Eoin Morgan heaped praise on his bowlers after England’s 87-run victory over New Zealand sealed a Champions Trophy semi-final berth and a chance to knock rivals Australia out of the tournament in their final group game at Edgbaston on Saturday.
Morgan saw the wickets shared among his attack as New Zealand were bowled out for 223 in 44.3 overs chasing 311 for the win, with Liam Plunkett picking up four for 55 to top the figures.
Jake Ball, who was named man of the match, and the returning Adil Rashid picked up two apiece, while Mark Wood’s removal of Kane Williamson for 87 was pivotal.
“I thought they did an outstanding job” said Morgan. “They were truly the highlight of the day. Our batting performance was probably par or below par, pretty average, so I thought the bowlers as a collective unit were brilliant, really.” On the batting, which saw Joe Root top score with 64 but England bowled out for 310 with three balls to spare, Morgan added: “I thought we looked like we were getting about 340 at one stage, but we fell away, which is disappointing. But the fact that we’re still trying to win games with the bat, regardless of the situation that we’re in, I think is testament to the team. We’re staying true to what we believe in and what we’ve achieved over the last couple of years.”
Asked what approach his side will take into the Australia match, given they have now won Group A, Morgan replied: “A very serious attitude. We never take any opposition for granted. I think if we’re truly going to be contenders for this tournament, we need to beat the best teams and Australia are one of the best teams.”
Williamson, who escaped a ban for his side’s slow over rate but was docked 40% of his match fee to go with 20% for his players, had few complaints over the result and admitted England’s attack simply made better use of the two-paced pitch.
“A credit to the way England bowled,” Williamson said. “They got a lot out of the surface. They bowled very consistently, and made life difficult for us with the bat. Maybe the pitch changed just a fraction but they exploited it by cross seamers hitting the wicket hard. They’re all big lads, and they pretty much hit that six-metre length and created a little variability out of the surface. They didn’t give us much at all, to be fair.”
Chris Woakes, meanwhile, has revealed he is likely to miss England’s first Test of the summer, with the injury that ended his tournament against Bangladesh last Thursday revealed to be a grade-two tear in his left side that will take up to six weeks of recovery.
England take on South Africa at Lord’s on 8 June – Joe Root’s first Test as captain – and Woakes said: “I’m probably up against it. Sometimes these things heal quicker, sometimes they take longer, so we have to play it by ear. You can’t rush back – if you do, it can just ping again. The timing of it is frustrating, it’s terrible, but it’s one of those things.”
