New Zealand deserve to be in World Cup semi-finals, says Kane Williamson
New Zealand face India on Tuesday, live on Sky Sports Cricket World Cup from 9.30am
Monday 8 July 2019 15:29, UK
Kane Williamson is adamant New Zealand deserve their place in the World Cup semi-finals as they prepare to face India at Old Trafford on Tuesday.
Williamson's side finished level on 11 points with fifth-placed Pakistan but advanced to the last four by dint of a superior net run-rate.
The Black Caps slipped to a six-wicket defeat to Pakistan at Edgbaston in the group stage but head-to-head records are not taken into consideration if teams are locked on points in the World Cup.
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"Reflecting back on the round robin, we definitely deserve to be here, that was reflected in the standings," said Williamson.
"It's pretty special in a lot of respects to be able to lead your country out in a semi-final on the biggest stage. It's a really exciting opportunity."
The Kiwis lost their final three league games, with the reverse against Pakistan followed by defeats to fellow semi-finalists Australia and England.
New Zealand's clash with table toppers India earlier in the competition was washed out, meaning they advanced to the semi-finals without beating any of the teams who have joined them in the knockout phase.
"As New Zealand we are often the underdogs," said paceman Lockie Ferguson, who is hoping to return from a hamstring strain.
"I guess that's a position we like to be in. As a team we definitely want to be the scrappers, guys that scrap for wins - we don't always win pretty.
"We kind of pride ourselves on coming back from tough situations and giving ourselves opportunity to win. That's definitely going to be our attitude.
"I think that we've proven that many a time - sometimes it's not gone our way, which is part of tournament cricket and part of the World Cup."
New Zealand coach Gary Stead added: "I'm not spending a lot of time worrying about what other people are thinking, whether we should be here or not.
"People aren't expecting us to win, and from my point of view I think that's a good place to be in. Hopefully we can play with some real freedom.
"Maybe the level of expectation is more on India than what it is on New Zealand. We want to be fresh and come out and fire some shots against India."
Watch India vs New Zealand live on Sky Sports Cricket World Cup (channel 404) from 9.30am on Tuesday.
