Captain Kane Williamson appreciated a ‘great start’ to New Zealand World Cup campaign, after Saturday’s 10-wicket victory over Sri Lanka at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff, Wales.

New Zealand limited the Sri Lankans to 137 all out – and achieved the modest target with 203 deliveries to spare. Seamers Lockie Ferguson and Matt Henry navigated a sluggish pitch successfully with three wickets apiece, while opening batsman Martin Guptill and Colin Munro negotiated the conditions with a half-century each.

‘That was superb from the bowlers. I don’t think there’s a problem occasionally playing on such pitches. There was something on offer, but it was slow-ish movement. If you were old school, who knows, you could’ve scored a few more,’ said Williamson.

‘We were fortunate to get some early wickets. There’s some variety in our attack. There are different wickets – some high-scoring, some like this, so we need to have balanced attack.

Guptill struck 73 not out from 51 deliveries, but Williamson highlighted Munro’s 58 from 47, which featured six fours and a six. This is the Durban-born Munro’s first World Cup.

‘Those two at the top are aggressive. It is nice that they could go out and play a few shots. Munro played with freedom which was outstanding. It was a good all-round performance, focus turns quickly to the next match in a few days time on a different surface.’

New Zealand’s next World Cup match will be against Bangladesh at The Oval in London on Wednesday.

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