The second match at the Cricket World Cup on Saturday is a repeat of the final of the last tournament when Australia and New Zealand meet in a clash between two current members of the top four in the table.
Australia have already qualified for the semi-final but New Zealand need one more win just to make sure of their spot, although it is perfectly possible that they have done enough already with the fixtures that are left for the chasers.
AllSportsBetting Podcast
Once again Kev and Steve have got together to discuss the latest match of the tournament which sees the Anzac teams meeting as New Zealand go up against Australia. Click play below to listen to their preview of the game and their bets for it.
New Zealand
The Kiwis head into this match off the back of their first defeat of the tournament to Pakistan. I think it is only fair that we acknowledge that the loss was coming and they will have been disappointed with how tamely it came about when it did come along. They could easily have lost their previous two matches so they could do with something resembling a convincing performance here just for their own peace of mind.
The problem New Zealand have had is that they have not managed to produce a complete batting performance thus far. Their openers went well in the opening game and have barely got going since then and had it not been for Kane Williamson their plight would have been a whole lot worse. One positive for the Kiwis has been their bowling attack but even they have shown signs of slacking under pressure in recent outings.
Australia
The Australians have had no such problems. The only issue they have had in the tournament has been failing to finish off their batting innings but they are all of their own making because they continually get their batting order all wrong. If they ever do get that sorted out then they are going to take some real stopping when the knockout stages come along in this tournament.
The aim all along has been to improve throughout and then peak for the knockout stage and by virtue of the fact that they gave their best performance of the competition in beating England last time out bodes well for them in that quest. They are looking the team to beat with their bowling attack in particular looking very strong indeed.
Team News
New Zealand are not expected to rush into too many changes for this match but at some point you would think Tim Southee would come in, potentially for Matt Henry, while Henry Nicholls is likely to replace Colin Munro eventually.
Australia captain Aaron Finch has confirmed that because there is a whole week between this match and their final match they won’t be resting Mitchell Starc or Pat Cummins so we can expect them to be unchanged after such a fine performance.
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Betting
I can’t see past Australia here. I think their bowling attack is too strong and I think they are batting a whole lot better than New Zealand are. Kane Williamson doesn’t have the best of records against Australia and if he doesn’t go big you fear that New Zealand won’t be able to put up the amount of runs needed to win a game like this. Australia have had plenty in hand in their wins so far and I fancy they can win this by 3.5 wickets or 18.5 runs at the very least.
The other bet I like in this match is for Jimmy Neesham to top score for New Zealand. I’ve already mentioned how New Zealand are struggling as a unit with the bat but one man who should have come confidence behind him is Neesham. He top scored with a 90 odd against Pakistan in midweek and plays a similar game to Ben Stokes who top scored for England against Australia on this very pitch earlier in the week. Neesham should avoid the likes of Starc and Cummins for much of his innings which makes the 14/1 on him look attractive.
Tips
WON – Back Australia (-3.5 wickets/18.5runs) to beat New Zealand for a 4/10 stake at 1.80 with Bet365
Back J.Neesham Top New Zealand Batsman for a 1/10 stake at 15.00 with Bet365
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