Devon Conway and Kane Williamson racked up runs against South Africa. Photo / AFP
Devon Conway and Kane Williamson racked up runs against South Africa. Photo / AFP
No one can accuse the Black Caps of being underdone ahead of another major tournament.
After their preparation was criticised when crashing out of last year’s T20 World Cup, Gary Stead’s side will enjoy the perfect rehearsal for their Champions Trophy opener against Pakistan in Karachi – by playing Pakistan in Karachi.
Tonight’s tri-series final comes five days before the first fixture in the eight-team ODI event, when New Zealand will follow a clash with the hosts by taking on Bangladesh and India.
Unlike the T20 showpiece in the West Indies, where the Black Caps went without warm-up games and were initially stunned by Afghanistan, there will be little chance of surprises at the National Stadium on Wednesday night.
The tri-series finale will be the 10th ODI contested by New Zealand and Pakistan in the past two years, while they have played 15 T20s in the same timespan. All but five of those 25 fixtures were hosted on the subcontinent, with six 50-over matches played in Karachi.
“I think everyone’s pretty comfortable in the conditions here now. We’ve played a number of series here in the last couple of years,” allrounder Michael Bracewell said. “We’re excited to get started with the Champions Trophy but we’ve got a big final coming up first.”
The magnitude of that match is debatable, but there’s no doubt the visitors should know what to expect in both forthcoming encounters with Pakistan. And based on the tri-series so far – along with a high-scoring ODI World Cup in India when the ICC last prepared pitches in the region – they should expect runs to flow freely.
After the Black Caps won their two tri-series games by racking up 638 for the loss of 10 total wickets, Pakistan booked their final spot in record-setting fashion against South Africa.
Hundreds from Mohammad Rizwan and Salman Ali Agha lifted their side to their highest successful ODI chase, easing to 355-4 with an over to spare after South Africa had posted the fourth-highest total in Karachi.
Glenn Phillips smashed seven sixes against Pakistan. Photo / AFP
The Black Caps will take confidence from lofty innings already produced in this series by Kane Williamson, Glenn Phillips, Devon Conway and Daryl Mitchell. The other two spots in the top six come with a question and a concern.
Williamson reported Rachin Ravindra was “pretty chirpy” and progressing well in his recovery from the nasty head knock he suffered while fielding in the series opener against the hosts. If that changes before the tournament opener, Will Young can open alongside Conway – whom Williamson described as batting at his best.
Tom Latham is at the opposite end of the spectrum, having collected one run from four ODIs this year. But New Zealand have little choice in persevering with the veteran given he alone is trusted with keeping wicket for 50 overs.
Regardless of individual form, Williamson knows his side will head into the Champions Trophy on much firmer footing than last year’s T20 World Cup – and with a leg up on a few fellow contenders.
“It’s great to be here in Pakistan and we’ve played some really good competitive cricket,” he said. “Playing one-day cricket here when teams probably haven’t been playing a huge amount of one-day cricket, it’s nice to be doing that and trying to get as familiar as we can with our roles and how we operate as a unit.
“Having said that, we know that each game is a match in isolation, and when you come to a tournament like the Champions Trophy, with the top eight teams, anyone can beat anybody.”
Kris Shannon has been a sports journalist since 2011 and covers a variety of codes for the Herald. Reporting on Grant Elliott’s six at Eden Park in 2015 was a career highlight.
