Afghanistan v New Zealand preview, player tips & predictions

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MATCH INFO
Afghanistan v New Zealand
Venue: County Ground Taunton, Saturday, June 8, 1.30pm (British time)
Head to head odds: Afghanistan $5.75; New Zealand $1.14
Last time they met: New Zealand 4-188 (36.1 overs) d Afghanistan 186 (47.4 overs) in Napier, NZ, March 8, 2015.

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New Zealand head into this match as one of three undefeated teams, alongside Australia and India.
They should maintain the status in this clash against the winless Afghanistan, who blew perhaps their best chance of chalking up a win on Tuesday against Sri Lanka.
This is the first match of the tournament to be played at Taunton, so how the pitch will play is something on an unknown.
Afghanistan’s bowlers have done a good job in the matches against Australia and Sri Lanka but their batting has not really been up to scratch.
New Zealand are strong all over, and paceman Matt Henry has been a revelation in their opening two wins against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
They are simply too strong for their rivals here and it would take something extraordinary for New Zealand to let this one slip.
But be warned that the weather forecast for Saturday is not promising so this one may well be shortened, which obviously makes a big difference in many of the markets we will look at with leading cricket bookie William Hill.

This Afghanistan v New Zealand betting preview will run you through betting options for match 13 of 48 of the ICC World Cup 2019.

Afghanistan v New Zealand odds:

For full markets visit the William Hill website.

HEAD TO HEAD BETTING:
Afghanistan $5.75, New Zealand $1.14
Prediction: New Zealand look a safe bet here save for the weather.

TOP RUN-SCORER BETTING:

Afghanistan:
Top five in betting: Hazratullah Zazai $4.25, Mohammad Shahzad $4.25, Rahmat Shah $4.25, Noor Ali Zadran $6, Hashmatulla Shahidi $7.

Top scorers from past five ODIs:
v Sri Lanka: Najibullah Zadran 43
v Australia: Najibullah Zadran 51
v Ireland: Mohammad Shahzad 101
v Ireland: Asghar Afghan 29
v Scotland: Rahmat Shah 113

New Zealand:
Top five in betting: Kane Williamson $3.50, Martin Guptill $3.50, Colin Munro $3.75, Ross Taylor $5, Henry Nicholls $5.

Top scorers from past five ODIs:
v Bangladesh: Ross Taylor 82
v Sri Lanka: Martin Guptill 73no
v Bangladesh: Ross Taylor 69
v Bangladesh: Martin Guptill 118
v Bangladesh: Martin Guptill 117no

Top batter prediction: We had a great result with the dashing Ross Taylor top-scoring for NZ against Bangladesh. But this time we suspect he may not get as much time at the crease so we will bet on Martin Guptill at $3.50 to lead the way. He has started the tournament in super form. The Afghan batsmen have disappointed but Hazratullah Zazai started in a blaze of glory against Sri Lanka and may be ready to put a decent score on the board.

TOP WICKET-TAKER BETTING:

Afghanistan:
Top five in betting: Rashid Khan $2.60, Mujeeb Ur Rahman $4.50, Mohammad Nabi $4.25, Aftab Alam $5.50, Dawlat Zadran $5.50.

Top wicket-takers from past five ODIs:
v Sri Lanka: Mohammad Nabi 4-30
v Australia: Mujeeb Ur Rahman 1-45, Gulbadin Naib 1-32, Rashid Khan 1-52
v Ireland: Gulbadin Naib 6-43
v Ireland: Dawlat Zadran 3-35, Aftab Alam 3-28
v Scotland: Gulbadin Naib 3-72

New Zealand:
Top five in betting: Trent Boult $3, Tim Southee $4.50, Lockie Ferguson $3.75, Matt Henry $4.50, Mitchell Santner $5.

Top wicket-takers from past five ODIs:
v Bangladesh: Matt Henry 4-47
v Sri Lanka: Matt Henry 3-29, Lockie Ferguson 3-22
v Bangladesh: Tim Southee 6-65
v Bangladesh: Lockie Ferguson 3-43
v Bangladesh: Trent Boult 3-40

Top bowler tip: There is no stopping Matt Henry, who tops the overall wicket tables at the time of publication. But we are big fans of the left-arm paceman Trent Boult. He looks ready to hit his straps and will cause all sorts of problems for the Afghani top order. For Afghanistan, we will have a small bet on Mujeeb Ur Rahman but without a great deal of confidence.

WGL best bets: Afghanistan v New Zealand

Each of our ICC World Cup betting previews will highlight some potential wins for punters, or where our cricket tipsters think there is value to be found.

Man of the match Martin Guptill $6.50

Here at the WGL we try to find the hot players and stick them. Guptill is world-class, in form and will get first crack at the bowling.

Most wickets head to head

We like Mujeeb Ur Rahman at $1.95 against Mohammad Nabi at $1.83. Yes, Nabi had a big match on Tuesday, but we think the teenage off-spinner is due to deliver a couple of wickets.

Afghanistan v New Zealand prediction

As mentioned above, before placing any wagers on this match you need to check how they could be affected by the weather. But if all goes to plan, we expected the Kiwis to score a big win. They are simply too experienced and too skilled all-round and they can’t to drop their guard.

ALSO READ:
ICC World Cup 2019 betting guide
ICC World Cup 2019 leading wicket-taker
Cricket betting sites
ICC World Cup 2019 leading run-scorer
ICC World Cup 2019 player of tournament

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