After a disappointing start to their Test Championship campaign, a 150-run loss to Bangladesh in Sylhet, New Zealand captain Tim Southee assessed the Kiwis’ performance, identifying consistency as a concern in both departments. He does anticipate a different surface that will favor spin when the two teams meet in Dhaka.
“First and foremost, there is clearly a different surface. “Once again, we’re anticipating obviously spin-friendly conditions,” said the New Zealand captain. “After the last game, we talked about being more consistent as a bowling group for a longer period of time.” Then, of course, there are partnerships as a batting unit. We’ve had a fantastic two days of training. “I’m looking forward to playing another Test match.”
Southee advised the younger crop of players who haven’t played much cricket in Asian conditions to trust their methods and focus on sustaining them for longer.
“We expected the pitch to be similar to what it was. Southee admitted, “It was a pretty good surface, and what we sort of expected in this part of the world.” “Some of the guys who haven’t played in this part of the world would have learned something from that.” And each of the guys has a different method and approach to take. It’s only a matter of faith that those methods will suffice.
“Obviously, we saw Kane’s brilliance in the way he goes about it versus the likes of Daryl Mitchell and Glenn Phillips, who go about it slightly differently.” So it’s just a matter of following your instincts and persevering.”
Southee encouraged veteran southpaw Tom Latham to come good when asked about his surprising lean run and amazing record against Bangladesh.
“I believe any player wants to go out there and perform.” “And Tom has been a great performer for us for a long time,” Southee said. “He’ll be just as hungry as always.” As with every Test match, he’s prepared meticulously and given himself the best chance of scoring runs. It’s a team he enjoys playing against and has had a lot of success against, which I’m sure he’ll look back on with fond memories and confidence given his record versus Bangladesh.”
With the towering left-armer Mitchell Santner and the prodigious Rachin Ravindra, who had a prolific World Cup, New Zealand has even more spin options, which they may use, given that the two had a long net session on the eve of the second Test.
“All fifteen (players) have a pretty good chance, they’re here, so yeah, they’ve got a good chance of playing,” Southee said cautiously. “We’ll take one last look at the wicket tomorrow morning before making a decision.” But, I suppose, because all 15 are fit, they’re accessible for selection.
“It’s about the bowling group as a whole being slightly better than we were in the first Test match and putting some pressure on.” We know that spin will be important in this region of the world. So, I believe we just need to be a little better for a little longer.”
