Australia vs New Zealand Match Prediction & Betting Tips
After months of preparation, the biggest tournament in cricket gets underway, starting with a classic match-up between two old rivals - and our Australia vs New Zealand betting tips are ready to go ahead of all the action, which begins at 12.30 pm IST on Saturday 22nd October at the Sydney Cricket Ground in Sydney.
The hosts are reigning champions, and will look to a typically partisan and feisty home crowd to provide crucial support in the big matches - and make no mistake, the contest against New Zealand is a huge game!
As a premium international cricket betting site, Pure Win will be offering you tips on every single World Cup clash! Check out our runners and riders in our full match preview below.
Australia vs New Zealand Betting Tips - New Zealand To Win
The Baggy Greens are the favourites to win their opener - our Australia vs New Zealand betting tips agree with the oddsmakers. It is likely the hosts will be too strong for a Black Caps team that have had a curious year travelling the world in an energy-sapping tour.
Both teams know the importance of getting off to a fast start - in the T20 2021 tournament, only one of the four teams that made the semi-finals lost their opening game.
The Aussies can be backed at odds of 1.42, while New Zealand are available at 2.80. At Pure Win, we firmly believe that value is the most important aspect to online cricket betting. So even though the hosts are justified favourites, we are siding with a win for Kane Williamson’s charges in the opener.
We have several reasons as to why - the main one being the price. Well over double your money for a team that is on the hunt for revenge after folding in surprisingly sipid style in last year’s final seems too good to turn down.
The Baggy Greens were not in their finest fettle in the three-game warm-up series over England, either! They lost their opening two games before the third and final match, which they would have almost certainly lost, was abandoned due to bad weather.
Best Bet: Trent Boult to be top New Zealand bowler
We have turned to some key stats to help us inform us of some bigger-priced returns!
Here are three need-to-know pointers ahead of the clash:
The Baggy Greens have lost 62.5% of their last eight Twenty20 internationals, stretching back to June 2021.
Finn Allen boasts a powerplay strike rate of 156.48 - one of the best in international cricket.
Matt Wade has been dismissed three times by Trent Boult in 23 balls - will he be his bunny once again?
Based on the above, we will be recommending Trent Boult to take the most wickets at odds of 3.55, while you can back Finn Allen to star for the Kiwis at odds of 5.1.
However you decide to bet, please ensure you do so responsibly at Pure Win!
Golf Strikes Again - Australian Ace Out!
It hasn’t been the most ideal build-up to the Twenty20 World Cup for Aaron Finch and his side - wicket-keeper Josh Inglis joining Jonny Bairstow on the injury table due to a golfing issue. Captains may have to start banning their players from picking up the clubs at this rate.
Key all-rounders Mitchell Marsh and Marcus Stoinis have recovered from injuries to be fully fit for the opener, though there are doubts surrounding the likes of Ashton Agar and Kane Richardson.
The form of Glenn Maxwell is also causing some concern for Aussie fans - in 2022, he’s averaging 15.15 at a strike rate of 113.87 from 14 innings.
However, head coach Andrew McDonald is unperturbed by the truncated and stop-start preparation, telling reporters: “I think it looks a lot different on the inside than it does on the outside. We have a task at hand and that's to get the players ready for the first game. Probably the thing that's consumed us the most has been injured players returning and you've seen in the lead-up that we've had to not take certain players to certain fixtures because of the risks of injury, so that's been our big discussion to get the eleven players who will play that first game to the start line. The medical team has done a fantastic job. So we've had our own, probably internal, battles as opposed to what's been happening on the outside.”
Cameron Green is expected to start up the order for the Baggy Greens, with skipper Aaron Finch coming in down at four in a new and unfamiliar position.
Player to Watch: Cameron Green
He has garnered the nickname Mr Fix It, and with good reason! In seven T20I games in 2022, he is rollicking along at an average strike rate of 174.35 and average of 19.42.
Predicted Playing XI
Aaron Finch (capt), David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Tim David, Matthew Wade (wk), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
HooDoo Looms Large For New Zealand
The Kiwis have had a hectic 2022 - heading to England, Ireland, and Scotland for test, ODI, and Twenty20 matches, before going back to New Zealand, via the West Indies, to begin preparation earlier in the month.
Their Twenty20 record in 2022 is emphatically impressive! They have lost just three of their last 15 matches, and have good records in recent T20 tournaments.
Kane Williamson is aware of an unwanted record for New Zealand - they have failed to beat Australia on Australian turf since 2011 - but he claims his side aren’t thinking about that, and are focused on the task in hand.
He said: “We haven't thought too much about that. Nice to play against Australia first up, and it should be a good game. They know the conditions well. They're very clinical at home and in most places that they play, which is a reflection of where they stand in the game. So there is that respect. We know that we have a number of match-winners throughout, and the team's looking forward to it. We've had a number of good clashes over the years and a number of good series as well, and I guess most recently probably the last World Cup.”
Pacers Lockie Ferguson and Adam Milne are battling back from some injury issues - it remains to be seen whether they will feature. The exciting Finn Allen looks to have relegated the experienced Martin Guptill to the bench.
Player to Watch: Finn Allen
You must have something about you to keep the evergreen Martin Guptill out of the side - we’re excited to see him in action!
Predicted Playing XI
Regis Chakabva(wk), Craig Ervine(c), Wesley Madhevere. Sean Williams, Sikandar Raza, Milton Shumba, Ryan Burl, Luke Jongwe, Tendai Chatara, Richard Ngarava, and Blessing Muzarabani
Australia vs New Zealand Head-to-Head
Given the awful record of the Kiwis down under, it’s no surprise to see the Australia vs New Zealand head to head record slant significantly to the former. They have won 10 T20Is, while the Black Caps have registered just five wins in the 15 clashes between the two!
