T20 World Cup: England are not a "strong favorite" for the semi-finals against New Zealand, says Eoin Morgan

ABU DHABI: English skipper Eoin Morgan said Tuesday that his team are not a strong favorite for the men's T20 World Championship semi-finals against New Zealand. England and New Zealand will meet in the first semi-final of the ongoing ICC T20 Men's World Cup at Zayed Cricket Stadium on Wednesday.

“It's a really good compliment for the dressing room to all of the players, and even more so to the head coach and staff who created an environment where all the players can come in and thrive. We always thought of having a lot of depth within our squad and overall there have been a few instances where we have had to put up substitute teams, but I think you can have 30-40 players in the national line-up who can play internationally Cricket but if the right environment is not there it doesn't matter which eleven you choose, they might not occur, ”Morgan said as he responded to an ANI request during a pre-game virtual press conference.

When asked if England were the favorites for the semi-finals, Morgan said: “I wouldn't speak of strong favorites. New Zealand has a full squad. Our boys are very excited about the challenge to face New Zealand. We have to play good cricket to beat them. "

“We can't wait, it's a great achievement that we got out of our group and topped the table like we did. Now it's a matter of producing the best game. We know how good and consistent New Zealand has been. They have always been extremely competitive, they are always in the semi-finals, ”he added.
Inaugural hit Jason Roy was banned from the World Cup due to an injury sustained against South Africa, but Morgan said the mood at camp is fine and the team is buzzing to move on.

“I think if you lose one of the seasoned players, you can't really replace the experience Jason has. He played a big role in our last two world championships. I think of all the good things we did well in this tournament. The strongest point was the resilience of our squad to find a way forward, ”said Morgan.

England had won Group 1 of the Super 12 stage after winning four out of five games.

NZ AGAIN FROM THE 2019 WORLD CUP

New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson remembered the "amazing" 2019 ODI World Cup final on Tuesday and said the Kiwis had "advanced" after the defeat.

England and New Zealand will play against each other in an ICC knockout game on Wednesday for the first time since the 2019 ODI World Cup final. In the final, the tournament saw its first Super Over, in which England defeated New Zealand to get their first title based on the limit countback rule with the Lords. Williamson said the result was not in the hands of New Zealand but expressed relief that the game would not now be decided by the limit countback rule.

“I mean, it was a fantastic game of cricket and of course it was very competitive in the last few phases. Few things didn't quite go in our direction, and so it was, ”Williamson said in a virtual press conference.

“It was a great game to be part of and the aftermath of the game was very difficult to understand. You sign up and play by the rules, move on and look forward to the next challenges, and our focus is just on that, ”said Williamson.