Cricket-England to bat against New Zealand in World Cup clash

By Greg Stutchbury WELLINGTON, Feb 20 (Reuters) - New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum will look to his bowlers to stamp their authority on the World Cup Pool A clash with England after Eoin Morgan won the toss and chose to bat in brilliant sunshine at Wellington Regional Stadium on Friday. Trent Boult and Tim Southee produced a superb opening spell in their game against Scotland at University Oval in Dunedin on Tuesday, reducing the minnows to 12 for four in the fifth over. "It looks a cracking wicket and hopefully if we do the first part well it will make the second part easier," McCullum said in a pitchside interview. The World Cup co-hosts are high on confidence after beating Sri Lanka and Scotland in their first two games, while England suffered a demoralising loss to Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground last Saturday. A third successive victory for McCullum's side will set them up nicely for the rest of the pool phase, with their next game against tournament favourites Australia at Eden Park on Feb. 28. The drop-in pitch at Wellington Regional Stadium does not tend to favour big totals, with 300 passed just five times since it was opened in 2000 and just once in the last 10 years. New Zealand have won eight of the past 10 completed fixtures at the venue. England hold the ignominious record of posting the venue's lowest score when they were bowled out for 89 in 2002. England captain Eoin Morgan is also under pressure after a lean run with the bat, having accumulated just two runs in his past five innings. "The wicket looks good and it probably won't change much throughout the day," he said. "I have struggled the last couple of games to get some runs so hopefully that will change today." Teams: New Zealand - Brendon McCullum (captain), Martin Guptill, Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, Grant Elliott, Corey Anderson, Luke Ronchi, Daniel Vettori, Tim Southee, Adam Milne, Trent Boult England - Eoin Morgan (captain), Ian Bell, Moeen Ali, Gary Ballance, Joe Root, James Taylor, Jos Buttler, Chris Woakes, Stuart Broad, Steven Finn, James Anderson. (Editing by Ian Ransom)