
The dynamic New Zealand opener started his Champions Trophy with some exquisite flicks through the leg-side against Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood. Although he fell to the latter soon after, there is no doubt that a big one is due from Martin Guptill. He loves big games and has more often than not fired when the team need him.
Guptill will have Liam Plunkett, Ben Stokes, Jake Ball and Mark Wood steaming in at him but given that he loves pace on the ball, he should relish facing the England seamers. Guptill has a superb record against England including an unbeaten 189. Accompanied by Luke Ronchi at the top, Guptill can take his time to settle down before unleashing his shots.
Record against England
Matches - 12, Runs - 635, HS - 189*, Avg - 70.55