The bowling unit that has been key to New Zealand's success

Consistent quicks and stifling spinners… the bowling unit that has been key to New Zealand’s success as the Kiwis look to down England in the T20 World Cup semi-final

  • England face New Zealand in the Twenty20 World Cup semi-final on Wednesday 
  • Eoin Morgan’s team will have to be wary of an impressive Kiwis bowling unit 
  • Trent Boult is leading wicket taker while Mitchell Santner has accurate spin

England take on New Zealand in their T20 World Cup semi-final on Wednesday as they look to become the first team to unite cricket’s white ball trophies.

Eoin Morgan’s men will face a tricky Kiwis side with a solid bowling units including stars like Trent Boult. Sportsmail takes a look at the quicks and spinners that England will have to watch out for. 

New Zealand have an impressive bowling unit looking to down England in the T20 World Cup

Trent Boult

Left-arm quick

Boult is the tournament’s leading wicket-taker among seamers, with 11 at just 10 apiece and a superb economy rate of 5.84. 

He is Kane Williamson’s go-to man under pressure — Boult bowled the super over in the 2019 World Cup final against England — and the 32-year-old has learned plenty from six seasons at the IPL. Watch out for early swing. 

Trent Boult is the leading wicket taker at the tournament and is the go-to man under pressure

Tim Southee

Right-arm quick

An ideal foil to Boult, with his right-arm seam and swing, and clever use of the crease. No New Zealander has more than his 106 T20 wickets, and his World Cup economy-rate of 5.70 is the best of any seamer to have bowled at least 20 overs. 

Southee is consistency personified: in five Super 12 matches, he conceded 25, 26, 24, 15 and 24. 

Adam Milne

Right-arm quick

A late replacement for the injured Lockie Ferguson, Milne — a T20 Blast regular with Kent — provides pace and accuracy, although he has been limited to two wickets in four games. But his four overs for 17 helped stifle Afghanistan in Sunday’s must-win game at Abu Dhabi.

Adam Milne provides pace and accuracy and helped stifle Afghanistan last time out 

Ish Sodhi

Right-arm leg-spin

His leg-breaks, delivered from a great height, have been one of New Zealand’s main weapons, and his wickets of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli set them up for the crucial early win over India. Sodhi played with Moeen Ali at Worcestershire, so at least England have an inside track.

Mitchell Santner

Left-arm finger spin

Backs up Sodhi with his accurate left-arm spin: four overs for 15 helped slow India to a crawl. Took 11 wickets in five T20s when England toured New Zealand in 2019-20 and has only been collared once all tournament, when two overs against Afghanistan cost 27.

Mitchell Santner provides a left-arm spin and took 11 wickets off England in their 2019-20 tour

James Neesham

Right-arm medium

Very much the sixth bowler, though he got through his full quota of four overs against Afghanistan, and conceded just 18 off three against Pakistan. His medium pace is accurate — but hittable because of it. 




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