Familiar opponents Australia and New Zealand renew rivalry in neutral setting as they clash in Champions Trophy opener at Edgbaston.
Two-time Champions Trophy winners, Australia will take on winners of the same in 2000- New Zealand on Friday. Both the teams will be facing each other in an ICC tournament after meeting each other in the 2015 World Cup final where Australia came up trumps.
Australia has looked strong in the warm-up matches with opener Aaron Finch smashing a century. Apart from that, the batting line-up features a strong unit of Steven Smith, David Warner and Glenn Maxwell. All of them can win matches on their day. Hence they hold the upper-hand going into their opening match of the Champions Trophy.
In the pace bowling department, Steve Smith has plenty of firepower with Mitchell Starc; Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and James Pattinson. All the four have genuine pace and in English conditions can trouble any opposition batsman.
The Kiwis, on the other hand, had a mixed outing in the warm-up matches. While they suffered a hammering at the hands of India, against Sri Lanka Martin Guptill smashed a brilliant hundred to take the Kiwis to a much-needed win. With the confidence on their side, the likes of Tom Latham, Neil Broom; Ross Taylor and skipper Kane Williamson will look to deliver a strong performance against their Trans-Tasman rivals.
The bowling unit of Adam Milne, Trent Boult and Tim Southee can be deadly on their day; but will still need to prove their mettle as they lack consistency.
Pacemen Tim Southee and Trent Boult are proven performers in England, but Southee said: “We know the conditions, but you can’t rely on that. “The wickets over here are pretty good; and the bowlers are going to have to be at the very top of their game as a result.”
Possible Playing XI :
Australia
David Warner, Aaron Finch, Steven Smith (c), Chris Lynn, Travis Head, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade (wk), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood.
New Zealand
Martin Guptill, Luke Ronchi (wk), Kane Williamson (c), Ross Taylor, Neil Broom, Corey Anderson, Colin de Grandhomme, Mitchell Santner, Mitchell McClenaghan/Adam Milne, Tim Southee, Trent Boult.
