As England and New Zealand ready for the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup final clash, skipper Eoin Morgan on Saturday said that the final against the Kiwis means a huge amount to him and every other player in the dressing room.
"It means a huge amount to me and everyone in the dressing room. It's a combination of four years of hard work, dedication and it presents a huge opportunity to win the World Cup. We have had huge backing throughout the tournament," Morgan told reporters at the pre-match conference.
"I certainly feel pretty relaxed. I am also very excited about tomorrow. We are going to enjoy the game regardless of the occasion. You never know what you are going to say to the team before the morning of the game. Everybody is fit in our squad. So it's good news," he added.
Morgan praised the New Zealand side, saying the progress they have shown is truly remarkable. The Kiwi side had made it to the finals of the World Cup in 2015 as well under the leadership of Brendon McCullum.
Morgan said both McCullum and Williamson (current Kiwi skipper) are different in their leadership styles.
"New Zealand is a tough side, they showed good performance in the group stage. McCullum and Williamson have different styles of captaincy. I think the progress New Zealand has made is remarkable," Morgan said.
"They are such a stable side. They offer threats with both bat and ball. I think it will be a good game of cricket," he added.
New Zealand, apart of Afghstan, is the only team in the tournament who has not been able to register the score of 300 in the ongoing World Cup.
However, Morgan believes that the final won't be a high scoring one as Lord's generally does not produce high-scoring encounters.
"The scores in the tournament have been a lot lower than it has been in the last three to four years. Adjusting to that has been harder work than it normally is. Lord's is never a high scoring ground, and I don't think tomorrow will be a high scoring game."
The 32-year-old Morgan said that the wicket for tomorrow's match looks green as of now, but added a few more hours of sun will help dry the wicket. The skipper also said that he isn't thinking about lifting the trophy as of now.
"From far, it looks a greener wicket. It will look different when the sun comes out. I haven't allowed myself to think about lifting the trophy. For us to win it, it will be awesome for the country and the game of cricket," Morgan said.
England found themselves in a must-win situation since the group-stage match against India and Morgan believes that playing crunch games since the round-robin has helped the side immensely.
"It has helped that we have played crunch matches since the game against India. I think it has helped us to actually be more positive and aggressive and a bit smarter," Morgan said.
Jofra Archer has proved as the X-factor for England. The bowler has taken 19 wickets in the tournament so far. Morgan praised the bowler, saying Archer really enjoys playing the game of cricket.
"Jofra is a pretty relaxed guy, he's pretty cool. He enjoys playing a lot of X-box. He's a young guy and he enjoys playing cricket," Morgan said.
England had defeated Australia in the semi-final on Thursday in Edgbaston by eight wickets. Batsmen Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow have been in good form for the hosts throughout the tournament. Root has 549 runs in the ongoing World Cup so far whereas Bairstow has 496.
The team had finished the group stage in the third position with 13 points from nine matches.
England takes on New Zealand in the final on July 14 at Lord's Cricket Ground.
( With inputs from ANI )
