New Zealand won the toss and selected to bowl in their World Cup opener against defending champions England on Thursday.

The match will take place at the world’s largest cricket stadium in the Indian city of Ahmedabad. It is a rematch of the epic 2019 final, which England won on boundary countback after a tied game.

New Zealand is led by Tom Latham because regular captain Kane Williamson and fast bowler Tim Southee are both hurt and can’t play.

Lockie Ferguson, a fast bowler, is also out because of a niggle.

“Looks a reasonably good surface. Hopefully later on it gets better to bat,” Latham said at the toss. “Preparation has been great.”

England skipper Jos Buttler confirmed Stokes is out with a “niggle with his hip”.

Stokes is replaced by Harry Brook. Stokes was picked for the World Cup as a specialist batsman, but he won’t be able to bowl because of a knee injury he’s had for a long time.

Buttler said that if he had won the toss, they would have bowled first.

“Looks a really good wicket. Preparation has been okay,” said Buttler.

“Had a good series against New Zealand at home. Very proud of the achievement four years ago.”

Teams:

England: Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler (wk/capt), Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood

New Zealand: Devon Conway, Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (wk/capt), Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Matt Henry, Mitchell Santner, James Neesham, Trent Boult