Defeat at the hands of New Zealand will almost certainly eliminate England from the Twenty20 World Cup. Beaten comprehensively in their last two fixtures -- first by Australia in their Group B encounter last week, then by South Africa in their opening Group E clash on Sunday night -- Paul Collingwood's side will be hoping a change in venue will also trigger a change in fortunes.
England came in to the Twenty20 World Cup brimming with confidence, not merely because of their stirring 4-3 triumph over India in the one-day series but also due to the fact that they have players most experienced in this latest form of the game. Twenty20 has taken deep root in English domestic cricket, but on the evidence of their performances here so far, it would appear as if there indeed is a substitute for experience!
Collingwood's bunch can perhaps consider themselves a tad unfortunate in that they ran into a tartar in the Aussies, smarting from defeat at the hands of lowly Zimbabwe and using their old foes as punching bags. As if that wasn't bad enough, they ran into a hyper-charged South Africa -- also at Newlands in Cape Town -- soon afterwards, the Proteas desperate to build on their rugby World Cup success and determined to use the Kevin Pietersen factor to further pump themselves up.
It is, therefore, perhaps a little short of ironical that England will look to local lad Pietersen -- who played for KwaZulu Natal before shifting allegiance to England -- to haul them out of the quagmire. Alongside the charismatic Andrew Flintoff, Pietersen is England's most influential player in all formats of the game. If, in the province of his birth, KP decides it is time to celebrate homecoming, alarm bells will start going off at the rate of knots in the Kiwi camp.
England's problems have stemmed right at the top of the batting chart. They have struggled to get a start, leaving the middle-order to do not just the consolidation -- if there is some such thing in Twenty20 cricket! -- but also accelerate the pace of scoring. There is a case for a return to the playing eleven of Darren Maddy or Vikram Solanki, particularly given Luke Wright's inability to build on his explosive international start.
Never-say-die
Just as England will almost certainly be eliminated should they be beaten on the morrow, the Kiwis will have more than one foot in the semifinals if they conjure a second successive Super Eight victory. India's largesse, as much as their own never-say-die spirit, catapulted them to a ten-run win at the Wanderers on Sunday, though pace twins Shane Bond and Mark Gillespie received a rare lashing from Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag.
Pacer-friendly venue
Bond and Gillespie will welcome moving to a more pacer-friendly venue. Kingsmead has traditionally thrown up more bounce and seam than any other track in South Africa, and there was ample evidence of that in the Group D fixtures last week. Unlke England, New Zealand are a more rounded, less individual-oriented outfit. There is depth in batting as well as flexibility in bowling, and the conditions will perhaps dictate that off-spinner Jeetan Patel makes way for one of the pacers, most likely Chris Martin.
Daniel Vettori led from the front against India, along the way reiterating that even in the hustle and bustle of a 20-over bash, there still is place for a quality spinner. England have their own spin complement in the shape of leggie Chris Schofield, though in the quality stakes, he is some notches below the left-arm tweaker from the Antipodes.
The morning start should mean the quicker bowlers will come into play very early in the piece. The stage is set for a cracker, but will the right actors turn up, please?!