8216;Don8217;t mind playing either India or South Africa in semis8217;

England beat New Zealand by 10 runs in their rain-curtailed and tense final group match on Sunday.

Having endured a 8220;stressful8221; journey to book a Champions Trophy8217;s semifinal berth,England captain Alastair Cook said he didn8217;t really care which among India and South Africa await his team in the last-four stage of the tournament.

England beat New Zealand by 10 runs in their rain-curtailed and tense final group match here yesterday. If the hosts finish top of the group,they would face South Africa,while a second place would have them square off against India.

8220;We don8217;t mind who we play. We are just glad we are in there. We look forward to the semi-final against whoever that might be,8221; said Cook.

8220;It was quite a stressful day,especially with those last few overs. We thought we were above the rate but Anderson and Williamson took it on,luckily we got over the line,8221; he added.

Reflecting on the performance,Cook lauded his bowlers.

8220;It was a very fine bowling performance. We were very good in the field today and I thought we were good with the bat,maybe 10 runs short. We8217;re happy to be in the semi-final,that was a good performance.

8220;We8217;re two games away now. Graeme8217;s got a calf injury but we8217;re very lucky to have James Tredwell to step in,8221; he added.

New Zealand captain,Brendon McCullum said it was the good spells by English pacers early on which put them on the backfoot.

Story continues below this ad

8220;England bowled outstandingly well at the start of our innings and set us back,8221; he said.

8220;Kane and Corey gave us a chance but it wasn8217;t until they got going and in the end we were short. It8217;s one of those things dropping catches,Nathan is normally very good.

8220;The run-rate has kept us going,it8217;ll be hard to cheer for Australia but if it keeps us in the tournament,then good,8221; he added.

New Zealand would now hope for an Australian victory over Sri Lanka but only by a small margin to ensure that their net run-rate remains better than the team from Down Under.

Story continues below this ad

8220;We8217;d love Australia to play some excellent cricket tomorrow Monday,obviously not too good,8221; said McCullum.

8220;We had an opportunity today Sunday and we passed it up,we can8217;t be upset. If we do get another opportunity,who knows?8221;

Cook said he was relieved that his team didn8217;t leave it on other results.

8220;It was great to get the opportunity to keep it in our hands today particularly with the rain about. We got a competitive total in the end and I thought we bowled pretty well8230;24 overs,it is a nerve-wracking time for a captain.8221;