New Zealand will be eager to avenge their defeats to England over the years in ICC events, when the sides meet in the first semi-final of the T20 World Cup at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi Wednesday.
The last time the two sides met in an ICC event was in the final of the 2019 World Cup in England.
The hosts were crowned the new world champions following a controversial decision.
England had finished victorious on boundary count after both the game and the Super Over had ended as tie.
Prior to that, in the 2016 T20 World Cup, England had overcome New Zealand in the semi-finals.
New Zealand captain Kane Williamson acknowledged the recent on-field rivalry that has built up against England and praised the development of the English team in white-ball cricket.
“Look, we've played each other a number of times. We've had some really good games in really good series. The evolution of the England side and particularly the white-ball sides have been significant over a number of years. And they have got a lot of experienced T20 players on their side,” said Williamson to the media at the virtual press conference in Dubai Tuesday.
“As a collective, they're [England] playing some really good cricket. We know it's a nice challenge that we're looking forward to. And both teams try and utilize what they have to the best of their ability and try and play their best cricket. You turn up on the day and particularly in this format it's fickle in its nature and both teams will go out to look to put their best foot forward and what will be will be at the end of it. But for us it's been a real growth focus.
"Although, it was like I mentioned slightly disjointed preparation at the start. It's been sort of one game at a time and trying to adapt and make those small improvements throughout the competition as quickly as we could. It meant that the team have been ticking over reasonably nicely and watching from afar England have been doing something very similar, playing some really good cricket. So it should be a really good contest come [Wednesday]."
England are ahead of New Zealand in terms of head-to-head record in T20 internationals.
The two teams have locked horns in 21 T20Is and England have been victorious 13 times while New Zealand won seven.