SYDNEY: All eyes at the Twenty20 World Cup will fall on England against Sri Lanka on Saturday after New Zealand booked their place in the semi-finals and Australia just about stayed alive.
New Zealand’s victory over Ireland on Friday at the Adelaide Oval sealed one of the top two spots in Group 1 and a place in the last four with hosts and holders Australia later joining the Black Caps on seven points after a win by just four runs over Afghanistan at the same venue.
It was not, however, enough to raise their net run rate above that of England, who now need only to beat Sri Lanka in their final Super 12 match at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday to take the other semi-final berth from the group at the expense of their Ashes rivals.
England opener Alex Hales said earlier on Friday that they would not be taking Sri Lanka lightly, but his side are in buoyant mood.
“I guess we’re pretty confident that whatever we need to do, we’ve got the skills and firepower to do it,” he said.
Shocked by Ireland in a rain-hit Super 12 contest, England looked to be in their element during the 20-run victory against New Zealand.
“Obviously a great win against New Zealand in a really tight game and a tight contest, hopefully should set us up for the rest of the tournament,” said Hales. “We enjoyed a nice day off yesterday and training hard today. Everyone’s feeling confident and looking forward to tomorrow.”
Hales, recalled to the England set-up after a three-and-a-half-year exile following two failed recreational drug tests, is wary of a “tricky” Sri Lanka “with some handy operators”.
“So we are going to have to play our best cricket to win, but as I said, we are pretty confident, the mood is good in the camp and we feel like we can deal with anything they throw at us,” he said.
Their deep batting and surfeit of all-rounders make England favourites against Sri Lanka, whose chances of making the semi-finals ended after Friday’s matches.
Sri Lanka batter Bhanuka Rajapaksa said the Asia Cup champions, guided by former England coach Chris Silverwood, were simply looking to end their campaign on a winning note.
“Unfortunately not all the results have come our way, but tomorrow’s game is quite important to end on a high note,” the 31-year-old said. “We just want to play good cricket and justify our presence in Australia. That’s about it.”
