World Cup 2023: Netherlands faces tough task against New Zealand’s in-form batting order

The Kiwis played the competition opener against defending champion, England, pummelling it by nine wickets and once again showing the intent to go deep into the tournament.

Mitchell Santner and Tom Latham of New Zealand celebrate the wicket of Chris Woakes of England during the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup India 2023 between England and New Zealand at Narendra Modi Stadium. | Photo Credit: Getty Images

Kane Williamson will be spending more time on the sidelines and is yet to regain full fitness as New Zealand, led by Tom Latham takes on the Netherlands in the sixth match of the World Cup 2023 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium here on Monday.

New Zealand has been hamstrung by the fitness issues of its key players, especially its bowlers, during its opener against England. The Black Caps went for a bowlers’ shopping and found gold in Glenn Phillips and Mitchell Santner, with Matt Henry spearheading the bowling attack. Against England, the silent assassins hammered the defending champion by nine wickets, with Henry headlining by picking three wickets and Phillips along with Santner sharing four wickets among themselves.

Such was the selection audacity of the Tom Latham-led side that it managed to chop away 20 overs from its part-timers, with Rachin Ravindra bowling his full quota of 10 overs. 

The explosive 23-year-old opener, who has shades of legendary Sanath Jayasuriya, blasted away to become the youngest to score a century on his World Cup debut, along with Devon Conway, who stood tall with a 121-ball 152. 

The good news for the Kiwis is that fast bowlers Lockie Ferguson and Tim Southee will make a return to the side for the second game against the Dutch after recovering from injuries.

“The mood is very neutral in the camp. Obviously, we enjoyed the first win incredibly much, but obviously, with the tournament being such a quick turnaround, we try to keep things as neutral as possible, not get too high when we win and not get too low when we lose. And I think that’s the key for us throughout this competition,” said Glenn Phillips, who plays the role of an enforcer. 

The only associate nation in this tournament, the Netherlands, did give a scare to Pakistan but fizzled out with the bat to lose its opening match. In its fifth appearance at the World Cup, having made its debut in 1996, the Scott Edwards-led side needs to find batting depth to pose a challenge against New Zealand.

All-rounder Bas de Leede was the star performer with a four-wicket haul against Pakistan and starred with the bat, scoring a half-century. But the likes of Max O’Dowd, Colin Ackermann, Teja Nidamanuru and the skipper have to lend support for the Dutch to spring a surprise against the Black Caps. 

Teja, who scored twin centuries - first against Zimbabwe and then against the West Indies in the World Cup qualifier that the Dutch won in the famous one-over eliminator, will look to make a statement.

Logan van Beek, who smashed 30 runs in the Super Over to help the Netherlands beat the West Indies, also holds the key in a line-up that has the potential but has to translate into runs against the Kiwis. 

De Leede will look to repeat his all-round show with veteran Roelof van der Merwe donning the mentor’s hat along with his slow left-arm spin. The bowling looks sorted, but it’s the runs that need to flow to challenge a rampant New Zealand, who has already made a strong statement in the tournament.

Full Squads:

Netherlands: Scott Edwards (c/w), Colin Ackermann, Wesley Barresi, Bas de Leede, Aryan Dutt, Sybrand Engelbrecht, Ryan Klein, Teja Nidamanuru, Max O’Dowd, Saqib Zulfiqar, Shariz Ahmad, Logan van Beek, Roelof van der Merwe, Paul van Meekeren, Vikramjit Singh.

New Zealand: Kane Williamson (c), Tom Latham, Trent Boult, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway (w), Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Will Young.

Match starts: 2:00 pm.