[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

Aussies have bulldozed Bangladesh. Need 183 to win off fifty overs, and even less if the rain causes a delay. Only three Bangladesh players made it into double figures, and if it wasn't for Tamim's 95 they'd have been well and truly annihilated.

[themaclad]

Off for rain six overs short of a game

[Lord Snooty]

Covers off. Pitch inspection on.

[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

Group A

England vs New Zealand

Sophia Gardens, Cardiff

ENGLAND squad: Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Jake Ball, Sam Billings (wk), Jos Buttler (wk), Alex Hales, Eoin Morgan (capt), Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood

NEW ZEALAND squad: Kane Williamson (capt), Trent Boult, Corey Anderson, Neil Broom, Colin de Grandhomme, Martin Guptill, Tom Latham, Mitchell McClenaghan, Adam Milne, Jimmy Neesham, Jeetan Patel, Luke Ronchi (wk), Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor


England's campaign continues apace on Tuesday with a crucial match against New Zealand at Cardiff.

The hosts didn't look overly convincing with the ball on Thursday; a real wicket-taking threat seemed sadly lacking, and the injury to Chris Woakes which has subsequently ruled him out of the remainder of the tournament only compounded matters.  Nevertheless, England were comfortable enough with the bat to coast to victory with overs to spare, and it's that side of the game which may prove key against the Kiwis.

England's last series of ODIs against New Zealand was a run-scoring paradise, and there's every reason to expect the two teams will go about this one just as aggressively; provided, of course, they get the chance to.  For the respective captains, the worst enemy may not be the opposition but the weather: thunderstorms are forecast in South Wales throughout the day, and it may take a miracle to get a full game.

New Zealand's record ODI score is 402, set against Ireland in Aberdeen in 2008.  Their best against England was 398 at the Oval two years ago, while their highest successful chase was 350 in a single-wicket win over Australia at Hamilton in 2007.  Martin Guptill holds the dual distinction of being their highest run-scorer in any ODI innings, with 237* against the West Indies in 2015, and their highest in an ODI against England, with 189* at Southampton in 2013.

If the rain gods have mercy on us then expect a cracker.  New Zealand will probably name an unchanged XI, while Steven Finn could find himself preferred as a replacement for Chris Woakes and David Willey for Jake Ball.  With short straight boundaries down towards the River Taff, there's potential for an avalanche of runs.  A win will see England through; a defeat or abandonment, however, would leave everything riding on Saturday's clash with Australia.

Play commences at 1030, 6th June 2017

[Lord Snooty]

The weather forecast for Wales today is slightly better than England, with most of the rain gone by the time this match starts. I reckon we might get a result, possibly a D/L one, as they say there will still be the odd shower.
That's from watching the forecast just now on SSN.

[Lord Snooty]

Only just looked at the score. England 166-3 after 30.
They used to say double the 30 overs score to get an idea what the 50 overs total will be.
In that case 332-6 sounds awesome.

[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

Yeah, I've only just tuned in too. I see Jason Roy made it all the way to 13 today. Would an open-top bus parade be too much?

[Lord Snooty]

310 all out (49.3)

[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

Excellent stuff from Jos Buttler in the end to push England up to a 300+ score just when it looked like things might fizzle out after Root, Stokes and Moeen threw away their wickets. 310 all out with three balls to spare; hosts will be a bit disappointed that they couldn't get a big last over in to hit 320 or even 330, but this feels like a par score, and it should be defendable if we bowl well.

[Lord Snooty]

Ronchi donkey, golden duck.