England ready for 'semi-final'

By Stephan Shemilt BBC Sport in Mumbai Venue: Brabourne Stadium, MumbaiDate: Wednesday 13 FebruaryStart time: 09:00 GMTCoverage: Ball-by-ball Test Match Special commentary on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra & via BBC Sport website; live text commentary on BBC Sport website & mobile devices

England vice-captain Jenny Gunn says Wednesday's must-win match against New Zealand is an effective semi-final for the defending World Cup champions.

England must beat the Kiwis and hope Australia defeat West Indies earlier in the day if they are to progress from the Super Sixes to Sunday's final.

"With playing a day-night match, we will know when we go out there what we need to do," Gunn told BBC Sport.

"It's pretty much a semi-final for us, we know we have to go out and win."

Remaining fixtures (13 February):

West Indies v Australia (03:30 GMT)

Sri Lanka v South Africa (03:30 GMT)

England v New Zealand (09:00 GMT)

The only way England can book a final against their old rivals Australia is to draw level on six points with the Windies in the Super Six table and have a better net run-rate than the Caribbean side.

Following their two-run defeat by Australia, England's chances of retaining the trophy they won in 2009 looked to be slim.

But, with their thrashing of South Africa being followed by West Indies' shock win over the Kiwis, points and net run-rate are so tight that any margin of victory for England in Mumbai is likely to take them through provided the Windies are beaten.

"We've done it the tough way round," added Nottinghamshire all-rounder Gunn. "Looking back to last week we didn't think we were going to be in this position.

"To still have a chance of getting to the final shows how well we've done."

England met New Zealand in a warm-up match before the tournament, losing by 13 runs.

In that game, Kiwi skipper Suzie Bates  was dismissed for only 11, but, since then, her 307 runs have made her the most prolific batter in the competition.

"She'll look to go hard early on, so she's a key wicket up front," added 26-year-old Gunn. "Sophie Devine can also hit a long ball in the middle so we'll be looking to calm her down.

"We know they will come hard at us. We've been playing them for years and know that it will be a tough battle, one that we all relish. We can't wait to get out there on the park and do our jobs."

New Zealand can also reach the final with victory at the Brabourne Stadium, but the Black Caps also require West Indies to be beaten at the MIG.

In Wednesday's other Super Six match, South Africa and Sri Lanka meet in Cuttack, a game between the two sides that have already been eliminated.

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