Cricket: Our plans will avoid burnout - Ross Taylor

Reporter·NZ Herald·

14 Jan, 2015 04:00 PM5 mins to read

Key batsman Ross Taylor is not fazed by New Zealand's extended build-up to the World Cup. Photo / Mark Mitchell

New Zealand will play more matches between today and the start of the World Cup than any other country bound for the Big Show next month.

But while former captain and batting great Martin Crowe believes guarding against exhaustion is paramount, senior New Zealand and Sri Lankan players are comfortable with the leadup plans for their teams.

New Zealand have six more ODIs against Sri Lanka, followed by two against Pakistan at the end of this month, then two official warm-up games before the opening World Cup game against the Sri Lankans in Christchurch on February 14.

Those 10 games - two more than the next busiest, Sri Lanka - plus nine more if they are to make the final in Melbourne on March 29, make them potentially vulnerable to tiredness without careful man management. New Zealand team officials are particularly conscious of that element.

Sri Lanka have the New Zealand series, plus a couple of games against South Africa and Zimbabwe left.

New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor didn't dispute Crowe's point - "this is my only concern as I assess their chances", Crowe wrote in a column - but believed New Zealand's management of players would protect them against the risk of burnout.

"It's busy, but every other nation is pretty busy as well," Taylor said yesterday.

"The way Hess [coach Mike Hesson] and Brendon [captain McCullum] are wanting to rest players at different times [is good].

"Bowlers will be rotated and, as long as you're winning games, it doesn't matter if you're playing or not."

Taylor also said the style New Zealand want to play was well known. There was no new approach to be put though a trial-and-error period. It was a case of tuning their plans rather than learning new lines.

"We know that what we want to play in New Zealand has been successful over the last little while. If we keep to that blueprint, then I'm sure the team will be confident and put in good performances."

As for himself, "I just love playing," he said. "Any longer than a week off and you start to get rusty."

Sri Lanka's situation is slightly different. Their priority is getting their players attuned to New Zealand conditions. They have World Cup pool games in Christchurch, Dunedin and Wellington, as well as trips across the Tasman for matches in Melbourne, Sydney and Hobart.

"I think the more you play, the better," captain Angelo Mathews said.

"It's good experience for us, especially in these [New Zealand] conditions.

"We play a lot in the subcontinent, where conditions are a lot different than this. You have to manage work-loads of fast bowlers, especially, and keep them fit until the end of the World Cup. That is the main concern."

There's a growing wave of optimism about New Zealand's prospects in the World Cup, largely based on their test form of late, with a feeling this group of players are equipped to go deep into the tournament.

Taylor said all that, while pleasing to hear, did not affect the way the players went about their business.

"No, I don't think so. You feel the hype starting to gather for the World Cup, with the way the public are getting in behind us, and who you talk to at the petrol station or supermarket.

"If you ask me that question going into the Cup, I might have a different answer, but now I'm just trying to get better, score as many runs as I can and get the confidence up."

Bangladesh, Zimbabwe and the United Arab Emirates have the skinniest preparation, with two matches apiece.