Coach Rob Walters stated on Thursday that New Zealand’s “street-smart” cricket players can defeat England and secure their spot in the T20 World Cup semi-finals.
If New Zealand win their Super Eights match in Colombo on Friday, they will take first place in Group 2 and advance to the final four alongside England, who have already qualified. If the Kiwis lose and Pakistan defeat already eliminated Sri Lanka on Saturday, then the second semi-final spot would be determined by net run rate.
On Wednesday, Mitchell Santner’s New Zealand were tottering 84/6 against Sri Lanka before the captain led them to 168/7 and a decisive 61-run victory that eliminated the co-hosts.
“I think if you look historically at the Black Caps, you would probably say that they’re a team that have been great problem solvers. They are street smart, they find a way to understand the conditions quickly. It’s certainly something that we pride ourselves on. We can adapt to conditions quickly and find a method,” AFP quoted Walters as telling reporters.
England were the first team to guarantee a spot in the semi-finals when captain Harry Brook scored the game-winning century against Pakistan.
New Zealand all-rounder Rachin Ravindra, knows that England poses a threat.
“You’re always confident going into these fixtures, especially when we know what the surface is going to be like. But I think it’d be silly to underestimate England at any point. They’re obviously such a quality unit and they’ve shown this in how well they’ve been bowling. They’ve got world-class batters throughout their order,” said Ravindra, who took four wickets against Sri Lanka.
