The 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup gets underway on Thursday night with a monster matchup between the two finalists from 2019, England and New Zealand. Before You Bet will have extensive coverage of the CWC throughout the tournament, kicking off with game one below.
ICC Cricket World Cup Betting Tips
England vs New Zealand
Ahmedabad, Thursday, 7.30pm (AEDT)
What a matchup to get us underway in the 2023 Cricket World Cup! Two of the favourites for the tournament will square off, not long after doing battle in a warm up series which produced mixed results.
England
England will start as favourites for the clash after claiming a slight edge across the eight limited overs games played against New Zealand last month. They will bring an extremely strong squad to the World Cup, bolstered by the return of Ben Stokes to ODI cricket just over a year after his retirement from the format.
England made some bold calls in the announcement of their 15 man squad for the tournament. Most notably leaving out star paceman Jofra Archer and young batsman Harry Brook. While Archer hasn’t had much cricket under his belt of late, somewhat justifying the omission, Harry Brook has been one of the breakout stars of English cricket, so it was surprising to see him not in the squad.
Where they will go with their final XI for this matchup is anyones guess. I think there are likely only really four certainties in the XI, that being captain Jos Buttler alongside Ben Stokes, Joe Root and Sam Curran. You could make a case for any of the remaining slots, but here’s how I see it panning out for Thursday night.
Joe Root Top ENG Runscorer ($4.00 at Ladbrokes) - Root is the safe play here batting at No.4 for England. Likes to control the middle overs and go at a run a ball without much risk. Always a solid bet.
England Predicted XI: Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Liam Livingstone, Jos Buttler, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood, Reece Topley
New Zealand
New Zealand don’t have has much sheer star-power as their counterparts here, but I think there line-up is much more settled heading into game one, which can be a comforting factor in the dressing room and can allow players to play a little more freely knowing their spot isn't on the line every time they step onto the field.
Kane Williamson will take back the reigns as captain after missing the limited overs tour of England, slotting straight back into the No.3 position. The top six around him should be pretty set in stone, with Will Young and Devon Conway opening up, Tom Latham at four followed by Glenn Phillips and Daryl Mitchell. Henry Nicholls is the extra batsman that could force his way into the side later in the tournament if someone is out of form.
Jimmy Neesham will take the all-rounder position at No.7 followed by Mitch Santner at No.8. The three fast bowlers is where things get a little trickier for the NZ selectors. Boult looks a certainty, while any combination of Ferguson, Henry or Southee could claim the other two spots up for grabs. Interestingly, Kyle Jamieson was left out of the squad despite being fit.
Glenn Phillips Top NZ Runscorer ($7.00 at Ladbrokes) - Like Phillips as the value play for NZ top runs here. He is a busy player that can occupy the crease if they lose early wickets but can also be the power player at the end of an innings. If ENG are to win this game like I have predicted, there will likely be opportunity for Phillips.
Predicted XI: Devon Conway, Will Young, Kane Williamson, Tom Latham, Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Mitchel Santner, Tim Southee, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult
Betting Tips
Think the Poms will be too strong here. They truly have revolutionised both limited overs formats over the past five years and I think most nations, to an extent, are still playing catch-up. Their depth in this squad is outstanding and their selectors have mastered the ability of not getting sucked in to star names on a piece of paper, instead selecting a squad that actually makes sense for the specific format (something Australia desperately needs to get better at).
Back them to win at odds of around $1.45
