Last Updated on 1 year by Charbel Coorey
Cricket News: ENG vs NZ reactions – Devon Conway & Rachin Ravindra DESTROY England | ENG vs NZ World Cup Twitter reactions
Another World Cup, another reminder by the Black Caps to never underestimate their quality. New Zealand have sent a strong message to the other nine teams after hammering defending champions England by nine wickets with an incredible 82 balls to spare.
Here are some key talking points from the World Cup opener, followed by fan reactions to the mauling.
Ravindra announces himself on the world stage. He is now undroppable
After the early fall of Will Young in the chase of 283, Devon Conway (152*) and Rachin Ravindra (123*) looked in ominous touch right from the word go. Ravindra in particular was outstanding, playing a number of world-class shots both sides of the wicket against England’s pace attack.
The 23-year old Ravindra announced himself on the world stage, middling just about every delivery he faced. Conway provided a timely reminder of his world-class talent. They made the England bowling lineup look third-rate, slamming 273 in 35.1 overs to make a mockery of the 283-run target.
Now, there is surely no way Ravindra can be left out of the team when Kane Williamson returns. An option the Black Caps have is to partner Ravindra and Conway together at the top with Williamson to come in at three. After this performance, why not?
Mitchell Santner and Matt Henry lay down a marker
In the backdrop of New Zealand’s batting exploits were two outstanding bowling performances. The make-up of the Black Caps attack, which was full of all-rounders, meant that a lot of the burden was on Trent Boult, Matt Henry and Mitchell Santner to deliver.
Henry and Santner in particular stood up. The former produced a seam-bowling masterclass in the powerplay, while the latter dazzled in the middle overs. Santner’s changes of pace and length made him very difficult to get a hold of as he finished with remarkable figures of 2/37 off ten overs.
Credit should also go to stand-in captain Tom Latham. He used his resources excellently in the innings, going to his big guns whenever he needed a wicket. Indeed, Henry’s dismissal of Jos Buttler as England threatened to get going was a big moment in the match.
England cop a huge wake up call
“England were so far off the mark,” said 2019 World Cup winning captain Eoin Morgan in the aftermath. “They bowled both sides of the wicket and were 30-40 runs short.”
Nasser Hussain echoed those thoughts. “One side were absolutely magnificent in New Zealand. The other side were way off the expectations of what we’ve seen from them from the last however many years.”
England achieved a unique first in ODI cricket, becoming the first team – men or women – to have all 11 batters make double-figures. However, only Joe Root crossed 50. They lost regular wickets right throughout their innings, many of which were their own doing on a good batting surface.
But, the bigger concern was the bowling. Even in an era of big scores, 282 is still a defendable total with the pressure of World Cup in the air. However, England’s bowlers looked toothless, taking only one wicket which was an ugly leg-side strangle. Where they go to from here will be interesting to see with the likes of Reece Topley waiting in the wings.
ENG vs NZ reactions – New Zealand embarrass defending champions England in opening game of the World Cup
Here are some of the reactions to New Zealand’s mauling of England. England fans spoke of their domestic structure, while many other supporters praised the Black Caps.
