Tom Latham, who kept his cool to hammer an unbeaten 103 in 102 balls in the first ODI in Mumbai, said the two warm-up games prepared him and the team well for the ODI series.
Excerpts…
On how warm-up games helped: It was nice to have those two warm-up games beforehand, contribute in those games and start against spin. I have played in that position (No 5) before when I started playing for New Zealand. So, it’s not a position which is unfamiliar to me. It was more of a tactical shift than anything. Coming in the middle when the ball is little bit softer and playing a bit more spin. It is nice that I adapted quickly.
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On Secret of success in India: I am not too sure. We had a lot of preparation back home. Coming out of the winter and when we come to India, it is obviously a massive focus on spin. We were lucky enough to be here last year; so we knew a little bit how India played and watching them against the Australian team. So a lot of work in terms of spin and playing in the middle, and it was nice that it came off the other day.
Chances of New Zealand winning the series: We have got one more game starting tomorrow, and if we play some good cricket then hopefully we would give us a chance of winning the series.
On Scott Styris praising his ability to use the crease: I have the experience of coming over here last year, contributing and taking a bit of confidence (from those games). I have put some work in terms playing spin. On surfaces back home they were a bit drier and quite responsive to spin. So, that was part of the preparation. This series has started well and the preparations are coming off.
On employing the sweep shot: Everybody is different in the way they play spin in different conditions. I think the Indians play the different way, they are used to these conditions and they have got their game. One thing that comes to me is the ‘sweep shot’ that I have played throughout my career. It’s something that I find easier to play than hitting down the ground. The other guys may find hitting down the ground easier. It’s important to have different game plans for different conditions and try and stick to that.
On Preparing for the series in India: We had a long lay off; the Champions Trophy was our last game. A lot of work has been put behind the scenes. It’s been tough because we usually don’t step out back because of winter and some guys have been playing in different leagues around the world. So it’s slightly different preparations.
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