On Thursday, October 5, England will face New Zealand in the first match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023. The game will be held in Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi stadium.

This will be a replay of the ICC World Cup 2019 final, which England won in exciting fashion. Eoin Morgan has handed over the baton to Jos Buttler, who will captain a magnificent side as the defending World Cup champions. 

New Zealand will be without captain Kane Williamson in the first game because he has not fully recovered from his injury. In Williamson's absence, the Black Caps will be led by Tom Latham.

The match will mostly pit New Zealand's star-studded batting against England's aggressive batting unit, which includes Harry Brook, Ben Stokes, Joe Root, and Jos Buttler. Another topic of discussion will be who bowls the fastest ball between Lockie Ferguson and Mark Wood.

The reigning champions have been building their form heading into #CWC23 💪

Will England claim back-to-back titles?https://t.co/B4EsWErpQE

— ICC Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) October 4, 2023

LIVE England vs New Zealand: Squads

England squad: Moeen Ali, Jos Buttler (c), Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley, David Willey, Mark Wood, Chris Woakes.

New Zealand squad: Trent Boult, Kane Williamson (c), Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitch Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Will Young.

LIVE ENG vs NZ World Cup: Buttler Vs Latham

Welcome and greetings to the live coverage of England vs. New Zealand's opening World Cup cricket match in 2023. England will be playing at full strength in the first game, and the Black Caps will be missing Kane Williamson. See this space for all current information.