New Zealand Take on England in 1st ODI

Hamilton: New Zealand's ability to "bounce back", as captain Brendon McCullum described it, will be seriously put to the test in the first match of their one-day international series against England in Hamilton on Sunday.

The teams head back up to Hamilton, venue of the second T20, where New Zealand's pitch-it-up swing trumped England's hit-the-deck aggression.

The three-match one-day series against Alastair Cook's team brings added significance to McCullum's side as they look towards the 2015 World Cup that New Zealand will co-host with Australia.

Director of cricket John Buchanan has said the focus for the team over the next two years will be on the one-day game.

Coach Mike Hesson has also explained his selections will reduce over the next few months for their tour of England and the Champions Trophy tournament in June as he forms a squad he expects to take the Kiwis through to 2015.

New Zealand are playing their best cricket in the 50-over format, having beaten South Africa 2-1 in a series last month.

Mills's accuracy with the ball will be welcomed by New Zealand after they struggled against England in two of the Twenty20s, bowling too straight and full, unlike England's pace attack who banged the ball in hard just back of a length.

England's Twenty20 captain Stuart Broad, who now hands over to one-day and test skipper Cook, said he felt the quick turnaround would not be a problem for the team, given the arrival of world-class players like Cook and off-spinner Graeme Swann.

England will welcome back the reliable presence of Trott in place of the rested Kevin Pietersen. The conditions could be ripe for Chris Woakes to showcase his all-round skills at No. 7, while Anderson, Stuart Broad and Swann should slot back in after missing the India series.

Teams from

New Zealand: Brendon McCullum (captain & wk), Trent Boult, Grant Elliott, Andrew Ellis, James Franklin, Martin Guptill, Colin Munro, Mitchell McClenaghan, Nathan McCullum, Kyle Mills, Ross Taylor, BJ Watling (wk), Kane Williamson

England: Alastair Cook (captain), James Anderson, Ian Bell, Jonathan Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler (wk), Steven Finn, James Harris, Eoin Morgan, Samit Patel, Joe Root, Graeme Swann, James Tredwell, Jonathan Trott, Chris Woakes

Pitch and conditions
The sunny weather is expected to continue and, considering the effect of the ball under lights last week, the team winning the toss may fancy having first crack at the short boundaries.

Stats and trivia

• On their only previous ODI appearance at Seddon Park, in 2008, England were thrashed by ten wickets in a rain-shortened game, as Brendon McCullum and Jesse Ryder knocked off the target of 165 in 18.1 overs.
• That was New Zealand's last win in Hamilton - they've lost to India, Australia and Pakistan since then. Overall their record there is won 10, lost four, with one no-result.

Match facts
Sunday February 17, 2012 (day/night)
Start time 14:00 local (0100 GMT)