Kane Williamson insists every dog has its day, unfazed by the expectation that New Zealand will be the fall guys for a second successive World Cup final.
The New Zealand captain was in a relaxed mood at Lord’s 24 hours before their meeting against England, who thumped the Black Caps by 119 runs when they met in the group stage of the tournament earlier this month.
A third defeat in a row meant the Kiwis were left sweating on their progression to the knockout stages, only qualifying on net run-rate after finishing level on points with Pakistan.
They upset the form book, beating India by 18 runs on the reserve day of their semi-final at Old Trafford, but will once again be underdogs on Sunday against the top-ranked side in one-day internationals.
Williamson was content to confer the favourites tag on to England, who have won eight of their last 12 ODIs between the sides, as New Zealand look to go one step further than four years ago, when they were beaten by Australia.
“I think England, rightly so, deserve to be favourites,” he said, when asked whether he feels New Zealand are the underdogs.
“Coming into this tournament from the start, they were favourites and they’ve been playing really good cricket.
“But whatever dog we are, it’s just important that we focus on the cricket that we want to play and we have seen over the years that anybody can beat anybody regardless of breed of dog!”
Provided by Press Association Sports
