Shane Bond says England v/s New Zealand is like a quarterfinal

New Zealand was in dominating position against their arch rivals Australia in their first game of the Champions Trophy at Birmingham when rain intervened and the match had to be called off. Although it must be disappointing to miss out on a crucial win. Now they come up against the hosts England and according to former New Zealand pacer Shane Bond, the team will approach this match with more confidence.

In an article, Bond wrote for ICC, he said that he is excited to watch the Kiwis take on England in Cardiff. He wrote, “In some respects, this is almost like a quarterfinal, the Birmingham no-result throwing a spanner in the works a little bit. Especially in the last two years, despite England’s vastly different approach to white-ball cricket, games between the two teams have been very tight, and I expect another close, well-contested encounter.”

The former Black Caps pacer said that he won’t be surprised if New Zealand opts to go with experienced spinner Jeetan Patel, considering the fact that he has experience of playing in County cricket for a long time now. He also
highlighted the fact that England may miss the services of Chris Woakes, who might miss the game due to the injury he suffered vs Bangladesh in the first game.

Bond wrote, “It is these events that you train and prepare so hard for, and when your tournament ends after just two over like it did for Woakes, it can be a bitter pill to swallow,”

Rashid to replace Woakes

He also stated that he expects Adil Rashid to replace Chris Woakes in the playing XI and feels that the leggie can be a great addition to the team. He believes that England would like to settle qualification as quickly as possible and won’t want to go into the last game with their qualification hopes still in the balance.

“England will really want to win this game because its final league opponent is Australia. In a tournament like this where every game is tough and competitive, you don’t want to leave your qualification hanging in the balance going into the last game,” reviewed Bond