England captain Eoin Morgan said fellow 2019 World Cup finalists New Zealand were the best team of the group stage and the hardest to beat in the tournament.

England sailed into the Lord’s final on Sunday after thumping Australia by eight wickets in the semis, while the Kiwis beat India by 18 runs in their last four clash.

New Zealand qualified for the knockouts due to a better net run rate than Pakistan and despite losing its last three league games by big margins. However, Morgan said the Kiwis were the best side of the tournament.

“I think New Zealand throughout the whole tournament has probably been the hardest side to beat and the best side in the group stages. I think their performance in the semi-final was probably their best. They will be a difficult side to beat on Sunday, so we are looking forward to it.”