ICC CWC'19: England opt to bat first in crunch semis versus New Zealand
Chester-le-street: England captain Eoin Morgan opted to bat first after winning the toss in his side's crunch World Cup match against New Zealand at the Riverside on Wednesday. Victory for either team would see them into the semi-finals.
New Zealand could still go through on net run-rate even if they lose but a defeat for England, also looking to win the World Cup for the first time, would see them knocked out by Pakistan if Sarfaraz Ahmed's men beat Bangladesh at Lord's on Friday.
England were unchanged from the side that bounced back after two straight defeats with a 31-run win over previously unbeaten India at Edgbaston on Sunday.
But New Zealand, who have been defeated by Pakistan and reigning champions Australia in their past two matches, suffered a setback when in-form fast bowler Lockie Ferguson was ruled out with a hamstring injury.
Ferguson is the second most successful bowler in this tournament with 17 wickets -- only Australia's Mitchell Starc is ahead of him. New Zealand made two changes, dropping spinner Ish Sodhi and recalling pacemen Tim Southee and Matt Henry.
Southee took a stunning 7-33 when New Zealand skittled out England for 123 and then took just 12.2 overs to score the runs in a World Cup pool match in Wellington four years ago.
New Zealand went on to reach the final before losing to fellow co-hosts Australia, while the result proved a catalyst for England's white-ball revival that saw them climb to the top of the one-day international rankings.
Teams
England: Eoin Morgan (capt), Jonny Bairstow, Jason Roy, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler (wkt), Liam Plunkett, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid, Jofra Archer, Mark Wood.
New Zealand: Martin Guptill, Henry Nicholls, Kane Williamson (capt), Ross Taylor, Tom Latham (wkt), Jimmy Neesham, Colin de Grandhomme, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Matt Henry, Trent Boult.
Umpires: Sundaram Ravi (IND), Rod Tucker (AUS) TV umpire: Paul Reiffel (AUS) Match referee: David Boon (AUS)
