Big Picture: Can Netherlands thwart New Zealand?

Hand on heart, how many expected New Zealand to trounce England the way they did in the opening fixture of the 2023 World Cup? But then that’s what New Zealand do. Fly under the radar, without making much of a splash, but deliver when it matters.

And they didn’t do it the conventional way. With Tim Southee and Lockie Ferguson out injured, New Zealand opted for just three frontline bowlers, four part-timers and no Ish Sodhi. Yet they restricted the power-packed England batting unit to 282 for 9. Then, despite no Kane Williamson, they needed just 36.2 overs to wipe out the target.

As New Zealand now move to Hyderabad for match No. 2 of their World Cup campaign to face Netherlands, they will still be without Williamson, but Ferguson and Southee are likely to be fit and available according to head coach Gary Stead. Williamson, meanwhile, is targeting a return in New Zealand’s third game against Bangladesh.

If numbers are anything to go by, New Zealand definitely have the upper hand going into the clash. They have met Netherlands four times in ODIs, winning on all four occasions – three of those games by a margin of 100-plus runs. The most recent ODI series between the two teams in 2022 went New Zealand’s way by a 3-0 margin.

But it will be silly to take Netherlands lightly. Not after their stellar run at the World Cup Qualifier where they finished second ahead of three Full Member nations and certainly not after troubling Pakistan in their first outing. They did fall short but were no pushovers.

Netherlands have another chance come Monday but have their task cut out against a side raging with confidence. For the record, New Zealand have never lost a World Cup game – ODI or T20I – against an Associate nation in their history.

But streaks and stats are meant to be broken and changed. Netherlands showed spunk in their first game. Also, they have been in Hyderabad longer than New Zealand and know the conditions better. Now to translate all that into results and take a step towards the semi-final spot they had their eye on ahead of the tournament.

Form guide

Netherlands LLWWL (last five completed matches, most recent first)
New Zealand WWWLL

In the spotlight: Devon Conway and Vikramjit Singh

Devon Conway’s 2023 has been all or nothing. In 11 innings this year, he has stacked up 601 runs in 11 innings at 66.77 with four centuries and a fifty. But in the other six innings, Conway has failed to breach the 20-run mark even once. The best bet for Netherlands will be to see the back of Conway quite early because when he gets set, it’s usually for the long haul. Easier said than done, though.

Vikramjit Singh has been Netherlands’ rock at the top of the order this year. Their highest run-getter at the World Cup qualifiers with 326 runs in eight innings at 40.75, he followed it up with 52 on ODI World Cup debut. The left-hander has a solid technique and more importantly a lot of time in his hands. He’ll want to go one better than what he managed in the game against Pakistan.

Team news: Van Beek a doubt

New Zealand’s batting line-up is likely to remain the same with Rachin Ravindra slotted in at No. 3 and Will Young to retain his place at the top. While Southee did have a bowl in the nets on the eve of the game, Ferguson didn’t. It is likely New Zealand will end up playing one of the two in place of either Mark Chapman or James Neesham.

New Zealand (possible XI): 1 Devon Conway, 2 Will Young, 3 Rachin Ravindra, 4 Daryl Mitchell, 5 Tom Latham (capt, wk), 6 Glenn Phillips, 7 Mark Chapman, 8 Tim Southee/Lockie Ferguson, 9 Mitchell Santner, 10 Matt Henry, 11 Trent Boult

There is an injury cloud over Logan van Beek – he is struggling with a hamstring injury. With still a long way to go in the tournament, Netherlands might not be willing to take a risk on one of their premier fast bowlers just yet.

Netherlands (possible XI): 1 Vikramjit Singh, 2 Max O’Dowd, 3 Colin Ackermann, 4 Scott Edwards (capt, wk), 5 Bas de Leede, 6 Teja Nidamanuru, 7 Saqib Zulfiqar, 8 Roelof van der Merwe, 9 Aryan Dutt, 10 Paul van Meekeren, 11 Ryan Klein

Pitch and conditions

The Hyderabad surface has historically been a high-scoring one with an average first-innings score of 288. The pitch had a light biscuit brown tinge to it on the eve of the game with no grass whatsoever. It had a nice sheen on it under the lights.

The temperature should revolve around the mid-30s in the afternoon while the evenings will be slightly cooler. There are no chances of rain.

Stats and trivia

• Devon Conway has scored 307 runs in four ODI innings in India. He averages 102.3 in the country with a strike rate of 121 and has two centuries to his name
• Devon Conway averages 274 against spin in ODIs this year.
• Matt Henry has picked up the most wickets for New Zealand in ODIs since the start of 2022 – 35 in 21 innings at 26.20.
• Max O’Dowd and Vikramjit Singh are one and two in Netherlands’ run-charts in ODIs this year.

Quotes

“Kane is progressing really well and we are pretty confident he will be playing the third match for us. We have got another training to get through today so we will finalise the team once we have got through that training. At this stage with Kane, we are looking like the third game is when he will start the tournament.”
Head coach Gary Stead is confident Kane Williamson will soon feature in the World Cup