Cardiff, Wales, Jun 16 : It's England vs New Zealand once again. These two sides should be knowing each other quite well by now as they have played a lot of cricket against each other in the past few weeks. This is a different contest though, as it's much more than just a bilateral encounter. England are the team under pressure as it is a do-or-die encounter for them. If New Zealand win, they will go through to the semi finals. Same with England as well. But there is a bigger concern at the moment - it's going to be another start-stop day as rain is expected to play a part.

New Zealand have won the toss and elected to field

Cook: 'Every game in this Champions Trophy is a big game. We would have bowled first as well for the same reasons. Trott is fit, Swann is a bit still and misses out due to a calf injury. Tredwell replaces him.'

McCullum: 'We've played each other in the recent months and we tasted success in the ODIs. The wicket looks a bit green. Weather will also play a part so it's better to bowl first. Corey Anderson is making his debut, he replaces Tim Southee.'

Teams:

New Zealand (Playing XI): Luke Ronchi(w), Martin Guptill, Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, James Franklin, Brendon McCullum(c), Daniel Vettori, Nathan McCullum, Corey Anderson, Kyle Mills, Mitchell McClenaghan

England (Playing XI): Alastair Cook(c), Ian Bell, Jonathan Trott, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan, Ravi Bopara, Jos Buttler(w), Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, James Tredwell, James Anderson

Match preview:

On one hand, the qualifying teams of Group B have been finally decided and waiting patiently in the semi-finals, while on the other, Group A finds itself in a total frenzy after the wash-out of the Australia v New Zealand game earlier this week. With any of the two teams in Group A still having a chance to make it to the semis, the last two group games are bound to keep everyone on guessing.

England

Already considered as one of the favourites to win the Champions Trophy, England find themselves in a must-win situation as they take on New Zealand on a rainy Sunday (June 15) at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff. England have been playing against New Zealand for last couple of months now. While they dominated New Zealand completely in the Test matches, they failed to get better of them in the One-day series only managing to win one match out of three. Also, after achieving a convincing victory over arch-rivals Australia in the first game of the tournament, they were out-done by an inspired Sri Lanka in the second losing by 7 wickets.

The English are a talented batting unit with the likes of world-class players like Alastair Cook, Ian Bell, Jonathon Trott and so. And while they may be missing Kevin Pietersen, the experienced as well as young batsmen have been in good touch helping England reach respectable totals in both the games. The openers have given them good starts and Jonathon Trott has done well in the middle overs, hitting 43 and 76 in his two games. Joe Root played remarkably well against Sri Lanka, hitting 68 off just 55 balls, and Ravi Bopara has been fantastic in accelerating the the score in the final overs.

The English bowlers failed to defend a decent 293 against Sri Lanka in the previous game. Anderson looked impressive as usual managing to pick up 2 wickets and Graeme Swann was decent enough. However, Stuart Broad and Tim Bresnan were not able to contain the mighty Sri Lankan attack. This time though there will be no second chances as the English bowlers will have to bowl their hearts out against the in-form Kiwi batsmen.

Team News: Jonathon Trott has been suffering from quad strain and might miss the match if he fails to recover on time. Also, Bresnan could be missing from the match if he decides to be with his pregnant wife back home. If Bresnan has to leave, it will open up a place in the attack for either fast bowler Steven Finn or off-spinner James Tredwell.

Probable XI: Alastair Cook (c), Ian Bell, Jonathon Trott/Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan, Ravi Bopara, Jos Buttler (wk), Tim Bresnan/James Tredwell, Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, James Anderson

New Zealand

A loss for New Zealand may still give them an outside chance of making it to the semis if Australia win against Sri Lanka, but they wouldn't want to keep it till the last moment and give their best to send England crashing out of the tournament. The Black Caps have been the surprise package of the tournament. They are the current toppers of Group A table and boast of an excellent run-rate. However, after a superb ODI series against England, their success in the Champions Trophy can mostly be attributed to luck. A splendid bowling performance against Sri Lanka and Australia was well-appreciated, but their batting fell short in comparison. In the first game, they struggled to get 139 and lost 9 wickets in process. They hardly got any batting practice against Australia as rain played spoil-sport.

The New Zealand batting has been a cause of concern as the batsmen who did well in the ODI series against England have not been able to live up to the expectations. The bowling, on the other hand, has been exceptional with all the bowlers chipping in to put pressure on the opposite team. Particularly, new-comer Mitchell McClenaghan has been on a dream run having already picked up eight wickets in the 2 matches played so far. He has been assisted well by veteran Daniel Vettori who has bowled economically and sensibly. Part-timer Nathan McCullum has been effective in breaking important partnerships and will be the key here.

Team News: There is a high possibility of Tim Southee missing this crucial encounter as he is struggling with an ankle injury. Seamers Doug Bracewell and Ian Butler could be Southee's potential replacements.

Head to head in CT: England - 0, New Zealand - 1

Rain-alert: It has been bucketing down here in Cardiff from last couple of days. Although there is a possibility of a clear weather on Sunday, one might expect a reduced overs match if the unpredictable English weather has its say.