Can England reach the ICC Champions Trophy semi-finals with a win over New Zealand on Tuesday?

There was a (short) period on Thursday where England won’t have felt as comfortable as they should have. Bangladesh managed a better than expected 306-5, and immediately put England under pressure as they stepped up to bat. Opener Jason Roy continued his poor form, managing just one run in 8 balls before being caught out by Mustafizur Rahman – that’s his 5th international single figure score in a row, a stat that must be frustrating to hear for the in-form Jonny Bairstow.



Luckily for England’s Roy’s rubbish showing was only a blip. Joe Root came in to join Alex Hales (who finished just shy of a century before being replaced by Eoin Morgan) and led the hosts to victory, ending the day on 133 not out. Unsurprisingly Root heads into Tuesday’s trip to the Sophia Gardens in Cardiff with the best Player Performance spread of 57-62 (where its 1 point per run, 10 points per catch, 20 per wicket and 25 per stumping).

While England are no doubt chuffed about their win, New Zealand will feel frustrated with how things went against Australia on Friday. A Kane Williamson century, and ample assistance from Luke Ronchi, had left the Kiwis with 291 from 45 overs, the match shortened thanks to rain. Further wet weather then left Australia with a target of 235 runs from 33 overs, only for yet another rain delay to prematurely end the match. The Aussies were arguably lucky with how things turned out – captain Steve Smith said as much – given they were 53-3 after just 9 overs.

Undeservedly or not, then, New Zealand have a lot to do in their final 2 games, meaning they’ll need another stellar showing from Williamson and Ronchi – who sit at Player Performance spreads of 48-53 and 51-56 respectively – if they are to disrupt England’s path to the knockouts.

Our traders don’t fancy their chances, however, instead offering an England/New Zealand Match Supremacy spread of 15-15 – where 1 point is awarded per run a match is one by, and 10 points per wicket.