New Zealand earned their spot in the World Cup final where they will be facing hosts England, who have been touted as favourites throughout the tournament, but skipper Kane Williamson is unperturbed and said anyone can beat anybody.
"There is huge amount of respect for the match-winners that they have in their side, obviously, the top of the order and the throughout. But the focus for us is very much about the cricket that we want to play and the performance that we want to put on the board and if we do that then we have been saying throughout this competition that anybody can beat anybody," Williamson said during the pre-match press conference here on Saturday.
However, Williamson acknowledged that there are many distractions for the team ahead of the tournament's final but he said that he, coach Gary Stead and the group is keeping their feet on the ground and focusing to play the best game that they can.
"When you play, you deal with different distractions and naturally in a World Cup final, it brings other distractions and different thoughts can go through your mind. But certainly Gary, me and the all the group is keeping their feet on the ground and looking to play the sort of cricket that you want to play and give yourself the best chance regardless of whether it is a semi-final, round-robin game or fortunate enough now, to be in a final. At the end of the game, it is still a cricket match," he said.
The final is scheduled to be played at Lord's, the home of cricket, and Williamson said that it is already a special place but World Cup final adds more specialness to it.
"It is a really special place to play cricket on any day but with the added attention of the World Cup final, means it is a little bit more special than another day. The guys are really excited and looking forward to going out tomorrow and competing against a really strong England side," Williamson said.
New Zealand will compete against England for the trophy at Lord's on July 14.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
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