Cook relishing semi-final chance

Alastair Cook, right, is confident that England's Champions Trophy success will continue
17 June 2013

Captain Alastair Cook and England head into the ICC Champions Trophy semi-finals confident they can beat whoever is put in front of them.

The tournament hosts advanced to the last four with a 10-run victory over New Zealand in a rain-affected Group A encounter at Cardiff Wales Stadium.

Cook is confident his side can deal with whoever they face. He said: "We don't mind who we play, we are just glad to be in there. We had a quarter-final in one way today, and now we look forward to a semi-final, whoever that may be against, and we are looking forward to playing well."

He added: "Today we have adapted well to a different condition of match and it was a real good effort. Any of the sides in this Champions Trophy would be dangerous to play and you have to be at the top of your game to win."

With the match reduced to 24 overs a side, man-of-the-match Cook compiled an excellent 64 - although he was dropped three times by Nathan McCullum - to help England to 169 all out. New Zealand could only reach 159 for eight in reply, despite a defiant 67 from Kane Williamson, which briefly threatened to turn the game on its head.

England will now face either South Africa at The Oval on Wednesday, or India back in Cardiff on Thursday, with Monday's meeting between Australia and Sri Lanka deciding their opponent.

England will face a wait to discover if off-spinner Graeme Swann is fit for the last-four meeting after he sat out the clash with the Kiwis due to a tight calf. Cook has no intention of gambling with Swann's fitness and has backed James Tredwell to ensure the Nottinghamshire man is not missed after performing admirably in Cardiff.

"James has done a fantastic job and we are lucky in that department to have two outstanding bowlers," said Cook. "James is almost unlucky in one way that Swanny has been ahead of him."

New Zealand must now hope Australia beat Sri Lanka, but not by a large enough margin to leapfrog the Black Caps on net run-rate, in order for them to reach the last four.

When asked whether he felt their trans-Tasman rivals could do his side a favour, Brendon McCullum said: "We'll see what unfolds I guess. We would love Australia to play some excellent cricket tomorrow, but obviously not too good either. We had our opportunity here and we missed out, so if we find ourselves out of the tournament we can't be upset."

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