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England v New Zealand: Eoin Morgan tells players to 'stay in the moment'


England are currently fourth in the World Cup standings
ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup: England v New Zealand
Venue: Riverside, Chester-le-Street. Date: 3 July. Start: 10:30 BST
Coverage: Watch in-play clips & highlights on the BBC Sport website & app; live Test Match Special radio and text commentary on BBC Radio 5 Live sports extra & BBC Sport website

England must “stay in the moment” to beat New Zealand and seal a place in the World Cup semi-finals, according to captain Eoin Morgan.

The hosts will go through if they win in Durham on Wednesday, but will be relying on other results if they lose.

“You can get too carried away, lured into worrying about consequences,” Morgan told BBC Sport.

“We’ll be extremely competitive tomorrow and hopefully we can win.”

England began the tournament as favourites and the number-one ranked side, but were pushed to the brink of elimination by back-to-back losses against Sri Lanka and Australia.

A further defeat against India on Sunday would have probably put England out, but a 31-run win at Edgbaston came after a team meeting last Friday.

“The majority of the guys spoke in the meeting,” said Morgan. “I thought it was extremely productive. The guys came out of it feeling energised, motivated and eager to take on India.

“We haven’t needed to do that too often. It has happened a couple of times before, but not under the pressure of a World Cup.

“We have things in place, basic principles of our game and some team values for situations like the one we find ourselves in right now. We’ve probably never needed them as much as we did previous to the Birmingham game.”

Even though England defeated India, a loss to the Black Caps, who also need to win to confirm their own progression, would put Morgan’s men out if Pakistan beat Bangladesh on Friday.

But, rather than lamenting his side’s inability to seal qualification earlier, Morgan described this scenario as one he had prepared for.

England have won five and lost three so far in the World Cup

“We’re in this situation because we haven’t played consistently well enough,” said Dublin-born batsman Morgan.

“It’s not the end of the tournament, it’s a huge opportunity for us to go on and play against a strong side like we did against India.”

Four years ago, England were demolished by New Zealand in Wellington as part of a dismal World Cup campaign that ended with a first-round exit.

Since then, with his team dominating in 50-over cricket, Morgan has often referred to that result as a watershed moment.

“It was a terrible day, one of those moments in my career that will standout forever,” he said. “I was devastated not only with the way we performed but also the way we carried ourselves.

“They are a very strong team and they were extremely strong that day. It was a one-horse race. I’d like to think things are different now.”

Morgan confirmed opener Jason Roy and pace bowler Jofra Archer will both be fit to play in Durham. Roy, on his return from a torn hamstring, did not field against India after taking a blow to the arm while batting, and Archer has been nursing a side problem.

Morgan stopped short of confirming his team, but did praise fast bowler Liam Plunkett, who returned against India to confirm his run of winning every game in the tournament he has taken part in.

Plunkett took three wickets in England’s last outing against India

“Liam has been outstanding,” said Morgan. “To say he has been extremely valuable would be a complete understatement.

“A wicket can suit any batsman or bowler, but you still have to go out and play well. He’s done that consistently and has impressed in every game he’s played.

“We’ll look at the wicket and try to figure out the make-up of the New Zealand batting line-up, then hopefully pick the XI that gives us the best chance of winning the game.”



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