Ahead of high‑stakes under pressure World Cup 2019 semi-final against Australia, Eoin Morgan has on Wednesday, 10th July, urged his teammates to embrace the fact they are "living the dream" as they are eyeing a title clash with New Zealand at Lord’s on Sunday, 14th July.
England’s past four years hard work since their 2015 World Cup ouster could be paid off on Thursday, 11th July, if they manage to beat Australia in the second semi-final Edgbaston.
And Morgan urged his players to take pride of their achievements so far and enjoy their moment on the big day instead of being weighed down by pressure in the blockbuster semi-final against the Ashes rivals.
Morgan further added that England is full of belief at making it to the World Cup final, saying his players are trying their heart out to do well for their country in the mega ICC event. Morgan told reporters, “Sometimes I'm guilty of it, you can lose sight of the position you're in and the fact you're living your dream. I think it's possible to play with a smile on your face tomorrow.”
The skipper also said that the hosts have mixed emotions before the mega encounter as they are in line to play their first World Cup final since 1992 if they emerge as a winner at Edgbaston.
Morgan added, “All of those things. But I think excitement probably should be the dominant one. Everyone is excited to play this semi-final. The fact that through the group stages getting to this stage looked unlikely, or was called into question, makes it even more exciting for us.”
Meanwhile, England has an edge over Australia for the crucial encounter, having won 10 of the last 11 one-day internationals against the old rivals before the ICC event. While the hosts also have a proud record at Edgbaston, where the defending champions would like to end their losing streak of 15 years on Thursday, and Morgan is hoping to take advantage of that fact to make it to the CWC 2019 final.
He further stated, “I think that is part and parcel of being the hosts, a little bit of home advantage. I think it plays a part here at Edgbaston. There is a reason we do have a lot of success here. The wicket tends to suit us, but also the support as well.”
Morgan signed off by saying, “We have prepared for moments like this. It’s about sticking to our strengths rather than our style. One leads to the other. Our strength is the way that we play and sticking to that, no matter how long we have left in the tournament is important to us.”
(With AFP Inputs)
