The last time England and New Zealand met in the 2019 World Cup, it was a group stage encounter and the hosts broke a 27-year-old record to beat the Kiwis in a showpiece event tie.
But all that will count for nothing when the two teams clash in the final at Lord's on Sunday. While New Zealand beat favourites India to seal the final spot, England thrashed arch-rivals Australia by eight wickets to set up the final date.
On paper, it will clearly be a case of home advantage standing Eoin Morgan's men in good stead, but as Kiwi coach Gary Stead hinted on Friday, calling the New Zealand boys underdogs for the final clash would be unfair. After all, they beat the much-fancied Indians to book their ticket to London.
While both teams have quality bowling attacks, the batting of the New Zealand outfit is something that will definitely bother the Kiwis, especially the poor form of experienced opener Martin Guptill. While his direct hit to dismiss MS Dhoni did change the outcome of the semi-final between India and New Zealand, he would wish to give the Kiwis a good start at the top. And there is a positive in there. Guptill's first ODI in England was at Lord's in May 2013 and the opener scored 103* against the Englishmen in that game.
With semis victories might be going with the same playing XI in the World Cup final at Lord's but there are slight chances that the Kiwis might include destructive opener Colin Munro in place of Hennry Nicholls after the laters poor form in the tournament.
What to expect and Match Prediction:
England will enter the match as the hot favourites to win their maiden World Cup trophy as from the past one year they are playing dominating cricket. On the other hand New Zealand are a quality side with excellent bowling line-up which includes Trent Boult, Lockie Ferguson, Mat Henry and Mitchell Santner that can dismantle any batting line-up. It will be 60-40 match with England having a upper hand at Lord's.
Predicted Playing 11 New Zealand vs England
New Zealand: Martin Guptill, Colin Munro, Kane Williamson (C), Ross Taylor, Tom Latham (WK), James Neesham, Colin de Grandhomme, Mitchell Santner, Matt Henry, Trent Boult, Lockie Ferguson
England: Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan (C), Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler (WK), Chris Woakes, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Jofra Archer, Mark Wood
