ODI World Cup23 Team Previews : England, New Zealand, Netherlands

 

The ICC ODI World cup starts from 5 th October with the two finalists of 2019 , England and New Zealand  facing up again at Ahmedabad .  As the final squads have started to roll in , we start the preview of the teams in right earnest . Below we have analysed the squads of England, New Zealand  and Netherlands  . These three teams have already  announced their final squads 

England :

Reigning Champions England are one of the top favourites this time too . Led by white ball giant Jos Buttler , England possess a great array of attacking batsmen with quality  backups.  In all probability Jonny Bairstow and Dawid Malan will open with Root , Stokes, Livingstone & Buttler forming the middle order followed by Moeen and Woakes the all rounders. Mark Wood , left armer Topley and Rashid will complete the XI . They have great backups in batter Harry Brook  a last minute addition replacing Jason Roy , who can break into the XI  as well as David Willey in bowling and very capable southpaw all rounder in Sam Curran who was the best player in the T20I World cup in 2022 . Therefore England has a problem of plenty .

Interestingly, England will start their 2023 World cup campaign vs their 2019 final rivals New Zealand. 

Strengths : Lots of  batting  firepower  with great backups  was well as huge batting depth till the end at number 11 .  The huge batting depth will help England to go hard at the top . Amongst the batters , Root , Livingstone & Brook are more than decent contributors with the ball and then there is the talisman Ben Stokes . 

Weakness :  England bowling particularly the pacers may not get enough swing from Indian conditions . They will have to depend a lot on Mark Wood to generate pace . Atkinson is another guy who can bowl quick .Fast bowlers will have to use slowers & cutters and here Sam Curran who is used to Indian conditions will be crucial . Spinners will be crucial as well . 

Opportunities:  England batting firepower and depth  will create opportunities to post big scores which in turn can set up their wins .

Threats : Lack of swinging & seaming conditions can make their bowling struggle which can be a threat to their chances .

Key players :  Bairstow, Malan, Buttler , Livingstone, Stokes , Root , Moeen , Rashid , Wood , Sam Curran

Chances :  Top favourites, can win the title 

England squad: Jos Buttler (c), Moeen Ali, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley, David Willey, Mark Wood, Chris Woakes.

New Zealand 

New Zealand were the runners up in the last two editions of ODI World cup.  In 2015 they were outplayed by Australia in the final while in 2019 their final with England was tied even after super over in an epic contest and finally England were declared winner on more boundaries count to the huge heartbreak of Kiwi fans . In 2023 World Cup , New Zealand will start their campaign against their 2019 final rivals England 

The Black caps have announced their final 15 of the ICC ODI World cup 2023 . Kane Williamson is back as captain   after recovering admirably from his serious injury sustained during the last IPL.  The New Zealand batting mainstay was  sidelined for a while with a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right knee. 

The Black caps has quality firepower in their batting . While Devon Conway , Tom Latham and Kane Williamson will be their mainstays , the stroke players Mark Chapman , Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell & Jimmy Neesham will revolve around them . With quality spin all rounders in Ravindra and Santner the Kieis possess batting depth . 

With Trent Boult back in New Zealand colours , the bowling attack looks well rounded with veteran Southee , quicks Ferguson and Henry. Ish Sodhi will add his leg spin to complete the bowling attack 

Strengths :   Quality batting depth with middle order firepower and complete skillsets in bowling with never say die attitude . New Zealand more often than not excels in ICC tournaments and punch above their weight .

Weakness :  Lacks a batting enforcer at the top 3 . Bowling will be tested in flatter conditions 

Opportunities :  Batting & Bowling depth and variety in bowling will help New Zealand to perform well in most conditions . 

Threats :  Lack of top order firepower can make them struggle in big chases 

Key players :  Kane Williamson, Devon Conway, Daryl Mitchell, Trent Boult, Mitchell Santner 

Chances :  May reach semis 

Squad: Kane Williamson (captain), Trent Boult, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitch Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee and Will Young

Netherlands 

Netherlands have qualified for the 2023 ODI World cup after missing the last two editions.  They have played in World cups in 1996, 2003, 2007 & 2011 . With no big aspirations of lifting the title , the Dutch team will gain valuable experience in this event and maybe try to cause a few upsets or be party spoilers . 

The batting will depend on the prolific Scott Edwards who is the captain. Barresi is another consistent batter for them and Max O Dowd can provide fiery starts at the top as opener. 

In Bas De Leede , the dutch has a quality all rounder .Since 2022, he is Netherlands' second-highest wicket-taker in ODIs. The Dutch will depend a lot on the exploits of De Leede to challenge the top teams .

In the bowling  Van Beek will be crucial with the new ball , Van Makeeran is also a handful  and they have the ability to challenge top teams . The experienced Roelof van der Merwe who has also played in IPL will be crucial in the spin department along with Aryan Dutt . The Dutch is looking a compact team 

Strengths :  The team consists ofquality bowlers and batters who can deliver 

Weakness :  Lack of big match experience against top teams 

Opportunities:  Nothing to lose scenario will help them to express themselves without any baggage.  This attitude can create upsets . 

Threats :  Lack of experience and superior nature of most opposition will affect their chances 

Key players: Scott Edwards, Bas De Leede , Van Beek 

Chances :  will try to upset a few top teams 

Netherlands squad: Scott Edwards (captain and wicket-keeper), Max O'Dowd, Bas de Leede, Vikramjit Singh, Teja Nidamanuru, Paul van Meekeren, Colin Ackermann, Roelof van der Merwe, Logan van Beek, Aryan Dutt, Ryan Klein, Wesley Barresi, Saqib Zulfiqar, Shariz Ahmad, Sybrand Engelbrecht.