A barrage of red-ball cricket awaits as New Zealand, Williamson hope to adjust

The Black Caps hold quite an underwhelming record in India, with just two wins in 36 Tests, but this time around, the touring side aims to play differently in the subcontinent.

FILE PHOTO: Kane Williamson waves to the crowd after the ICC Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup West Indies & USA 2024 match between New Zealand and Papua New Guinea at Brian Lara Cricket Academy on June 17, 2024 in Tarouba, Trinidad And Tobago. | Photo Credit: Getty Images

Over the next three months, New Zealand will be featuring in nine Tests, of which six will be in Asia.

The team will begin its eight-week tour to Asia with a one-off Test against Afghanistan, starting Monday, followed by contests against Sri Lanka and India.

And, to put it in the words of Kane Williamson, “it’s such a volume of Test cricket that we don’t usually get, and obviously in this part of the world.”

The Black Caps hold quite an underwhelming record in India, with just two wins in 36 Tests, but this time around, the touring side aims to play differently in the subcontinent.

While several members of the team have enough experience of playing in this part of the world, Rangana Herath and Vikram Rathour have been included as members of the coaching staff to guide the team during its long tour to India and Sri Lanka.

And, the seasoned Williamson believes that ultimately, it’s about ‘trying to adjust your game’ after long breaks. There has been no red-ball outing for the team since March this year when it suffered a 0-2 series against Australia, and that’s why, it’s important to get a hang of things and plan better.

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“We go through quite long intervals of not playing here. So it is trying to sort of familiarise yourself again and for us, our last Test match was sort of six or eight months ago. So, as a team, it’s really connecting with that again as a red-ball group and looking to apply our skills, our plans as well as we can,” he said on Saturday, after a long batting session at the Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Stadium here.

With the Greater Noida stadium hosting an international fixture after four-and-a-half years, there’s no clarity in terms of how the wicket will behave, and Williamson admits that it will be a walk into the ‘unknown’, with the spinners playing a key role.

“It’s really important that we look to grow as a unit. It’s nice and clear on how we want to play over here,” he said. “We always know that it’s a tough challenge whenever you play in these parts of the world, slightly different from back home. But you know, it’s always a great experience and playing against a really, really strong side…”

After winning the inaugural edition of the World Test Championship in 2021, New Zealand finished sixth out of nine teams last time. Even though it’s placed in the third spot - behind India and Australia - the next two series against Sri Lanka and India will be crucial in terms of marching closer to book a berth in the final, and that has kept the team going.

“In some ways it’s like a tournament sport, isn’t it?” Williamson said. “Even though it’s over a longer period of time in the Test Championship, the value of games is high. The context around Test cricket with the Test Championship is really key and it’s brought out a lot of really exciting games. And so naturally having six Test matches together is a big part of our Test Championship calendar and one that we’re excited about.”