Shane Bond said he was excited to watch the New Zealand-England clash. (Source: File)
Although New Zealand missed out on more points from the Australia clash which got ruined due to the rain, Shane Bond feels that they will approach England in their next clash with much confidence.
In an article he wrote for ICC, Bond said that Kane Williamson and his team should have gone home from the Australia clash with much confidence after how they played. Bond stated that New Zealand has lost 18 out of 19 games against Australia before the Champions Trophy on neutral patch.
The former New Zealand player said that he was excited to watch the clash against the hosts at the Cardiff Wales Stadium. 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.”
Bond added that the tournament is going to be a huge loss for the home side in the absence of Chris Woakes. “it is these events that you train and prepare so hard for, and when your tournament ends after just two overs, like it did for Woakes, it can be a bitter pill to swallow,” he wrote.
Bond added that he would not be surprised if New Zealand select Jeetan Patel for the Cardiff strip as he has played county cricket for long.
He feels that Adil Rashid in ODI is a great option and seeing Rashid in place of Woakes would not be a suprise.
“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,” reviewd Bond.
