Istafa Ali
England changed history on Thursday when it played New Zealand in the first game of the ICC World Cup 2023 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. All 11 of England’s players scored in the double digits.
When New Zealand’s stand-in captain, Tom Latham, chose to bowl first, he couldn’t have known that England would set a new record for playing. In their innings, England got as far as 282-9, but New Zealand did something amazing and won by nine wickets.
One Day Internationals (ODIs) have been played for 52 years and 4,567 matches, but this amazing feat had never been done before.
During this memorable game, England’s batting order was: Jonny Bairstow 33, Dawid Malan 14, Joe Root 77, Harry Brook 25, Moeen Ali 11, Jos Buttler 43, Liam Livingstone 20, Sam Curran 14, Chris Woakes 11, Adil Rashid 15 not out, and Mark Wood 13 not out.
This amazing feat showed how strong England’s hitting line-up was. Their bold batting at the top caused them to lose wickets, but it also gave Adil Rashid and Mark Wood enough chances to reach double figures.
New Zealand defeated reigning champions England by nine wickets in the 50-over World Cup opener on Thursday, showing their ability to perform well in big competitions.
Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra scored quick unbroken hundreds to help New Zealand reach 283 runs with 13.4 overs to spare.
In a replay of the thrilling 2019 final at Lord’s, England won after a draw under a now-scrapped boundary countback system.
On Thursday, New Zealand’s bowlers limited England to 282-9, a rather low score given their batting prowess.
English hitters struggled, although Joe Root (77), Jos Buttler (43) and Jonny Bairstow (33) gave some fight.
England struggled to form partnerships and lost wickets often.
Matt Henry took 3-48 for New Zealand, while their three spinners split five wickets on a steamy day at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
All 11 England batsmen scored double figures, a first in ODIs, although the batting was inconsistent.
Conway, who scored a career-best 152 not out, and Ravindra’s free scoring put England under pressure after New Zealand lost Will Young for nought in the opening over.
Both left-handers reached 50 in 36 balls, seeming to compete.
Conway scored 100 in 83 balls.
Ravindra, who shared an unbroken 273 runs with Conway, scored his first ODI century in one delivery less in his World Cup debut.
To allow Kane Williamson (knee) and Tim Southee (thumb) to recuperate from surgery, New Zealand rested them.
With Ben Stokes nursing a slight hip ailment, England rested him.
All you Need to Know about Cricket World Cup 2023
Even though these kinds of records are more common in Test cricket, where there are no limits on the number of overs, this unique achievement in ODIs adds a new part to England’s cricketing history at the 2023 World Cup.
