World Cup 2023, Match 40 | England predicted XI vs Netherlands

image-loob3zzfEngland will be playing against the Netherlands in the World Cup 2023 (Source: AP Photos)

The 2023 World Cup is nearing its conclusion, and game 40 will feature two European nations opposing one another. The Netherlands will take against England at the Dr. D.Y. Patil Stadium in Pune at 2:00 p.m. IST.

The Netherlands have performed better than the defending champions in the ongoing marquee event. They defeated South Africa and Bangladesh to earn four points. From a set of seven games, Scott Edwards and his troops lost five of them but never failed to display the art of valiance.

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The English team fared horribly in the competition, winning only one game out of seven. They are coming off a five-game losing streak. England tumbled to Australia in their last match, therefore ending their qualification aspirations. Can they end their winning drought and spark once again? Let us have a look at the England predicted XI against Netherlands.


Openers: Dawid Malan and Jonny Bairstow.

The English team features the left and right-hand combination of Dawid Malan and Jonny Bairstow at the top of the order. The southpaw is their leading run-getter in the tournament and scored a century against Bangladesh at the nascent stage of the competition. His partner, Bairstow has not lived up to the expectation with the bat but shall get backed to perform the role of an opener against Netherlands.


Middle Order: Joe Root, Ben Stokes, and Jos Buttler

England have been criticised for making frequent changes in their playing XI during the first half of the tournament and now they are making limited changes. Despite the off-form of the middle order, the think tank could stick to its three important components in the middle order. However, they may also bring back Harry Brook instead of an all-arounder. Else, Joe Root, Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler should be the three in the middle order batting.

Root scored two fifties at the start of the mega-event but failed to find his groove later. Stokes has been patchy while Buttler has been simply erratic with the willow.


All-rounders: Moeen Ali, Liam Livingstone, David Willey and Chris Woakes

Since the management is sticking to the same XI, they may continue with Moeen Ali and Liam Livingstone for their next game. The two spinning all-rounders have the potential to deliver in either dimension but have failed to create a severe impact.

Chris Woakes seems to be improving with each game. He has been much better with the new ball in recent times and found wickets as well. In England's latest clash against Australia, the pacer extracted four wickets. Woakes is expected to get assistance with the new ball alongside David Willey. The left-arm pace bowling all-rounder has filled the void of Reece Topley quite well. He has been lethal with the new ball and can contribute with the bat lower down the order.


Bowlers: Adil Rashid and Mark Wood

Adil Rashid and Mark Wood have improved with time during the World Cup campaign. The wrist spinner has snapped ten wickets from seven matches and is their highest wicket-taker of the tourney. Wood bagged a couple of wickets against Australia in the last match and looked much better with his control.


England Predicted XI against Netherlands

Dawid Malan, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler (c/wk), Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid, and Mark Wood.