'Desperate' England seek spark against NZ

World Cup winner Mike Hussey says an upset victory over New Zealand in Wellington today could "really spark something" for England as they look to breathe life into their Cricket World Cup campaign.

A parochial home crowd of 33,000 fans is expected to cram into the Wellington Regional Stadium, known as the 'Cake Tin', for what they hope will be the Black Caps' third victory from as many matches to open the tournament.

England go into the clash low on confidence after their heavy defeat to Australia six days ago and will be desperate for a win with matches against Test-playing nations Sri Lanka and Bangladesh still to come before the quarter-finals.

But Hussey says New Zealand will be feeling the heat as well as they try to deal with the unfamiliar scenario of being one of the tournament favourites.

"England will be desperate," Hussey told cricket.com.au.

"I sense that their confidence is not quite there at the moment, but a big performance against New Zealand could really spark something for England.

"I would expect England to play really well in this game. They need a big win to really help their confidence.

"New Zealand, it will be very interesting to see how they go. Obviously they're one of the favourites for the tournament but I always got the feeling New Zealand liked the underdog tag where they could go out there and just play.

"Playing with the underdog tag takes a bit of pressure off."

Pressure is something England captain Eoin Morgan knows all about; he will go into the match having registered four ducks from his past five innings.

The left-hander has been under fire from sections of the English press, most notably former England captain Geoffrey Boycott, but has received support from rival skipper Brendon McCullum.

The pair are friends from their time with the Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League and literally broke bread together this week, sharing a meal in Wellington on Wednesday night.

"Eoin is a champion player," McCullum said yesterday.

"He's one of my better mates from around the world in terms of cricket but he's going through a bit of a tough time at the moment.

"Hopefully we will be able to keep him quiet, but I am very confident at some point he'll bounce out of it because he is a quality player and a tough bloke.

"It is tough, but it's the game that we play.

"It throws up different challenges, and it brings out different traits in people as well, and it's where you learn a lot about yourself when times are tough.

"But he remains a match-winner for them."

New Zealand have confirmed they will go into the match unchanged while England are also expected to field the same XI that lost to Australia at the MCG on Saturday.

The Black Caps hold an imposing recent record at the 'Cake Tin'; they've won nine of their past 11 matches there.

TEAMS

New Zealand
Martin Guptill, Brendon McCullum (c), Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, Grant Elliott, Corey Anderson, Luke Ronchi, Dan Vettori, Adam Milne, Tom Southee, Trent Boult

England (likely)
Ian Bell, Moeen Ali, Gary Ballance, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan, James Taylor, Jos Buttler, Chris Woakes, Stuart Broad, Steve Finn, James Anderson