espnstar.com caught up with New Zealand middle order mainstay Grant Elliot for an exclusive chat.

By Firdose Moonda

New Zealand are playing Pakistan for the third time in the semi final of an ICC competition. The sub continental powerhouses have had the better of the Black Caps in two of those semi finals, both in a World Cup (1992, and 1999). The Black Caps, though, may take some heart from the fact that the one victory they did have was in a Champions Trophy back in the year 2000.

Even if their record is less than satisfactory, New Zealand have punched above their weight in the tournament so far and believe they have two more knock out blows in them.

Q: How did you injure your thumb?

A: It was during the match against England and was the third ball I faced from Stuart Broad. He banged one in short and it took off and hit my thumb. It’s fractured now but I have been looking after it and have been trying to make a plan with some extra padding in my gloves. I am very hopeful of being able to play.

Q: Having played on both wickets, are you happy that you will be playing at the Wanderers against Pakistan, especially since Centurion has been compared to a sub continental wicket.

A: I guess you can say that. If the Wanderers pitch plays as it has up to now I think that will give our bowlers a huge advantage. Shane Bond and Kyle Mills did really well on this wicket and I think it suits us more, even though they (Pakistan) have quality bowlers as well. They have had three days to prepare the wicket though, and so I don’t think it will be the same and I don’t think it will be that big of a factor.

Q: We’ve spoken about the bowling, but what about the batting? Are you guys missing Jesse Ryder?

A; Not having him is obviously a big blow for us but we’ve still got some very good batsman in the team. Martin Guptil has done very well for us, so has Brendon McCullum, so we’ve still got quality batsman. I also think it’s not a bad thing to have someone fresh coming in, because that player has nothing to lose, so he is likely to give it his all.

Q: Who do you think are your key players going into the semi final?

A: I think senior players play the most important role, since it’s up to them to take responsibility. I also think maybe some of the players who haven’t performed exceptionally well in the tournament so far will want to step up. For example, Ross Taylor has only scored 5 runs in the last two matches, so he could be dangerous in the semi-final. I always think its players that have been quiet that are the most likely to be hungry to do well.

Q: What do you think of the more compressed format of the Champions Trophy?

A: I have really enjoyed it. It keeps us on our toes to be playing a match every few days whereas in a five match series, for example, we find ourselves waiting a few days between matches. I also like that virtually every match is a knock out.

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Q: There’s been a lot of talk about teams with momentum going on to succeed in tournaments like this. New Zealand have come off two wins, what effect will that have?

A: We definitely have momentum going in to the semi. The turning point for us was coming back to beat Sri Lanka, who are a really good team, after losing to South Africa. We should have scored about 270 against South Africa, and then we would have a shot at winning the match and knocking them out of the tournament. We didn’t manage that but we did make a very good return against Sri Lanka. Even after winning that match, we still needed to beat England to go through. Obviously having recognised the importance of winning those matches and going on to perform well, gives us a lot of confidence going into the last four.

Q: What is like playing at the Wanderers for you, given that you grew up in South Africa and the ground is regarded as the home of SA Cricket?

I played for Gauteng for a few seasons, so I have played here before a few times. I’m not really the type of person to put a lot of emotion into these sorts of things, it’s obviously a great experience because I am playing international cricket. It’s more of a thing for my parents, who live 15 minutes away from the Wanderers and came to support me along with all the cousins and family.

Q: You’ve been received with far less hostility than Kevin Pietersen, even though you are also a South African playing for another country, why do you think that is?

A: I keep quite a low profile so that may be one of the reasons. My favourite sportsmen are those that remain humble and down to earth, like Roger Federer and Stephen Fleming, and I try to be like them. I think South Africans are also becoming used to the idea of people emigrating.

Q: So there wasn’t even an issue when you played against South Africa?

A: No, not at all. I expected a bit of abuse but I didn’t get any.

Q: Where to for New Zealand after this tournament?

A: We’ll be playing Pakistan in a three match series in the UAE, which I am really looking forward to. Hopefully if we can beat them in the semi final, we can think of it as taking a 1-nil lead in a four match series.

Have you selected your Super Selector team?