Abu Dhabi [UAE] : New Zealand head coach Gary Stead said the Kiwis isn’t thinking of the 2019 ODI World Cup defeat and are just “looking forward” to facing England on Wednesday. England and New Zealand will lock horns on Wednesday for the first time in an ICC knockout game since the 2019 ODI World Cup final. In the 2019 ODI World Cup final, the tournament witnessed a first-ever Super Over in which England defeated New Zealand to lift their maiden title on the basis of boundary countback rule at the Lord’s Cricket Ground. The New Zealand coach hasn’t heard anything been talked about the World Cup final defeat and is eyeing a win in the T20 World Cup semi-final clash on Wednesday. “I haven’t heard anything spoken about it [2019 World Cup final here] here. I think the guys are looking forward to the prospect of facing England again,” ESPNcricinfo quoted Stead as saying. “As I said, they’re a quality side and yes, we just look forward to the challenge of playing the best side as well. So, I’m not sure there will be anything from the 2019 game that will come into it…maybe a Super Over it might,” he added. While New Zealand is coming on the back of a win in the semi-finals, England have their feet on the ground following a first defeat of the tournament last week. Stead said New Zealand fight hard to win games and the players deserve to be in the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup. “Personally, I’m very, very proud of the team – the way they keep finding ways to fight and to adapt on the biggest stage. I’m not sure when you line each player up – man for man – a lot of people that perhaps give us the credit that some of these guys deserve,” said Stead. “It’s a pretty experienced group of guys now who know each other’s games very, very well and know the skills of each other. As a collective group, we do fight and fight hard. That’s all I keep asking for. The results, at the end of the day, will look after themselves if we do those little things well,” he added. Emotions and excitement will be all-time high on Wednesday when the two teams face each other in what is being touted as a mouth-watering clash between England and New Zealand.
