Leading up to the ODI World Cup, New Zealand featured in two warm-up games - against Pakistan and South Africa - and scored 300-plus totals on both occasions.
The team’s opening batter Devon Conway believes that sides scoring 300-plus totals could be the norm in this edition of the ICC event, which gets underway in Ahmedabad on October 5.
“In the past two games, we played on very good surfaces. If that’s the case, then there will be 300-plus scores in the World Cup, particularly if the surfaces are good,” Conway said.
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In the first warm-up game in Hyderabad, New Zealand chased down Pakistan’s 345 quite comfortably, and continued that dominance against South Africa, scoring 321 for 6 at the Greenfield International Stadium on Monday. While the wickets were different, for the Kiwis, it was all about ‘assessing the conditions very early’
“Today, we noticed that there wasn’t as much bounce as compared to the previous wicket we played on. So, assessing early is the key, and so is building partnerships. If we excel in our partnerships, we can always make a big impact at the end of the innings as a batting group. We need to bat accordingly. If the wickets are good, we need to accept that we will catch up in the end,” Conway, who scored 78, said.
Over the next month-and-a-half, New Zealand will travel to six different cities for their games, and Conway believes that the experience of playing in the Indian Premier League will be of immense help.
“The IPL experience is going to help us a lot. Personally, getting an opportunity to rub shoulders with guys who have played so much cricket in India - like MS Dhoni, Ajinkya Rahane, Jaddu (Ravindra Jadeja) - and having conversations with these guys and how they play in different conditions in India, has been fantastic for me,” Conway, who plays for Chennai Super Kings in the franchise league, said.
“A lot of other guys who play in the IPL can take a lot of experience and a lot of confidence from playing in and around India, so it’s great for us. We will bank on that knowledge and try to capitalise that when we get there…”
Having played in different parts of India, Conway is looking forward to extensive travelling during the tournament. “It’s brilliant for us,” he said. “It’s great to play in different venues in India. We are lucky that we have got quite a bit of experience in our camp. Our guys have played in these grounds, and there’s a lot of knowledge. So, it’s fantastic that we get this opportunity to play in these grounds. Different grounds are going to throw unique challenges, so we need to adapt accordingly…”
The New Zealand team will travel to Ahmedabad on Tuesday morning and begin its campaign against England on Thursday.
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