New Zealand and England satisfied with the security in the wake of the London attacks

New Zealand will be a hurdle standing between England and a semi-final spot when the two teams take on each other in a Group A contest of the Champions Trophy 2017 at Sophia Gardens later today. The two nations have faced each other nine times earlier in familiar conditions and England holds an edge over the Kiwis with the head-to-head tally reading 5-4.

The hosts have to deal with the absence of Chris Woakes, who was ruled out of the tournament with an injury in the match against Bangladesh. Pacer Steven Finn has been named as a replacement. But the value Woakes brings to the team may be a setback for England.

Meanwhile, both the nations are satisfied with the security being provided to them in the wake of the attacks in London. Some of England’s players were in London during the attack – and their hotel was only half a mile away from where the incident took place.

In fact, it was learnt from cricbuzz that all-rounder Ben Stokes, who was having dinner in Leicester Square, struggled to return to the hotel because of the congestion around the area after the attacks. Captain Morgan admitted the first thought was “making sure everybody was safe and either at the hotel or at home”

Security around the players has been tightened ever since. Morgan was confident his side can concentrate on the cricket and not think too much about the other things. “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,” he said.

ICC prioritises players’ safety 

Kiwi Martin Guptill offered prayers for the victims of the attacks and said he is satisfied with the security provided by the ICC.

“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.”