Abu Dhabi [UAE]: England skipper Eoin Morgan on Tuesday said that his side isn’t strong favourites for the Men’s T20 World Cup semi-final clash against New Zealand.
England and New Zealand will be locking horns in the first semi-final of the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup at the Zayed Cricket Stadium on Wednesday. “It is a really good compliment for the changing room to all of the players more so to the head coach and support staff who have created an environment where all the players come in and they thrive in it. We have always thought about having great depth within our squad and as a whole, there have been some instances where we have to put out replacement teams but I think in doing so, you can have 30-40 players in domestic setup who can play international cricket but if the right environment is not there, it does not matter which eleven you pick, they would not be able to perform,” said Morgan while replying to an ANI query during a virtual pre-match press conference.
When asked whether England is favourites for the semi-final, Morgan said: “I would not say strong favourites. New Zealand has a full-strength squad. Our guys are extremely excited about the challenge of facing New Zealand. We need to play good cricket to beat them.”
“We cannot wait, it is a big achievement that we came out of our group and topping the table in the way we did, now it is all about producing the best game. We know how good and consistent New Zealand has been. They have always been extremely competitive, they are always around the semi-finals,” he added.
Opening batter Jason Roy was ruled out of the World Cup due to an injury he suffered against South Africa, but Morgan said that the mood within the camp is alright and the team is buzzing to go ahead.
“I think losing any of the experienced players, you cannot really replace the experience Jason has. He has played a big role in our previous two World Cups. I think of all the good things we have done well in this tournament, the strongest point has been the resilience within our squad to be able to find a way to move forward,” said Morgan.
England had topped Group 1 of the Super 12 stage after winning four games out of five.
