ENG vs NZ 1st Semi-Final : NZ win the toss and bowl first, Sam Billings replaces Roy

England vs New Zealand, 1st Semi-Final (N), Abu Dhabi, Nov 10 2021, ICC Men’s T20 World Cup

Toss Update : New Zealand won the toss and bowl first

Team Changes:

England : Sam Billings replaces injured Roy

New Zealand : No changes

Kane Williamson | New Zealand captain: We’re bowling first. It’s a good pitch but a bit of dew later. We’re going in with the same team. Busy period for us, and we’ve come through, giving in good performances. The two most experienced bowlers have bowled beautifully throughout the tournament, and after Lockie, Milne has come in and done well too. England has a lot of depth, that’s their strength, and we have the opportunity to play our own brand of cricket to make it to the final.

Eoin Morgan | England captain: We would have looked to bowl first too, but hopefully the toss doesn’t decide the result of the game. Roy misses out today, obviously he’s disappointed because he’s played a big role for us in this tournament, and to miss out on a semi-final is devastating. However, Billings gets another chance. He’s been doing the hardwork and carrying the drinks for us, and it’s a big opportunity for him.

Bairstow will open today, instead of Roy, since he’s done it really well in the past. We can’t take New Zealand lightly at all, they’ve been playing semi-finals and finals for a lot longer than we have, so we’ll have to play out of our skins to beat them. Looking forward to a great contest today.

Jos Buttler: (Key to success) “Keeping things very simple. At the top of the order, you’ve probably got the best chance of scoring the most runs, try and take advantage of the powerplay and you’ve got most opportunity to face the balls. I felt in good touch, I have tried to keep things simple and play the situation.

It’s a huge blow – Jason’s a massive part of our team and a very intimidation guy to bowl at at the top of the order. We’ll miss him but it gives opportunity to other guys, we’ve got plenty of guys in our time who spend a lot of time of their career opening as well. So whoever gets that chance will be relishing that.

The consistency has been great, we’ve started very well in the powerplay whether it be Moeen Ali or Adil Rashid with spin and Chris Woakes sets the tone very well for us as well. We’ve managed to take early wickets, which in T20 cricket is a huge part of the game.” 

Teams:

England (Playing XI): Jos Buttler(w), Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, Moeen Ali, Eoin Morgan(c), Sam Billings, Liam Livingstone, Chris Woakes, Chris Jordan, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood

New Zealand (Playing XI): Martin Guptill, Daryl Mitchell, Kane Williamson(c), Devon Conway(w), Glenn Phillips, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Adam Milne, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Trent Boult

Who will win? 

England. The kind of dominance England have shown in the white-ball cricket feels like they are invincible. However, if NZ can get Butler’s wicket in the powerplay, the batting line-up of England might shake. Kiwi fans will be hoping Trent Boult does that job for the team.