As England are set to face New Zealand in the first semifinal of the ICC T20 World Cup 2016, England captain Eoin Morgan stated that his side’s recent turnaround in limited-overs cricket is partly inspired by their opponents.
New Zealand, under their former skipper Brendon McCullum, reached the final of the ICC Cricket World Cup for the first time in 2015 and their aggressive and imaginative brand of cricket won many plaudits. England, on the other hand, had a dismal World Cup last year when they were knocked out in the group stage.
After the World Cup, the England Cricket Board decided to take a fresh approach for the shorter formats of the game and they went about restructuring their limited-overs side. They sacked coach Peter Moores and brought in many new faces to rejuvenate the squad.
There was also a noticeable change in the overall outlook of the team as England started playing an aggressive brand of cricket in the shorter formats. The appointment of Trevor Bayliss as the coach also did wonders for England as Bayliss is known for his success in coaching sides in limited-overs cricket.
The transformative moment
Morgan pointed out that the transformative moment for the squad came when England beat New Zealand in an ODI series and also in the sole T20 that the two sides played in England.
“I've been asked the question after every series that we've played, and I can't quite believe how far we've come overall in our white-ball cricket," Morgan said.
He also added, “I think that New Zealand series was very important. We'd talked about emulating what Australia and New Zealand did at that World Cup. From where we were to where they were ... we were miles away. In order to bridge the gap we had to try and emulate the fashion in which they played."
The New Zealand team have been excellent in the last few years and it was their inspirational skipper McCullum who almost lifted the World Cup during his tenure. After his retirement before the ongoing tournament, the baton of leadership was passed to batsman Kane Williamson.
He is leading the side exceptionally well in the competition as New Zealand is the only unbeaten team in this World Cup. He has been methodical in his approach and his bold but effective strategy of keeping the two seamers Boult and Southee out of the team has worked well for the team.
Williamson admitted that the strategy of relying on their spinners to deliver the goods is working. However, the strategy might change a little given the track in Delhi has not been conducive to spin bowling.
England have played their last two games of the Super 10 stage in Delhi and the familiarity with the conditions might give them a slight advantage over their opponents.
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