England, New Zealand satisfied with security ahead of vital game

In the wake of the terrorist attack on London Bridge on Saturday evening which killed seven people, Eoin Morgan has confirmed that England are satisfied with the security arrangements in place for the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 and have "no concerns" about continuing the tournament.

Some of England's squad were in London during the attack - their hotel was half a mile away from where the incident took place - and all-rounder Ben Stokes, who was having dinner in Leicester Square, struggled to get back to the hotel because of the police cordon around the area. Morgan, who was one of the players in London, admitted the first thought was "making sure everybody was safe and either at the hotel or at home," and that it was "a completely new experience for everybody and not something they want to go through again."

Security around the England team has been beefed up since the attack with respected ECB security man Reg Dickason responsible for ensuring the team's safety. Whether the attack, the third such incident in the last three months in England, affects the home side's focus remains to be seen but Morgan was confident his side can concentrate on the cricket. "I think we can," he said. "I think we sort of proved that in Leeds [during the ODI vs South Africa] after what happened in Manchester.

"Obviously the guys are chatting about it constantly because it's not very far from where we stayed and a lot of us live near to where it happened. So we're making sure everybody feels that they can talk about it and not necessarily hide away from it. Guys that feel they have any concerns, go and chat to our head of security."

New Zealand opener Martin Guptill expressed a similar sentiment as he offered his side's thoughts and prayers to the victims and their families. "The ICC have assured us that our safety is their number one priority and they keep giving us updates daily about what's happening and what their plans are for us," he said. "So we feel very safe at the moment."

Whether there is any cricket to focus on will depend much on the weather in the Welsh capital. It has rained steadily for much of the day on Monday, meaning the covers have remained on the pitch, and the forecast is not much better for the match itself so a reduced game is a strong possibility.

The uncertainty as to what type of surface will appear from beneath the tarpaulin means that Morgan didn't know what team England will go with when asked at the pre-match press conference on Monday (June 5). "We don't. Probably even less so than ever because the wickets been under the covers since late last night and I reckon it will continue to be throughout the day," he said.

"What looked like a reasonably good pitch yesterday, an extra 24 hours under the hot, sweaty cover might change things in the morning. But we'll just have to wait and see how it turns up." If the pitch has a green tinge and plenty of grass, it is likely to mean that leg-spinner Adil Rashid - who Morgan confirmed "remains a big part of our future," - will again miss out.

"It depends how sweaty the pitch is in the morning," said Morgan. "There's normally a lot of grass here, not necessarily green grass, quite a thatchy feel to the wicket. You have to weigh that up really. I'll think about it for another 24 hours." England's captain would confirm that Ben Stokes is likely to bowl his full ten overs after feeling no pain in his troublesome left knee for five days.

Compared to England's selection dilemmas, the weather is causing New Zealand issues of a potentially more dire nature. Their first match against Australia was rained off, Australia's second match too yielded no result and the weather doesn't promise anything good for Tuesday too, throwing in several possible scenarios. But that shouldn't should dictate the way New Zealand approach the game, insisted Guptill. "We still have to go out and do our things to be aggressive and take it to the opposition. If we take a step back, then we've already lost the game before stepping out there. So we're just going to keep going the way we are."

They did manage to show glimpses of their ability in the cricket that was played against Australia and probably would have won had the rain not intervened. Kane Williamson scored a fine century and his bowlers reduced Australia to 56 for 3 before the weather closed in. "We did some very good things in that last game, and it was unfortunate the rain came when it did," said Guptill. "But at the end of the day we can't control the weather. So we take the positives from that game moving forward to this next one."

Morgan admitted the capabilities of New Zealand could affect the make-up of England's side as they look to book their semi-final place with a win. A defeat would set up a winner takes all game against Australia on Saturday which England will be desperately keen to avoid. With Chris Woakes missing from the eleven who played Bangladesh, it is David Willey, rather than Steven Finn, who is the most likely to replace him in Cardiff given that the Yorkshire all-rounder was in the original squad. The conditions should also be as good as England are likely to find for Willey's left-arm swing.

The importance of consistency in selection is something that Morgan has been keen to emphasise throughout the last few weeks. The captain believes that it gives his players the freedom and trust to be able to go out and play to their full abilities rather than being in constant fear for their positions. Playing Willey would be the consistent decision as was the selection of Finn to replace Woakes in the squad given that he played in the three ODIs in the West Indies in March and against South Africa at Lord's last week.

Should England consider another change in the seam attack, Steven Finn could replace Jake Ball who has struggled for control in recent games. "We've tried to go like for like as often as we can," said Morgan. "But when we can't, we go for a guy who we can throw the ball to at any stage in order to try to make an impact in the game. And Finny is one of those guys. I'd have no hesitation in playing him tomorrow if we felt it was the right thing to do."

Another player who has received Morgan's backing is Jason Roy despite a lean spell of 34 runs from his last six ODIs. "Jason has obviously lacked runs lately, but certainly we feel that a score is around the corner," Morgan said. Rather than the pressure of a high-profile tournament weighing Roy down, Morgan believes the different teams England are playing will help the Surrey opener find his feet because it's "different to playing in series where one team might have the wood over you. I think every game presents a huge opportunity."

England's last meeting against New Zealand in an ICC global 50-over tournament was a harrowing loss during the last World Cup in Wellington. That day, Tim Southee took seven wickets and Brendon McCullum smashed 77 from 25 balls as England were beaten before the floodlights had even come on. "They were one of the favourites going in to the tournament and proved that against us that day in Wellington," said Morgan. "It was sort of men against boys. But it's completely different now, two years down the line. We've got a completely new team, pretty much. We come into this tournament full of confidence."

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