Kane Williamson: "Everybody has put their hand up"

The Black Caps skipper praised the collective efforts of his squad ahead of their semi-final against Pakistan while also singling out his side's "outstanding" bowling attack for their adaptability

Kane Williamson credited his "outstanding" bowlers with playing a key role in New Zealand's run to the T20 World Cup semi-finals.

The Black Caps only used five bowlers in the Super 12s – Tim Southee, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Trent Boult and Lockie Ferguson – and every member of the quintet has stepped up, taking a minimum of six wickets each. With an economy of 8.13, Ferguson is the most expensive player in the attack.

England were the only team against whom they conceded more than 150 runs – Jos Buttler's side posted 179 for 6 and won by 20 runs, New Zealand's only defeat in the Super 12s – while Australia (111) and Sri Lanka (102) were both restricted to below 120.

"They're experienced players for us," Williamson said. "Whether it's taking wickets or, in particular, adjusting to conditions which certainly we need them to at tournaments, that's a big part of playing.

"They've been outstanding throughout this tournament. And [on Wednesday] we're at another venue again against another opposition, and we'll have to make those adjustments again."

^{Williamson described New Zealand's bowlers as "outstanding" [Sarah Reed/Getty Images]}

The collective strength and consistency of New Zealand's bowling attack is characteristic of the entire team. With the bat, they haven't been reliant on one or two performers, with Glenn Phillips – who scored a century against Sri Lanka, Williamson and Devon Conway all contributing 50-plus knocks in different matches and Finn Allen, who is scoring at a strike rate of 189.58, gifting his side a couple of fast starts – "that's the strength of his game, is ability to go hit the ball hard and play with freedom".

Williamson continued: "The fickle nature of T20 and the competitive nature of the tournament and all teams beating each other sort of means that there's not a reliance on one or two [players]. It's guys trying to play their roles as well as they can and make contributions towards what we're trying to do as a team.

"Glenn, he's been outstanding. But there have been a number of other players that have stood up on a number of occasions and everybody has put their hand up. For us, it's really trying to play together as a team and focus on that."

New Zealand are, of course, no strangers to crunch knockout matches. They reached the T20 World Cup semi-finals in 2007 and 2016 while in 2021, they lost to Australia in the final. In 50-over World Cups, they've reached at least the semi-finals in the past four tournaments, finishing as runners-up in 2015 and 2019.

However, Williamson is letting neither complacency nor the pressure on a golden generation to deliver silverware distract his side, who are simply taking things "one game at a time".

In Sydney, they'll face Pakistan, a side they've lost to three times in their past four meetings but who only snuck into the last four at eleventh hour. Babar Azam's side lost their first two matches before a run of three wins – and a handy victory for the Netherlands over South Africa – carried them into second place in group two.

It's been far from vintage cricket from the 2009 champions, who have been forced to rely on their fast bowlers, career-best form from Shadab Khan, and rescue missions from the likes of Shan Masood and Iftikhar Ahmed to counteract the poor performances of their talismanic openers, Babar and Mohammad Rizwan.

"It's a strong Pakistan side, a very well-balanced side," Williamson said, dismissing any talk of New Zealand heading into the clash as favourites. "They've got an outstanding pace attack and very experienced players on their side, match-winners. We know the quality they have, from No.1 right down the order.

"It's hard to tell [who's the favourite], it's been hard to read throughout the whole tournament. Both teams are playing pretty well, so it will be a good match."