We won’t crack under pressure
WHEN England take on New Zealand in their one-day series decider tonight, it will not just be a test of their credentials as World Cup favourites but a dress rehearsal for the ruthless nature of knockout tournament cricket.
Eoin Morgan’s team were badly exposed last summer when losing to Pakistan in the semi-finals of the Champions Trophy in Cardiff. That tournament was a dress rehearsal for the 2019 World Cup, which is also being staged on home soil.
England have never won a 50-over World Cup and they will surely never have a better chance to break that duck than next year.
They have undergone a spectacular revival since their first-round exit from the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. But after the investment that has gone into England’s limited-overs cricket since then, to the detriment of the Test team many would say, only victory will do in 2019.
It means this winner-takesall decider against New Zealand will be a test of England’s coolness under pressure.
Jonny Bairstow, who scored 138 in a losing cause as New Zealand levelled the series 2-2 on Wednesday, said: “It’s huge. It’s what we play for, the reason you play international sport. It will set us up really nicely, to put ourselves under that pressure, looking forward to the World Cup.
“The way the guys reacted to situations over the last two ODI series helps. You can look back when the guys have been asked to stand up, whether chasing down a total or closing it out with the ball. There have been guys who have stood up.
“If it’s not meant to be, we will learn from it and take it into the next series.
“The World Cup is not tomorrow, or in two days, it’s in 16 months. This is part of the journey, it’s about getting it right for then.”
England’s collapse of 6-21 saw them throw away the fourth ODI in Dunedin. From 267-1 they were reduced to 335-9 in their 50 overs and Ross Taylor led home New Zealand’s chase with a brilliant 181.
Taylor is likely to miss the series finale with a recurrence of the thigh injury that affected him on Wednesday, but Bairstow is not concerned England will suffer a hangover here in Christchurch.
“We were in a very good position,” he said. “But the big thing to take forward is that it’s the first time that it has happened. From that kind of position, we have gone on and scored 370 or 380.
“Going forward, the execution has to be better but the execution has been very good for a long period of time from that middle order.
“To get those massive scores, playing that no-fear cricket is what is going to keep us striving to take strides forward. We are a fast-learning team. You don’t put a string of results together like we have and change the way we play so quickly if you’re not fast learners and fast adapters.
“We will regroup and we take it forward to Christchurch. It makes for a great series finale.”
England are likely to make one change, with David Willey coming in for fast bowler Mark Wood.
NEW ZEALAND (probable): ENGLAND (probable): Start: TV: