The T20 World Cup is knocking on the door. In the month of June, the whole world is going to experience thrilling T20 excitements. The West Indies and the USA are hosting the T20 World Cup. Before stepping into the big tournament, all teams are gearing up well. Before the tournaments start, New Zealand will not play any warm-up matches.
New Zealand Will Not Play Warm-Up Games:
After two years, the T20 World Cup is coming back. On June 2, the T20 World Cup is raising its curtain. This time the USA and West Indies are hosting the tournament jointly. Teams will reach their destinations before the tournaments start but New Zealand will be a bit exceptional. Right after the IPL, tour of Pakistan, they will be directly playing the T20 World Cup.
The majority of the contestants are about to play warm-up matches ahead of the T20 World Cup. Although the ICC provided warm-up matches, New Zealand faced logistical hurdles in assembling its entire squad in the Caribbean. Players will arrive in three batches between May 23 and June 1. Due to these challenges and the proposed location of warm-up fixtures, New Zealand decided to forgo them. Instead, they opted for additional training sessions to prepare for their opening group match against Afghanistan on June 7.
Gary Stead’s Words:
As this year, West Indies is one of the hosts of the mega tournament, the Kiwi coach Gary Stead is confident about their preparations. A number of Kiwi players like Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Daryl Mitchell, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Kane Williamson, and Glenn Phillips are playing IPL in India. Apart from that, the Kiwi player participated in the Caribbean Premier League. So they have an idea about the playing conditions. Moreover, they recently played a T20 series against Pakistan and performed really well.
After having those conditions with them, the Kiwi coach Gary Stead is confident. He said, “West Indies is a tough place to get to for a start, so it’s not easy to get everyone to Trinidad and Tobago at the same time. For us, we don’t have warm-up games. There’s a number of guys who have been in the IPL for the last two months and we’ve also recently come off the tour to Pakistan.”
Later he added, “There’s a lot of experience in the group who have played in the CPL before, so we’ll be leaning on those guys and making sure the trainings we get prior to the first game puts us in a position of where we want to be.”
On Conway and Fin Allen’s Fitness:
Conway and Finn Allen, New Zealand’s preferred opening duo, have been sidelined since February with thumb and back injuries. Coach Stead mentioned that Allen still feels some discomfort, and they plan to ramp up his training intensity during the team camp in Mount Maunganui. This strategy aims to ensure both players are fully prepared and in top form for their upcoming matches.
He said, “He is tracking nicely,” Stead said. “He’s been wicketkeeping and batting in the nets on a regular basis.”
While talking about the preparation, he said, “We’ve only got two players who haven’t been to a T20 World Cup that are in this squad,” he said. “That shows our group is experienced and they can lean back on those past experiences.”
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