‘Street-smart’ New Zealand can topple England to make T20 semis, says coach Walters

New Zealand’s ‘street-smart’ cricketers can find a way to beat England and guarantee their semi-final place at the T20 World Cup, coach Rob Walters said on Thursday.

A win for New Zealand in Friday’s night’s Super Eights clash in Colombo will see them top Group 2 and join the already-qualified England in the final four.

A defeat would leave the door ajar for Pakistan to beat eliminated Sri Lanka on Saturday with the second semi-final berth then being decided on net run rate.

Mitchell Santner’s New Zealand were in trouble at 84-6 against Sri Lanka on Wednesday before the captain steered them to 168-7 and a thumping 61-run win which knocked out the co-hosts.

“I think if you look historically at the Black Caps, you would probably say that they’re a team that have been great problem solvers,” Walters told reporters.

“They are street smart, they find a way to understand the conditions quickly.

“It’s certainly something that we pride ourselves on. We can adapt to conditions quickly and find a method.”

England are the only team to secure a place in the semi-finals so far after skipper Harry Brook’s match-winning century against Pakistan.

New Zealand all-rounder Rachin Ravindra is aware of England’s threat.

“You’re always confident going into these fixtures, especially when we know what the surface is going to be like,” said Ravindra, who took four wickets against Sri Lanka.

“But I think it’d be silly to underestimate England at any point.

“They’re obviously such a quality unit and they’ve shown this in how well they’ve been bowling.

“They’ve got world-class batters throughout their order.”

SL’s Shanaka says constant criticism has affected players’ mental health: Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka said the relentless criticism aimed at his players has been damaging to their mental health and undermined their efforts at the Twenty20 World Cup, where they were eliminated from the group stage on Wednesday.

The tournament co-hosts drew heavy flak from fans and pundits for their shaky buildup to the World Cup, which included losing five of six limited-overs matches to England.

The 2014 champions suffered a second successive Super Eights defeat on Wednesday, with New Zealand scoring a comprehensive victory to knock them out of the tournament.

Shanaka apologised to fans after their ‘embarrassing’ performance but also felt an atmosphere of negativity had reached an extent where the authorities must intervene.

“No matter how we as cricketers try to stay positive, there is negativity outside,” Shanaka told reporters after their defeat in Colombo.

“We will play and leave, but for the players who will come in the future, if the government can even stop it, that’s better for their mental health.”

Chasing 169 for victory, Sri Lanka were 46-5 in the 11th over and never looked like recovering.

“Honestly, we are very sorry for what happened. No one goes out there to fail, everyone goes with the intention of playing well and winning for the team,” said Shanaka.

Losing the services of three key bowlers - Wanindu Hasaranga, Matheesha Pathirana and Ehsan Malinga - through injuries was a major setback.

“You’ve also got to make fitness a non-negotiable,” he said.

“When you have the number of injuries we’ve had, it’s hard to get a good outcome.

“Your fitness level influences your injuries. There are some players who can’t even get into the team because of fitness issues.”

Agencies