The Blacks Cap of New Zealand are only focusing on Thursday when they face England in Ahmedabad in the opening game of the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup.

The match in India will be a repeat of the 2019 final when the English beat New Zealand in the Super Over at Lords in London.

The final went down as one the greatest One-Day Internationals of all time.

The New Zealand skipper, Tom Latham, speaking of the eve of the Cricket World Cup said there is no reason to dwell on the past.

“It's extremely exciting and I think you look at a World Cup and it's always, you know, it's always on the horizon, said Latham who scored 52-runs againt South Africa on Monday.

“It's always years away and then I guess to finally be here is really exciting.

“We've obviously had a nice build up with a few practice games, like obviously everyone has, but yeah, to play the opening game here at an amazing stadium is pretty special.

“So, it's a unique one being played here in India, and it's obviously a fantastic place to play cricket and really excited to get underway on Thursday.

“We’ve played England a lot in a few formats over the last couple of years and it's a question that always pops up, but I think from our point of view we're solely focused on the job at hand tomorrow. 

“We've had time to certainly reflect on what a fantastic game it was four years ago and I'm sure everyone will say it's probably one of the greatest games of cricket to be played.

“So, from our point of view that is certainly - we've parked that and we're really looking forward to what the challenges present on Thursday.

“To play a fantastic England side in a World Cup opener is really special so can't get much better than that.”

Thursday’s Cricket World Cup opener is scheduled to get underway at 10:30.

Morgan Piek OFM Sport