Due to their players' staggered arrival, New Zealand chose
not to play warm-up matches.
Mitchell Santner admitted that New Zealand had a "chaotic start" to
the T20 World Cup 2024. Due to logistical constraints, the squad chose extra
training sessions over an actual warm-up game, with players arriving in three
batches due to IPL commitments. However, after a few days of training in
Trinidad, Santner claimed New Zealand can "really settle in" now that
they have relocated to Guyana, where they will play their first group encounter
against Afghanistan on June 8.
"It's been a chaotic kind of start with people coming in at different
times," Santner stated. "It was good to be home for a few days before
traveling with the team to Trinidad; we had a nice little time there. One
training session was kind of rained out. "We have about a week in Guyana to
prepare for our first game."They always throw a terrific party in the West
Indies. I suppose the lack of warm-up games, as well as the fact that players
arrived at different times, made things feel warped. We're in Guyana, and the
competition starts tomorrow, so we can settle down. We can watch a little bit
of the start and then observe what the pitches will do, especially in Guyana,
and prepare accordingly for our first game."
The World Cup will be held in nine venues around the Caribbean and the United
States, with New Zealand scheduled to play one of their Group C matches in
Guyana and three in Tarouba. Santner felt there was a little bit of the
"unknown" about the competition, which included Uganda and Papua New
Guinea in addition to the West Indies and Afghanistan.
"It's clearly worthwhile to see [the first few games]. I believe that will be a prevalent theme throughout the World Cup, as different locations will play extremely differently," he remarked. "Traditionally, Guyana can be a touch slow, but Trinidad can be rather good. America is going to be different. Teams must assess and adapt fast throughout the event.
It's going to be huge. Some of these teams are relatively
unknown. We definitely know what the West Indies can do, but we're not sure
about the other guys. There will be some preparation for each game,
reconnaissance, and video stuff of what we can acquire, and we just have to stick
to what we want to do throughout the tournament - every game analyze, adjust,
and the things we talk about leading up to each game, which will be
massive."
Aside from that, New Zealand will rely on experienced players such as Kane
Williamson, James Neesham, Glenn Phillips, and Ish Sodhi, who have all played
in the Caribbean Premier League, to share their expertise on the conditions.
"As a squad, we have guys who have played a lot," Santner said. "And then there are a few guys who know these conditions." Glenn has played extensively in the CPL, as have a few other guys. Channeling that kind of information will be critical to hitting the ground running."
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