England skipper Eoin Morgan has urged his players not to “shy away” from the World Cup final, as the tournament hosts booked their place in the showpiece game with victory over rivals Australia.
The Three Lions produced a superb display at Edgbaston on Thursday to overcome an Australia side who had already beaten England earlier in the group stage of the competition.
That eight-wicket victory in Birmingham has put down a marker that England will be looking to achieve as they now look ahead to Sunday’s final against New Zealand at Lord’s (England 2/7, New Zealand 11/4 – Match Betting).
With England preparing for their first final appearance since back in 1992, Morgan is eager for his players to make the most of the opportunity that they have managed to put themselves in, having previously looked like they would struggle to even make the semi-finals.
“It’s a day to look forward to,” said Morgan.
“We’ve created the opportunity to play in a World Cup final and it will be a matter of trying to keep doing the same things – produce what we can in a performance, but also enjoy the day.”
England will be hoping that another strong bowling performance can take them a long way towards victory against the Kiwis this weekend.
Chris Woakes and Jofra Archer (23/10 England top wicket taker in final) were standout performers against the Aussies with the ball in hand and they will need a similar display if they are to cause a dangerous Kiwi batting line-up issues in Sunday’s highly-anticipated final.
