NZ have all to play for
England and New Zealand want to maintain run-rich form when they clash today at the Wanderers in the final Group B fixture of the ICC Champions Trophy.
Dismissed with the West Indies as tournament no-hopers, England made 323-8 against hosts South Africa Sunday to become the first qualifiers for the semifinals of the mini-World Cup.
It was the highest tally so far in the one-day extravaganza, eclipsing the 319 made by Sri Lanka in the opening match en route to a surprise victory over South Africa.
"That batting performance was the best I can remember from England. Owais [Shah] took control, clearing the boundary so many times, well backed up by Paul [Collingwood] and Eoin [Morgan]," boasted skipper Andrew Strauss.
"We can play the shots because of skills practice. The only problem sometimes is our mindset, whether we loosen the shackles and go out there and take the game to the opposition."
Shah, 98-run catalyst of the second highest Champions Trophy innings after the 347 posted by New Zealand against the United States at The Oval five years ago, echoed South Africa-born Strauss.
"The Australia series was not good for our batsmen. Coming to South Africa our confidence was low. We needed to go out, play with freedom and express ourselves."
New Zealand also smashed the 300-run barrier Sunday against Sri Lanka, amassing 315-7 to win by 38 runs. Another victory against England will take them into the knockout phase of the four-million-dollar tournament.
However, if the 'Black Caps' lose at the 30,000-capacity home of South Africa cricket, hyper-erratic Sri Lanka will cling to second spot on net run rate and squeeze through.
England have been the revelation of the second most important national team ODI tournament after the World Cup, outplaying Sri Lanka and a South African team ranked number one in the world within 72 hours.
They and Pakistan are the only countries never to have lifted the Champions Trophy since its introduction 11 years ago and a 6-1 series thrashing from Australia preceded the flight to Johannesburg.
New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori finally saw his batsmen click against Sri Lanka, but 74-run lead scorer Jesse Ryder has been ruled out of the tournament by a hamstring strain.
Lady luck has jilted the Kiwis, who choose from a limited base, as bowler Jacob Oram also had to return home early through injury and has been replaced by James Franklin.
Vettori shrugged off the blows: "At least we hold our fate in our own hands. If we defeat England we reach the semifinals and if we lose we go home. We are ready."
After worrying about an inability to build partnerships, New Zealand concerns now centre on fast bowler Shane Bond, whose 9-0-82-0 figures Sunday followed an almost equally unflattering return against South Africa.
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