Every team wanted to reach the semi‑finals, but no team wanted to end up with the task facing New Zealand, who play all‑conquering India in Mumbai on Wednesday. In the round everyone wanted to be in, it’s the game no one wanted to play: India at home, all their batters in form, their fast bowlers fantastic, the spinners superb, no weak links. But if you had to pick a team to take on this mammoth task, you might look at New Zealand.
When I played against them I was always quite envious of their mindset: they always seemed to be underdogs, but they made the most of what they had and played as if they had nothing to lose and everything to gain. England were always expected to win, and we felt that huge pressure of representing England and the expectation upon us both individually and collectively, which was not always helpful.
