England face New Zealand in a must-win T20 World Cup clash at the Gabba on Tuesday, where Richard Mann expects Liam Livingstone to play a big role.
Cricket tips: ICC T20 World Cup England v Zealand
2pts Dawid Malan to be top England batsman at 9/2 (General)
1pt Liam Livingstone to be Man of the Match at 16/1 (Sky Bet)
Australia’s 42-run win over Ireland on Monday puts England under a little but more pressure on Tuesday, when they take on unbeaten New Zealand in Brisbane.
The possibility of more rain could complicate matters further, but for now England’s focus must be on trying to beat a New Zealand team that have won both of their matches in the manner of genuine title contenders.
New Zealand fell at the last hurdle at last year’s T20 World Cup, losing to Australia in the final, but the likes of Devon Conway and Glenn Phillips have led from the front with the bat this time around, and the ever-reliable Trent Boult and Tim Southee with the ball.
Bowling concerns remain for dangerous England
On what we’ve seen in Australia thus far, there is an argument to be made for backing New Zealand at 6/4, with England particularly disappointing when slumping to a shock defeat to Ireland at the MCG.
They have since been rained off against Australia and concerns remain on the bowling front, with Chris Woakes only picking up one wicket in the tournament so far and his economy rate soaring towards 10 runs per over.
Mark Wood has bowled with real pace, and Sam Curran plenty of skill, but England could be vulnerable at the death if New Zealand bat well.
The danger in backing New Zealand is that their own batting hasn’t been without fault. The Kiwis were reduced to 15-3 against Sri Lanka before Phillips’ masterful hundred dragged his team out of a hole, and the form of Kane Williamson doesn’t inspire much confidence.
I’ll sit the match market out, with my faith in England still not completely diminished, so too any runs bets given batting didn’t look quite as easy on Monday as we have become accustomed to at the Gabba.
Livingstone primed for bold show
Two bets I do want to strike are both on England players, with LIAM LIVINGSTONE worth a few quid to be Man of the Match at 16/1.
Livingstone is a key man for England given his finishing ability in the death overs, and he has returned from injury in good touch – making runs in the World Cup warm-up victory over Pakistan and then top scoring with 29 not out against Afghanistan.
As the likes of Marcus Stoinis (35 from 25 balls) and Lorcan Tucker (71* from 48) highlighted on Monday, the Gabba is a ground where you can finish off the innings strongly and Livingstone is so destructive in that scenario.
The other factor in his favour is that New Zealand’s middle order from numbers three to five feature three right handers, and there was enough turn on offer on this ground on Monday to suggest Livingstone’s wrist spin might be called upon to support Adil Rashid.
Livingstone took 2-22 against New Zealand in the semi-finals of last year’s World Cup, and if England are to exact revenge in Brisbane, Livingstone should have a big role to play again.
Classy Malan too big to ignore
My second and final bet sticks with DAWID MALAN who has faced plenty of criticism for his laboured innings against Ireland, but he wasn’t the only guilty culprit and remains England’s leading runscorer in the competition.
The pace and bounce we always get at the Gabba suits Malan’s strong back-foot game well and I’m happy enough with his overall level of form, as I am a career average of 60.16 against New Zealand in this format.
9/2 underestimates Malan’s chances in the top England batsman market.
Preview posted at 1340 BST (31/10/2022)
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