Big Picture(New Zealand Vs England) Champion Trophy 06 jun 2017

It would be over-stating things a little to say there was a sigh of relief in the England camp after launching their tournament with victory over Bangladesh. In the end they coasted the run chase, but the day was not without its concerns. Chris Woakes' side strain has turned out to be tournament-ending; there was a lack of wicket-taking threat for a large chunk of Bangladesh's innings and Jason Roy's mind looked a little frazzled when he tried to scoop his way back into form. However, it all came together fairly serenely after that with Alex Hales, Joe Root and Eoin Morgan making light work of a target that, two years ago, would have left England cowering in a corner. And it felt as if they could have chased substantially more if needed. They might have to as the tournament progresses. Victory here will put them in the semi-finals, although the match may have to dodge the showers. New Zealand's over-riding emotion after their first match will have been frustration. Kane Williamson is too sanguine to let it show, but few would have forgiven him if he wanted to kick something inside the Edgbaston dressing-room as the rain closed in with his side on top against Australia. Such positions do not come easily, even if Australia were below their best. The way they set up their innings had more than a hint of 2015 about it, as Luke Ronchi blazed away with a slightly-less convincing remake of Brendon McCullum's gung-ho approach. Then Williamson was serene, but they could not kick on. Ross Taylor couldn't quite find an extra gear and the rest of the order floundered. Neil Broom's 14 off 19 balls was particularly problematic to the momentum and consideration may need to be given to some flexible thinking over the order. When these two sides last met in one-day cricket in 2015, the runs flowed in record-breaking fashion: at the time it was the highest-scoring five-match series as England, showing that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, took on New Zealand's one-day mindset (and took it to greater heights) as the sides hurtled along in each other's slipstream. Given fine weather - and fingers are crossed on that front - this could be a humdinger.

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