Cricket: Moles hails Black Caps' fighting spirit

Coach Andy Moles hailed the Black Caps' fighting spirit as they continued an impressive turnaround by beating England to finish top of their group in cricket's Champions Trophy.

However, the result in Johannesburg today could come at a cost, with man-of-the-match Grant Elliott left nursing a hand injury.

South African-born Elliott, playing on his former home ground of the Wanderers, was hit on the right thumb while batting as New Zealand chased a target of 147 on a pitch with an uneven bounce.

Moles said Elliott's thumb was swollen, but it was too early to determine whether the player was in doubt for the semifinal on Sunday (NZT).

"We'll know more tomorrow," he said. "We'll just see how it reacts overnight."

After a disappointing tour of Sri Lanka and defeat to South Africa in their opening Champions Trophy match, the Black Caps' hopes of making the semifinals had seemed forlorn.

But victory over Sri Lanka kept them alive and they sealed their berth by overtaking England's total with four wickets and almost 23 overs to spare.

Moles said the Black Caps knew they had to step up with the departures of Jacob Oram, Jesse Ryder and Daryl Tuffey through injury.

"The one thing about this New Zealand side is that they're fighters and they fight for each other," he said.

"They knew they had to stand up and each person had to contribute the best he could."

Moles said the Black Caps had no preference over which opposition they faced in their semifinal in Johannesburg.

"We just have to make sure we play to the best of our ability," he said.

"If we do that, it doesn't matter who we play."

New Zealand won the toss and, after sending England into bat, got off to a flying start, with Kyle Mills removing opposition skipper Andrew Strauss without a run on the board.

Shane Bond then chimed in with the wickets of Joe Denly and Owais Shah to send England slumping to 13 for three.

"It was an important toss to win and it was important to take advantage of that," Moles aid.

"Kyle bowled beautifully in the first over to get rid of Strauss and then Bondy made sure we kept them under pressure."

Paul Collingwood provided England's main resistance with 40.

He was also at the centre of a major talking point when, on 14, he was recalled by New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori after being given out.

Believing over had been called, Collingwood wandered out of his crease after evading a short-pitched delivery from Mills and wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum threw down the stumps.

TV umpire Aleem Dar confirmed the dismissal, but Vettori, after conferring with on-field umpires Daryl Harper and Asad Rauf, withdrew the appeal for a run-out.

The irony was that Collingwood had been involved in a run-out controversy at The Oval last year, when he refused to recall Elliott, who had collided with Ryan Sidebottom.

Elliott did have the final say today, with Collingwood being one of his victims.

In his first significant bowling stint of the tournament, Elliott got over a shaky start to grab career-best figures of four for 31 with his medium pacers.

"He began with a couple of wides and didn't quite get his rhythm right, but he managed to get the dangerman, Collingwood, out with a fantastic catch by Ross Taylor at midwicket," Moles said.

"From there, his confidence grew and he bowled well and bowled his variations and he got his rewards. Quite rightly, he was pleased to get four wickets and get man-of-the-match."

New Zealand began their chase in positive faction, with openers Brendon McCullum and Martin Guptill putting on 84 for the first wicket.

McCullum was first to go, his 48 coming off just 39 deliveries, while Guptill went on to make 53 from 55 balls.

But the Black Caps then had to survive another mid-order collapse, losing five wickets for 27 runs, before getting over the line.

- NZPA