BBC Radio Test Match Special

BBC Weather's Darren Bett: "It's humid out there, it's quite warm. It's 22 degrees at the moment but it could reach 25 or 26 degrees and once we get to that temperature we could get some home-grown showers. There is also a chance of some heavy thundery showers at around 15:00 BST - they might hit or they might miss."

Phil Tufnell
Ex-England spinner on BBC Test Match Special

"It is overcast but it looks a belting surface - it's a nice, straw-coloured pitch and I think there are plenty of runs there. It's a difficult ground to defend, the Oval."

Ebony Rainford-Brent
Ex-England batter on BBC Test Match Special

"I think England needed some inspiration after what happened at the World Cup and I think that inspiration is there. I wouldn't change this squad at all - England need to back this crop of players and I think they will shine."

So often, before England ODI games, the over-riding emotions have been fear and trepidation but there is a sense of excitement around the Kia Oval ahead of this match. Edgbaston has lifted everyone: players, fans, even us journalists, and we're a right miserable bunch.

Phil Tufnell
Ex-England spinner on BBC Test Match Special

"It was an amazing game at Edgbaston. It is only one game and you can guarantee that New Zealand will come back hard. England have obviously changed their mindset but they've got to back it up today."

Alison Mitchell
BBC Test Match Special

"Expectations have been raised somewhat around this youthful England team with an attacking mindset. It has got a muggy feel out there so maybe the white ball might do a bit."

Image source, Getty Images

We have been here before. This very summer in fact, when England produced a scintillating Test display at Lord's to beat New Zealand, ushering hope and joy, only to lose the following match at Headingley to draw the two-game series.

So you might want to just check your optimism a tad and stir in a big spoonful of realism. England are trying to do something new, something alien to their recent one-day sensibility, something difficult, and against a side who have provided a template for the world, no less.

A plea: judge this England side not on what they achieve right now but on how they attempt to achieve it. If the methods are correct, consistent results will follow. They have a long journey ahead, so best just sit back and enjoy the ride.

England bowler Steven Finn, speaking on Sky Sports: "It is going to be a good battle throughout the series [between him and Brendon McCullum, who he dismissed in the first over at Edgbaston]. I knew it was a big wicket for us because of what he can do. We wanted to start this new era on a positive note and we did that."

"It was a fantastic feeling after the other night. We wanted to play with that freedom and to do that was a big milestone. To perform and deliver is a start but there is a lot of hard work needed for us to be consistent."

Former England wicket-keeper Matt Prior on Sky Sports: "I had planned to come back and play for Sussex early season and knock on the door for England but unfortunately that hasn't been the case and I've been forced to retire. I'm very proud of what I achieved but ultimately what the team achieved.

"I've been very impressed by Jos Buttler, particularly his keeping in the Test match at Lord's. The future is bright for him."

Image source, Getty Images

Three and a half months. That is how long it has been since England were beaten - nay, humiliated - by New Zealand in Wellington at the World Cup. Bowled out for a meagre 123 they were then taken to the cleaners by Brendon McCullum, whose 18-ball 50, en route to 77, helped guide his side home in 12.2 overs.

Since that body blow, England suffered another few punches to the gut, lay winded for a while before finally dusting themselves down, slowing rising to their feet and set about figuring out how to avoid receiving such a kicking again in the future (if it was a Rocky film they'd have been running down the beach with Apollo Creed).

The result was clear to see on Tuesday. And just as Rocky did to Clubber Lang in their re-match, they beat the hell out of the Kiwis.

England: Hales, Roy, Root, Morgan, Stokes, Buttler, Billings, Rashid, Jordan, Plunkett, Finn.

New Zealand: Guptill, McCullum, Williamson, Taylor, Elliott, Santner, Ronchi, McCullum, Southee, McClenaghan, Boult.

New Zealand make one change, with Tim Southee returning after being rested at Edgbaston. He takes Matt Henry's place.

Unsurprisingly, England are unchanged.

England captain Eoin Morgan: "I would have liked to have first dibs on this pitch. The boys are ecstatic. There is a real buzz around the camp. We need to drive things forward and not worry about results. I don't feel any extra pressure or expectation. We are in the process of changing the way we play."

New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum: "It is a good surface. It is a good chance to get some runs on the board. Last game we were out-played but credit to England for playing how they did. This is a chance for us to execute a game plan by getting some runs on the board."

Image source, Reuters

Brendon McCullum calls heads. Heads it is. New Zealand will bat. No surprises there. It is a good track and McCullum may still be smarting from sticking England in at Edgbaston.

Image source, Getty Images

Brave. At 0-1, 180-4 and 202-6, England could easily have abandoned the much-promised and newly-practised positivity they began with at Edgbaston and retreated back into their well-trodden shell. They didn't.

New. Players, attitude, belief and records; take your pick. Everything about England felt fresh and new on Tuesday, from the cap David Lloyd handed to Sam Billings to the uncharted territory into which they ventured in the final over of their innings.

World. Well, let's not get ahead of yourselves. Let's start with two wins on the bounce and maybe a series win and see how we go from there...