World Cup 2019 Final, England vs New Zealand: 3 key features to watch out for
The 2019 Cricket World Cup has finally reached its summit clash stage as hosts England and New Zealand will square off in the final, with a new champion certain to be throned at the end of this game at Lord's, London on 14th July.
In the lead up to the finals, India took on New Zealand in the first of the two semi-finals, having topped the points table with seven wins and just the one loss from nine games. In a game which was affected by rain, New Zealand put up an average score of 239 on the board before the Black Caps' bowlers helped their team to an 18-run victory.
In the second semi-final between defending champions Australia and hosts England, it was one-way traffic with the English bowlers dominating Australia. Chasing a decent total of 224 runs, Jason Roy made a mockery of the total, scoring a 65-ball 85 that saw England entering a World Cup final for the first time since 1992.
With both New Zealand and England looking in some solid form ahead of the final, the encounter is certain to give rise to some intense action. Here are a few key features to watch out for.
#3 England's opening partnership
It is pretty obvious that England look a different unit and wear an ominous look when Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow open the innings. The duo go about their business in fine fashion, decimating oppositions as they compliment each other shot for shot.
In the 31 occasions that they have batted together, they have amassed 2066 runs at an astounding average of 67.70, the most for any opening combination with more than 1000 partnership runs in ODI cricket.
A Lot of talk has been circling around England's transformation in their batting style and approach post their disastrous campaign in the 2015 World Cup. This can be easily summed up by looking at the strike-rates of their openers in recent times.
Jason Roy has a strike rate of 107.05 in 79 innings and Jonny Bairstow has a strike rate of 110.97 in 44 innings. It's clear that their role in the side is to dominate and decimate oppositions at the top. It is this attitude that has helped England achieve a lot of success in the past four years as an ODI unit.
It has to be seen if these two batsmen can replicate their brilliance in the semi-finals, with an in-form pace bowling unit coming against them. Roy, in particular has looked in scintillating touch in the recent games and if he can stitch yet another partnership with Bairstow, New Zealand could be in a spot of bother.
Also read – World cup winners list