Cook glad to be in semis

Having endured a “stressful” journey to book a Champions Trophy’s semifinal berth, England captain Alastair Cook said he didn’t really care which among India and South Africa await his team in the last-four stage of the tournament.

England beat New Zealand by 10 runs in their rain-curtailed and tense final group match on Sunday. If the hosts finish top of the group, they would face South Africa, while a second place would have them square off against India.

“We don’t mind who we play. We are just glad we are in there. We look forward to the semifinal against whoever that might be,” said Cook, who was adjudged the man of the match for his 64.

“It was quite a stressful day, especially with those last few overs. We thought we were above the rate but Anderson and Williamson took it on, luckily we got over the line,” he added.

Reflecting on the performance, Cook lauded his bowlers. “It was a very fine bowling performance. We were very good in the field today and I thought we were good with the bat, maybe 10 runs short. We’re happy to be in the semifinal, that was a good performance.

“We’re two games away now. Graeme’s got a calf injury but we’re very lucky to have James Tredwell to step in,” he added.