It is not that the New Zealand’s campaign of T20 World Cup has had it easy in the beginning. The coach accepts that most of his players are still acclimatizing to the time zone of Guyana, which is a common problem for teams that come from different parts of the world. This was conspicuously witnessed by players who suffered from jet lag and hence messed up their sleep patterns making them unprepared.
However, this early mishap did not nerve down Stead and company. As per Stead, the first match against Afghanistan will be played as the 14th game in the tournament to allow enough time for players to fully adjust their bodies after getting rid of jetlag.
“People don’t always get everything set up [well] when they are coming from different directions around the world. And that’s one thing we’ve noticed here is probably you know jetlag really hits you quite hard. I know there have been a number of people awake in the middle of night which doesn’t help your preparation but thankfully we still have got some good time leading into it being our 14th game so you can sort yourself out,” was Stead’s comment on ESPNcricinfo.
Additionally, heavy rain in Guyana during pre-tournament preparations has left New Zealand with only two full practice sessions. This is worrying considering how late they arrived and therefore couldn’t afford an opportunity to properly assess conditions on Guyana pitch before their first match.
Elsewhere, Stead said all 15 members were fit. This also sees explosive opener Finn Allen returning after nursing an injury he sustained during Pakistan series following a back injury he sustained earlier on in this year. Availability of Allen strengthens team batting line-up.
“He’s going really well; he’s done a full amount of training so touch wood at this stage we’re 100 percent with no injuries,” said Stread.
Speaking about his squad ahead of opening fixture, Stead said, “We’ve tried to select a group of guys who we think are adaptable and can adapt to the different roles and situations in the match. When you look at our squad it’s been the strength of a number of players in the past, working out what par is on any given pitch.”
For their opener against Afghanistan, New Zealand will surely sit back and watch how Uganda and Afghanistan play on this very same pitch in Guyana. Their analysis will help them design a game plan targeting these specific strengths or breaking any loopholes that could be spotted from this particular playing field.
