The ICC T20 World Cup group stage has only just finished and it’s already time to head into the semi-finals! The first battle takes place in Abu Dhabi between Group 1 winners England and runners-up in Group 2 New Zealand on Wednesday afternoon.

England

The Three Lions missed out on an unbeaten run in the group stage on Saturday when they lost to the Proteas by 10 runs. After winning the toss and sending the South Africans in to bat in Sharjah they were left with a target of 190 – one of the highest set in the tournament. It was a tough day for the bowlers and England only managed to pick up two wickets in the innings, one by Moeen Ali and the other by Adil Rashid. 

Going into the match the Three Lions could only miss out on qualification by failing to score more than 85 in their run chase thanks to an excellent net run rate, but the English were far from satisfied with just doing the minimum. After a steady start to the innings opener Jason Roy was forced to retire hurt in the fourth over on 20, while the next over saw the dismissal of danger man Jos Buttler for 26. The sixth over saw Johnny Bairstow out LBW for just one and all of a sudden the English were 59/3 and the momentum had swung in favour of South Africa. A vital fourth wicket partnership of 51 by Moeen Ali and Dawid Malan brought some stability back to their innings and ensured they would not be embarrassed and miss out on qualification. Their respective contributions of 37 and 33, along with a knock of 28 by Liam Livingstone would be enough to secure them top spot in Group 1 but not enough to secure victory in the match.

Earlier on in the tournament England defeated the West Indies by six wickets which they followed up with an eight wicket victory against Bangladesh. In their third match they cruised past Australia with an eight wicket victory, while their penultimate group clash saw them taking on Sri Lanka who they managed to defeat by 26 runs.

Despite having an off day against South Africa Jos Buttler is still the top batsman for England with 240 runs in the tournament. Spinner Adil Rashid has been the best for his side with eight tournament wickets, narrowly ahead of fellow spinner Moeen Ali who has seven.

New Zealand

While England ended off their group stage with a loss it was exactly the opposite for the Black Caps who started off their campaign with a loss. In their opening encounter New Zealand took on Pakistan in Sharjah where they ended up losing by five wickets. Second up they took on India in what should have been their most difficult group encounter, but instead they completely annihilated the Indians by bowling them out for just 110 runs and chasing down the target with 8 wickets in the bag. Their remaining three games were against much weaker opposition and they had no problems defeating Scotland by 16 runs, Namibia by 52 runs and Afghanistan by 8 wickets.

In their previous match against Afghanistan in Abu Dhabi New Zealand lost the toss and surprisingly they were not sent in to bat. This worked in the Black Caps’ favour and they were able to pick up their first wicket in the third over through Adam Milne with wickets continuing to fall in quick succession thanks to fellow seamers Trent Boult and Tim Southee. At the halfway mark the Black Caps had Afghanistan at 56/4 and despite them steadying their innings with a fifth wicket partnership of 59, New Zealand were able to rip through the lower order batsman once the partnership was broken and restrict Afghanistan to 124/8 in their 20 overs. Trent Boult was the top bowler for New Zealand with his spell of 3/17 while Tim Southee adding two wickets in his four overs. 

The run chase was a pretty painless one for New Zealand which saw them reach their target in the 19th over and only losing two wickets along the way. Captain Kane Williamson was the top batsman for his side with 40 runs and along with Devon Conway they wiped out more than half of their target with a third wicket stand of 68 runs.

Prediction

I feel that New Zealand have had a much easier path to the semi-finals and I have a feeling that this could very well count against them going into this match. I’m also not too convinced that their victory against India was a real test for them, while their only other match against top opposition (Pakistan) they lost. England on the other hand have defeated the likes of Australia, West Indies, Sri Lanka and came pretty close to defeating South Africa as well. For me they are the much stronger team going into this match and New Zealand might just be in for a rude awakening. The two teams also met in a warm up match prior to the tournament which saw England come out on top and we could be in for the same result on Wednesday. For me there’s nothing wrong with New Zealand’s batting line-up, but I do feel that they are lacking in their bowling attack. It’s mostly been the seamers that have been getting the work done and for me their spinners are not as potent the English ones. Furthermore, the English batting is certainly on par with New Zealand if not better so for me this match is England’s for the taking. They are favourites for this match and the odds aren’t great if you are going to back them for the win so I am going to opt for some top batsman and top bowler picks once again. Jos Buttler didn’t top score for his side in the last innings but I am willing to have another crack at him this week since he certainly doesn’t lack in ability against top teams like New Zealand. For the Black Caps I like Devon Conway to top score. I think the English bowlers will create some problems for the openers and I see him being forced to come to the crease early on in the innings. It’s more than likely going to be the spin that’s going to get the job done for England once again and since he is brimming with confidence right now I am going to have a crack at Moeen Ali to be the top bowler for England.

BetOlimp Best Bets

Top Home Bowler: Moeen Ali – 5.00
Top Home Batsman: Jos Buttler – 3.00
Top Away Batsman: Devon Conway – 5.50