England crushed by New Zealand in World Cup opener

SAJJAD HUSSAIN/ AFP

New Zealand crushed defending champions England by nine wickets in the opening match of the 50-over World Cup on Thursday, demonstrating again their knack of punching above their weight in showpiece events.

Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra smashed rapid unbeaten centuries to set up New Zealand's successful pursuit of a 283-run victory target, which came with 13.4 overs to spare.

It was a rematch of the heart-stopping 2019 final at Lord's in which England were declared winners via a now-scrapped boundary countback rule after the contest had ended in a tie.

Electing to field on Thursday, New Zealand's bowlers restricted their opponents to 282-9, a modest total considering the firepower in England's usually formidable batting lineup.

England's batters did not really fire but Joe Root (77), Jos Buttler (43) and Jonny Bairstow (33) provided some resistance.

However, England could not string together enough partnerships and kept losing wickets at regular intervals.

Matt Henry claimed 3-48 for New Zealand, while their three spinners shared five wickets on a hot afternoon at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

All 11 England batters made double figures -- the first time any side have managed that in ODI World Cup -- but it was a patchy batting display overall.

New Zealand lost Will Young for nought in the first over but Conway, who made a career-best 152 not out, and Ravindra immediately turned the heat back on England with their free scoring.

The left-handers appeared to be competing with each other to reach the 50-mark -- both getting there in 36 balls in the end.

Conway brought up his hundred in 83 balls.

Ravindra, who collaborated in an epic unbroken 273-run partnership with Conway, took one delivery fewer to notch up his maiden ODI century in his memorable World Cup debut.

New Zealand rested regular captain Kane Williamson (knee) and fast bowler Tim Southee (thumb) to give them more time to recover from surgery.

England rested Ben Stokes, who is nursing a minor hip injury.

More from Sports News

  • Brook's defiant ton in vain as New Zealand beat England

    New Zealand overcame a blitz from centurion Harry Brook to beat England by four wickets on Sunday in the opening game of their three-match one-day international series, with Daryl Mitchell and Michael Bracewell scoring half-centuries.

  • Bencic tames Noskova to win Tokyo title

    Belinda Bencic breezed past Czech sixth seed Linda Noskova 6-2 6-3 to win the Pan Pacific Open title on Sunday, erasing bitter memories of her straight-sets defeat by Agnieszka Radwanska in the title clash of the same tournament 10 years ago.

  • We need to find answers to stop Liverpool slide, says Slot

    Liverpool manager Arne Slot said opponents have identified a winning strategy against his Premier League champions and he needs to find a solution fast after a 3-2 defeat at Brentford on Saturday made it four league losses in a row.

  • Rohit and Kohli bid likely farewell to Australia as winners

    Rohit Sharma hit a century and Virat Kohli a bright 74 to drive India to a nine-wicket win in the third one-day international on Saturday, sending fans home happy after what are likely to be their final appearances in Australia in their country's colours.

Blogs