Before New Zealand take on neighbours Australia in a Trans-Tasman finale in Dubai, head coach Gary Stead took a note of his team’s ability to handle the pressure and their bouncebackability, saying it is something to “pride ourselves” on.
The Kiwis entered their maiden T20 World Cup final on Thursday when they defeated England in Abu Dhabi in a high-pressure game. In an allround effort, the Black Caps restricted the Englishmen to 166/4 and chased down the 167-run target with five wickets intact.
“I think the never-say-die attitude is that we pride ourselves on and take things, bigger teams right down to the wire and then it’s who can hold their nerve the best as well in the most pressurised situation,”
Stead was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.
While pacers Tim Southee (1/24) and Adam Milne (1/31) put the breaks on England and kept the game within New Zealand’s reach in the first half, Daryl Mitchell (72*), Devon Conway (46) and later James Neesham (27) emerged as the batting heroes for them.
“The innings that Jimmy Neesham played put us in a position where we could genuinely win the game and then Daryl Mitchell had obviously fought throughout the innings and then him to finish it off…that was particularly pleasing as well,”
Stead said.
“I thought on the whole we actually bowled pretty well. I think there was an odd over that went for a bit of a tap, but that happens in T20 cricket and if you watch the second semi-final, the same thing happened between two quality sides. It’s really just about holding your nerve and that’s the thing that was particularly pleasing for me that we managed to do that against the pre-tournament favourites.”
Ahead of the final, New Zealand are in for a forced change to their playing XI. Conway, their wicketkeeper and one of the mainstays of the batting unit, will be missing the final versus Australia due to an injury.
Conway picked up a hand injury just after he was dismissed in the semi-final. The left-hander hurt his hands after he struck his bat in disappointment upon losing his wicket, later an X-ray revealed that he has “a break to his right hand fifth Metacarpal”.
With Conway unavailable for the final – as well as the coming tour of India – Kiwis will have to undergo a change. Middle-order bat Glenn Phillips can also keep wickets, but a back condition might again prevent him from donning the gloves. That opens up doors for Tim Seifert. However, Stead said, that will require a tweak in the batting order.
Bowling was a bit of an issue for the Kiwis in the semi-final, with their spin twins Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi proving a touch expensive. Santner was, in fact, entrusted to bowl just one over in the innings. Responding to a query around the same, Stead said it was a call taken purely on the field by skipper Kane Williamson, given that England had two left-handers in at that stage.
Stead said Santner and Sodhi have been “instrumental” to his team’s run to the final of the tournament, with them controlling the middle overs beautifully in conditions favourable to them.
“So, we’ll certainly be leaning on them in the final when the time comes around,”
he stressed.
