England v New Zealand T20 World Cup Tips: Kiwis can squeeze life out of rivals

• England under the cosh
• Bowling remains a big problem for Buttler's men
• Kiwis a good bet if they bat first

England v New Zealand
Tuesday 1 November, 08:00
TV: Live on Sky Sports

Team news

The Kiwis are two from two against established nations. Perhaps they should be shorter than 4.3310/3 on the outright market.

Their batting had a serious wobble against Sri Lanka and had their opponents been able to catch they would have probably lost. Still, the highly-skilled all-round attack is proving to be expert in these conditions.

Kane Williamson continues to be a problem at No 3 for them. The odds on them dropping him for Mark Chapman are long.

Probable XI: Allen, Conway, Williamson, Phillips, Mitchell, Neesham,, Santner, Sodhi, Southee, Ferguson, Boult

England are officially up against it for qualification. They have to hope Australia suffer fierce resistance from Afghanistan and win both remaining games.

Moeen Ali has asked his team-mates to be aggressive but that's easier said than done when so much is riding on the outcome.

Their crisis of identity may stem from Ben Stokes being parachuted into the team. Stokes is struggling to adapt and Liam Livingstone would be of more use further up.

Probable XI: Buttler, Hales, Malan, Stokes, Brook, Moeen, Livingstone, S Curran, Woakes, Rashid, Wood

Pitch report

The jury is still out on The Gabba pitch. Ten of the last 22 games at the venue have seen first-innings score of 160 or more. Sportsbook's 9/5 that both team score 160 is of interest because of England strong batting and pricey bowling.

How to play

England are 1.625/8 with New Zealand 2.68/5. My goodness that's a short price on an England team who are under the cosh. Not to mention the issues they have.

Stokes is a problem but a bigger one is their bowling. They continue to be profligate in the field and it's a long-standing trend.

Another is their dreadful record batting second. It's now only three wins in their last 12. We'll use that to hang a bet on the Kiwis.

Tops value

Glenn Phillips smashed a chancey ton against Sri Lanka to win the Kiwis the game. He's 4/1 for another top bat. Only Mohammad Rizwan has a better runs per innings average than Devon Conway in the last year so Sportsbook's boosted 11/4 is of interest.

Jos Buttler has been boosted to 13/5. He has an excellent record against the Kiwis - averaging 34 at a strike rate of 149. Moeen Ali is a win-rate bet at 11/1.