Dhaka – Australia won the toss and chose to bat first against New Zealand in the trans-Tasman battle of the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup at The Lord’s on Saturday.
Australia have already secured their spot in the knockouts with 12 points from 7 matches while New Zealand have earned 11 points from as many matches.
But the Kiwis need to make sure that they do not get dragged into a last-minute race to book their place in semi-finals.
Aussies have made no changes and will play with their previous squad.
After winning the toss, Australian Captain Aaron Finch said, “We’re going to bat first. It’s a used wicket and hopefully, it will get slower on later. A totally different wicket from what we played the other day. It’s a bit dry and might spin. No changes, we’ve been really flexible with the team.”
On the other hand, New Zealand have made two changes – spinner Ish Sodhi replaces seamer Matt Henry and Henry Nicholls comes in at the top of the order for Colin Munro.
New Zealand Captain Kane Williamson said, “We would’ve batted. It’s important that we take some early wickets. Sodhi comes in for Henry, also Henry Nicholls comes in at the top of the order for Colin Munro.
Today is a new day, a fresh start and it’s about putting up strong performances.”
Australia (Playing XI): Aaron Finch (c), David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Steven Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Jason Behrendorff
New Zealand (Playing XI): Martin Guptill, Henry Nicholls, Kane Williamson (c), Ross Taylor, Tom Latham (wk), James Neesham, Colin de Grandhomme, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult, UNB
