New Zealand have won the toss and elected to bowl first in the ICC World Cup 2023 opener against the defending champions England at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Thursday (October 5).

Star all-rounder Ben Stokes misses out on the match due to a hip niggle as captain Jos Buttler yesterday said that they would not take any risk at the start of the tournament. Harry Brook will replace him in the main XI. England name three pacers in the squad.

On the other hand, despite a pair of promising warm-up performances against Pakistan and South Africa, regular captain Kane Williamson has been sidelined by a knee ligament injury sustained during the Indian Premier League (IPL), and Tim Southee is out after dislocating his thumb during the England series last month. Spinner Ish Sodhi also misses out the match as well as pacer Lockie Ferguson. Tom Latham will the side. New Zealand name only 2 genuine pacers in the squad.

Playing XI

England: Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler (c) (wk), Moeen Ali, Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood, Adil Rashid.

New Zealand: Will Young, Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Tom Latham (c) (wk), James Neesham, Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner, Matt Henry, Trent Boult.