England sealed a spot in the semis with a convincing win over New Zealand © AFP

'It is coming home', the rallying phrase for England's quest for a World Cup trophy, was in jeopardy when the hosts lost successive games to Sri Lanka and Australia. Under pressure, their victory against India allowed them to breathe easy but they still needed a win over New Zealand in their final league game to ensure that their semifinal entry would be on their own terms. There was a bit of frustration in the camp considering the way their campaign derailed a bit but skipper Eoin Morgan made sure to have a chat with his team, urging them to not to be desperate and instead focus on what had made England into a quality ODI outfit in recent years.

After the game at Chester-le-Street, the belief of the cup coming home was reignited as England sealed their place in the final four with a comprehensive win over New Zealand, beating their opponents on Wednesday (July 3) by a 119-run margin. And the reason attributed to the victory, among other things, was sticking to their 'mantra', according to Morgan.

"I think we sort of knew that coming into the tournament, the difficult challenge in applying that to World Cup games is that it is just a one-off game. It lends itself more for you to be, whatever the way you play, it should be the extremity of that on the day because you don't get another chance and it's taken us time to get to grips with that, you know. We do stick to our mantra the whole time and not actually be cagey, or desperate, or anything in those sort of regards...It doesn't work for us and it won't win us the World Cup," Morgan said at the press conference after the game.

It helped England that Jonny Bairstow and Jason Roy provided a superb platform. Capitalising on the new ball on a wicket that would slow down later in the innings, they put on a 123-run opening stand in quick time that set up England's total of 305. This was their third successive 100-plus partnership, and also the first time that an England opening pair had registered more than one century partnership in the World Cup - as the tally of century stands involving Bairstow and Roy rose to 10 in only 35 innings.

"The manner in which they played is the most important because we bat all the way down. We are not asking our guys to average 50 and strike it at 120, that is unrealistic. But pushing the ceiling as to what guys would normally do was part of the process in which we have gone through probably the first two years of the four-year cycle. But looking at where the guys are at now, it is incredible, really, that the talent they possess and actually what they can achieve on a consistent basis," said Morgan.

Despite having come under criticism after the losses, the England team showed plenty of character under pressure to get through to the semifinal stage with crucial wins in their last two league games. And that confidence from the victories over India and New Zealand would hold them in good stead during the knock-out stage said the England captain.

"I think we do tap into what we have achieved the last two games. It's been extremely important to our campaign. It is obviously the reason that we have got through and we have been able to play some of our best cricket because of that. So tapping into that, identifying what we did well and if that still remains the same priority going into the semifinal, which I think it will.

With England finishing third on the points table, their next game will only be on July 11. When asked if the lengthy break is a good thing for the team, Morgan replied: "I think it is a really good thing. I can't wait to do nothing, or get distracted by other things that I enjoy doing. It's been - I suppose we have rode the rollercoaster of playing well, playing terrible and playing good again, so particularly our bowlers, they need a rest, they need to get away. We haven't chopped and changed the team a lot so our seamers do need a rest. And our batsmen need to get away from the game and hopefully come back fresh."