New Zealand captain Tom Latham revealed that veteran fast-bowler Tim Southee available for selection in the side’s 2023 Men’s ODI World Cup clash against India at the HPCA Stadium on Sunday. Latham added that regular captain Kane Williamson is still nursing a fractured thumb and hoped for him to be fit in time
Southee had dislocated and fractured his right thumb while taking a catch during an ODI match against England on September 15. He underwent a surgery and got a plate and some screws inserted in the thumb to boost his recovery in a bid to take part in the World Cup, keeping him out of the first four games.
Williamson fractured his finger while completing a run against Bangladesh and retired hurt on 78 in what was his comeback game post an ACL surgery in right knee. “Kane’s obviously still nursing his thumb injury. It's a day-by-day process with him as well. Fingers crossed he'll be available for later on in the tournament. And in regards to Tim, he's available for selection,” said Latham in the pre-match press conference.
New Zealand have been a consistent side in ODI World Cups, entering the semi-final in 2011 before becoming runners-up in 2015 and 2019 editions. That’s not all – New Zealand also won the inaugural World Test Championship in 2021, apart from being runners-up in 2021 T20 World Cup and semi-finalists in next year’s tournament.
Latham attributed New Zealand’s consistency to being adaptable to various conditions presented to it in the competitions. “It's always been for us (that) is about trying to play our brand of cricket as best we can. For us sticking to our game plan and trying to do that for long periods of time and stay in the game for as long as possible has sort of been the key to what we've done.”
“Being adaptable is probably one of the most important things for us as a group and trying to do that as quick as possible. With this format you play everyone once which is obviously unique to 2015 where it was pool play.”
“Obviously the last two ODI World Cups have been obviously in Australia and England where conditions are reasonably similar to back home, whereas this one's obviously completely different where conditions are completely different.”
“So again, adapting as much as we can has been a massive thing that we talk about and doing that as quick as possible and if we can do that then hopefully that gives ourselves a good chance,” he added.
With India certain for a combination change post the left ankle injury to Hardik Pandya during the seven-wicket win over Bangladesh in Pune, Latham is confident the adaptability factor will help them in facing whatever eleven the hosts’ field on Sunday.
“On the Indian side, (they are) missing Hardik which is obviously a key member with the balance of their side. So for us it's just trying to adapt to their team, whatever that may be. That's out of our control, but our preparation will prepare for anyone or for all of their team who are going to play and we'll just wait and see what they come up with tomorrow.”
Men’s ODI WC: Santner has been fantastic for us, hopefully tomorrow will be no different, says Latham
In the lead-up to the 2023 Men’s ODI World Cup, many talked about the new-ball fast-bowlers will be topping the wicket-takers charts. But as the tournament approaches its half-way stage, it's New Zealand’s left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner who’s topping the charts with 11 scalps.
With an economy rate of 4.40 and a five-wicket haul, apart from recently becoming second left-arm spinner from his country after Daniel Vettori to take 100 ODI scalps, Santner has been a vital cog in New Zealand’s wheel of winning the middle-overs phase for him as both an attacker and stemmer of run-flow.
Santner is not a huge turner of the ball, but his strengths lie in subtle changes to pace and having an incredible control over the deliveries to build pressure and force a false shot from the batters. Ahead of the clash against India at Dharamshala on Sunday, a repeat of Santner’s fantastic performance in the competition is what the Blackcaps are wishing for.
“He's been a massive part of our side for many years now. I think his experience in these conditions, he's obviously played in the IPL for many years, He's been with the Chennai side for a long time so I think we've seen how adaptable he is in these conditions. He can obviously turn the ball and he's obviously got a lot of bounce as well which makes him really threatening.”
“He's been fantastic for us so far this tournament and I'm sure hopefully tomorrow will be no different. And as I said he's performed really well and in a couple of games and I'm sure he'll be looking forward to trying to repeat that,” said stand-in New Zealand captain Tom Latham in the pre-match press conference.
What has also helped Santner for excelling in the tournament has been his experience of playing in Indian conditions and adapting to various situations in whatever appearances he’s managed to get in yellow of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) during the IPL.
When New Zealand recently defeated Afghanistan in Chepauk, Santner was cheered on with vociferous support from the crowd as he took 3-39, apart from taking a one-handed sensational catch at short mid-wicket to complete Hashmatullah Shahidi’s dismissal. Latham hoped that IPL experiences of Santner and other members help in tackling India at Dharamshala.
“Again his experience is second to none. Obviously, being with Chennai for a long time, we've obviously got other guys as well that have experienced the IPL for many years. So, leaning on that experience is really important. We haven't played a lot of cricket up here in Dharamshala. Guys haven't played a lot, so for us, trying to adapt to conditions as quick as possible is going to be really important,” he concluded.
