After all the scenarios and net run rate calculations, the BLACKCAPS and West Indies are now locked in for Saturday night’s quarter final in Wellington, off the back of contrasting ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 campaigns.
While the BLACKCAPS grabbed top spot in Pool A and never let go, the West Indies were forced to recover from an upset against Ireland in their first match, and only finalised a quarter finals spot with their win over UAE on Sunday.
BLACKCAPS batsman Kane Williamson says all that counts for nothing on Saturday.
“Anyone we played was going to be a tough game. I know coming into the tournament after playing good cricket as a unit, we knew everything kind of starts again, and coming through the group stages playing some good cricket , everything starts again now we’re in the quarters. Anything in the past is quickly forgotten and it’s important that we prepare well for whoever we’re playing, and obviously that's the Windies now, we have to do our scouting and be well prepared for that match,” said Williamson.
West Indies talisman Chris Gayle sitting the match out against UAE with injury raises questions about their batting depth, but the BLACKCAPS aren’t falling into the trap of focusing on one player, even if he is one of the game’s most destructive.
“When Chris plays well he takes any team down in the world. Still, the nature of cricket is that if you bowl well you can get anyone out and we’ve got world class players as well that can take games away from a side.
“Everyone knows what he can do and he’s one of the biggest match winners in world cricket, so it’s important we put a little bit of focus on him, but I think it’s important we focus on ourselves, our skill sets and look to focus on what we want to execute,” said Williamson.
The last time the two sides met in ODIs, the series was shared 2-2, with the BLACKCAPS failing to take their chances in the Hamilton decider.
It’s a result the team are determined to avoid on Saturday, and they’ll do that by playing their own game.
“Every time you play you want to improve and I think it’s important that that’s the focus and we don’t get ahead of ourselves and try too hard on these occasions, I think it’s important you are relaxed and calm and play with that freedom, that’s when you play your best cricket and we’re looking to do that in this next game,” said Williamson.
Williamson made just one run on Friday night - as it happens, his last single figure score in ODIs was against the West Indies on Boxing Day 2014. It was a rare failure for him, and he's comfortable with scenarios the team has experienced during the group stage ahead of the sudden death challenges to come.
“It was nice to chase down a big total on Friday, and it was slightly scrappy fashion but that’s also a positive for us, we’re played six games in pool play and every game has been very different, so it’s nice to have all those experiences going into this quarter final match. In saying that, this is a one-off game and we need to play with that freedom and calm aggression to play our best cricket,” said Williamson.
