England skipper Eoin Morgan won the toss and elected to bat first against New Zealand in a must-win encounter at Riverside Ground,Chester-le-Street.
While England are unchanged, New Zealand made a couple of changes by bringing in Matt Henry and Tim Southee in place of Ish Sodhi and an injured Lockie Ferguson.
World Cup 2019 | England vs New Zealand Live Scorecard | Blog
Moragn said that his side is treating this game as a virtual quarterfinal.
"We will bat first because of pitch and overhead conditions. There is more on the line so there is more excitement. This game is like a quarterfinal for us. Victory against India have boosted our confidence. New Zealand are a strong side we have to play well to compete," Morgan said.
Kane Williamson too said that he would have liked to bat first also.
"I would have liked to bat first too but pitch doesn't change much here. It is important that we do the job with the ball first-up. Southee and Henry come in place of Ferguson and Sodhi," Williamson said.
"Ferguson has been outstanding for us in this tournament, especially in the middle overs. He has a hamstring niggle. Hopefully, he will recover quickly. Southee is very experienced. It is great that he is on the park for us today," he added.
Pitch Report: It is a fresh pitch and it looks very good. Nice even covering of grass. It looks pretty firm. Groundsmen reckon this is a better surface than the one used in the last game played here between West Indies and Sri Lanka.
Playing XI:
New Zealand: Martin Guptill, Henry Nicholls, Kane Williamson(c), Ross Taylor, Tom Latham(w), Colin de Grandhomme, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Matt Henry, Trent Boult.
England: Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan(c), Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler(w), Chris Woakes, Liam Plunkett, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood
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