- Joined
- Oct 2, 2004
- Runs
- 217,977
The last time New Zealand played in an ICC tournament, Kane Williamson’s side made it all the way to the semifinals of the ICC World T20 2016 in India. While it was the dark horse to do so, the fact that it did so undefeated from a group that also had India, Australia and Pakistan was surprising.
New Zealand proved to be the most astute reader of conditions and came away with an all-win record in the group stage, punching above its weight. The last time the team played a 50-over ICC tournament, it had gone one better, reaching the final of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015. The difference was, Brendon McCullum’s team then was expected to go deep into the tournament.
In a nutshell, that has been the difference in New Zealand sides from 2016 onwards: the absence of the talismanic McCullum. His leadership, nous and explosive batting made for a heady combination, giving New Zealand almost two players rolled into one. While it has found a more than able replacement as captain in Williamson, McCullum’s explosive power at the top has not been as easy a hole to fill.
“He's probably the most destructive batter, especially in his last couple of years in the white-ball formats,” acknowledged Williamson on Thursday (June 1), the eve of New Zealand’s opener against Australia at Edgbaston. “Not many other teams in the world had Brendon McCullum either, which was fortunate for us.
“But players move on. They retire, which is obviously what Brendon did from the international game, and your team takes a slightly different shape. I guess it's understanding that, trying to play the style that best suits the personnel that you have in the XI at the time. And that's ever changing, so you're trying to adjust as quickly as you can when you do lose players.
“It's just the nature of the beast. And I guess you need to be flexible when those changes come about. Martin Guptill is possibly our best white-ball cricketer and very destructive and playing very good cricket. Hopefully he can continue that. And a number of the other guys that have been involved in those opening partnerships are moving forward quickly with their games as well. So hopefully we can get off to a really good start tomorrow against Australia.”
How New Zealand fares at the top of the order will be crucial against an all-star Australian pace attack, where someone like James Pattinson may not even get a starting spot.
Williamson said the key to countering the threat was to play positively and focus on its own game rather than on who it was up against. “Yeah, all very good bowlers. All slightly different. But all, like I say, world-class in what they do.
“It's important that our batsmen come out, play positively. I suppose the focus is a lot more about how you want to play your cricket rather than the opposition. Especially in tournament fixtures like this, where it is pretty much a knockout form.”
Both teams have been fairly familiar with each others’ games and plans, having played each other in several Test and ODI series in the past year and a half, but Williamson said that a one-off clash like this in a tournament setting provided different challenges. “I guess we have played each other a lot, and we are fairly familiar with each other. But teams are always trying to do slightly different plans to get on top of the opposition,” he explained. “For us, it's trying to attack it as best we can. You come into these one-off clashes, they are very different, perhaps just being involved in a series.
“And you never know, there might be the odd curveball at times that people try just because there's that sort of mindset coming into a game. That's the scenario we're faced with. And it's important that we go out and be very positive tomorrow.”
One key difference from the last time the two played each other, in the Chappell-Hadlee series that New Zealand won 2-0 at home in February, is the presence of Steven Smith, the Australian captain. Smith and David Warner had both been rested then. Smith turns 28 on Friday, an age when batsmen are typically considered at or near their peak, and Williamson joked that his side wouldn’t be giving him too many presents.
“He's a world-class player, along with Davey Warner, who wasn't involved. But anytime you play Australia, whatever team they put out, they're very tough to beat,” said Williamson. “Hopefully not too many half-volleys (as a birthday present). He doesn't need any. He's scoring plenty of runs.
“It's just about trying to be as smart as we can be in the conditions that you're presented with, and I think every team tries to do that as well as they can.”
New Zealand proved to be the most astute reader of conditions and came away with an all-win record in the group stage, punching above its weight. The last time the team played a 50-over ICC tournament, it had gone one better, reaching the final of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015. The difference was, Brendon McCullum’s team then was expected to go deep into the tournament.
In a nutshell, that has been the difference in New Zealand sides from 2016 onwards: the absence of the talismanic McCullum. His leadership, nous and explosive batting made for a heady combination, giving New Zealand almost two players rolled into one. While it has found a more than able replacement as captain in Williamson, McCullum’s explosive power at the top has not been as easy a hole to fill.
“He's probably the most destructive batter, especially in his last couple of years in the white-ball formats,” acknowledged Williamson on Thursday (June 1), the eve of New Zealand’s opener against Australia at Edgbaston. “Not many other teams in the world had Brendon McCullum either, which was fortunate for us.
“But players move on. They retire, which is obviously what Brendon did from the international game, and your team takes a slightly different shape. I guess it's understanding that, trying to play the style that best suits the personnel that you have in the XI at the time. And that's ever changing, so you're trying to adjust as quickly as you can when you do lose players.
“It's just the nature of the beast. And I guess you need to be flexible when those changes come about. Martin Guptill is possibly our best white-ball cricketer and very destructive and playing very good cricket. Hopefully he can continue that. And a number of the other guys that have been involved in those opening partnerships are moving forward quickly with their games as well. So hopefully we can get off to a really good start tomorrow against Australia.”
How New Zealand fares at the top of the order will be crucial against an all-star Australian pace attack, where someone like James Pattinson may not even get a starting spot.
Williamson said the key to countering the threat was to play positively and focus on its own game rather than on who it was up against. “Yeah, all very good bowlers. All slightly different. But all, like I say, world-class in what they do.
“It's important that our batsmen come out, play positively. I suppose the focus is a lot more about how you want to play your cricket rather than the opposition. Especially in tournament fixtures like this, where it is pretty much a knockout form.”
Both teams have been fairly familiar with each others’ games and plans, having played each other in several Test and ODI series in the past year and a half, but Williamson said that a one-off clash like this in a tournament setting provided different challenges. “I guess we have played each other a lot, and we are fairly familiar with each other. But teams are always trying to do slightly different plans to get on top of the opposition,” he explained. “For us, it's trying to attack it as best we can. You come into these one-off clashes, they are very different, perhaps just being involved in a series.
“And you never know, there might be the odd curveball at times that people try just because there's that sort of mindset coming into a game. That's the scenario we're faced with. And it's important that we go out and be very positive tomorrow.”
One key difference from the last time the two played each other, in the Chappell-Hadlee series that New Zealand won 2-0 at home in February, is the presence of Steven Smith, the Australian captain. Smith and David Warner had both been rested then. Smith turns 28 on Friday, an age when batsmen are typically considered at or near their peak, and Williamson joked that his side wouldn’t be giving him too many presents.
“He's a world-class player, along with Davey Warner, who wasn't involved. But anytime you play Australia, whatever team they put out, they're very tough to beat,” said Williamson. “Hopefully not too many half-volleys (as a birthday present). He doesn't need any. He's scoring plenty of runs.
“It's just about trying to be as smart as we can be in the conditions that you're presented with, and I think every team tries to do that as well as they can.”
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