Dutch will be put to the test in the ICC ODI World Cup after New Zealand’s explosive start

New Zealand and the Netherlands will play each other here on Monday as they look to go further in the current Cricket World Cup after having already completed their initial matches.

The Kiwis defeated the 2019 winners by nine wickets in the first match of the season on Thursday, once again demonstrating their desire to go far in the competition.

The New Zealanders knocked down the mark in 36.2 overs despite England scoring a respectable 282 for the loss of nine wickets, due to explosive efforts from Devon Conway (152 not out) and Rachin Ravindra (123 not out).

Kane Williamson, who serves as New Zealand’s normal captain but is still working to get back to match fitness after suffering an ACL injury during the IPL earlier this year, was not there for the victory.

Williamson is still not entirely match-fit to play against the Dutch, according to Kiwi head coach Gary Stead, therefore Tom Latham, who led the team against the Three Lions, will continue to wear the captain’s band Monday as well.

“Kane’s also been progressing very well — I think the fielding is still the element for him that he’s just got to get a little bit higher and get a little more trust in his body,” said Stead Sunday.

“But he is making great progress, and we feel very sure that he will play in our third game. After finishing today’s training, we will finalize the squad since we still have one more training to do. At this point, it seems like Kane will begin the tournament in the third game, the coach said.

Although it is doubtful that experienced pacing Tim Southee will make the squad since he is recuperating from a broken and dislocated thumb, fellow pacemaker Lockie Ferguson should be eligible if he passes the fitness test on Sunday.

The Dutch had a difficult match on Friday against Pakistan, which the latter won by 81 runs.

However, the Dutch did have their moments throughout the game, particularly early on when they were able to strike out three Pakistani hitters when they had a powerplay.

Additionally, the opening pair of Vikramjit Singh (52) and Bas de Leede (67) both made good comebacks with the bat but were unsuccessful.

The Dutch batting has to be more consistent, particularly in the middle order, even if their bowling seems to be in order. In the last four ODIs, captain Scott Edwards has failed to reach the 30-run threshold.

The two teams have so far faced off against each other four times in this style, with New Zealand coming out on top each time.

Squads:

The Netherlands: Logan van Beek, Roelof van der Merwe, Paul van Meekeren, Vikramjit Singh, Scott Edwards (c/w), Colin Ackermann, Wesley Barresi, Bas de Leede, Aryan Dutt, Sybrand Engelbrecht, Ryan Klein, Teja Nidamanuru, Max O’Dowd, Saqib Zulfiqar, Shariz Ahmad.

Kane Williamson (captain), Tom Latham, Trent Boult, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway (wicketkeeper), Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, and Will Young are all New Zealand players.

Game begins at 2:00 PM.