New Zealand is among the last teams to begin their campaign in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024 in the United States and West Indies.
The New Zealand team is still curious about their time zones however, New Zealand coach Gary Stead believes that their late start will help the team in preparing for the matches.
The New Zealand cricket team have faced a lot of challenges in preparing for the T20 World Cup. It’s been raining cats and dogs and the team haven’t had any warm-up matches.
Moreover, they decided not to schedule the warm-up matches because some players, like Trent Boult and Lockie Ferguson, only joined the team on Sunday. Despite these challenges, they have managed to have two training sessions.
"You don't always get ideal [situations] when people are coming from all over the world," Stead told reporters. "And one of the things we have found here is jetlag probably hits you a little bit hard. I know a number of people have been up in the middle of the night, which isn't great for your preparation, but thankfully we have enough time leading in being the 14th game of the tournament that guys can sort that out."
Meanwhile, in the first two matches New Zealand will be facing Afghanistan on Saturday (June 8) and West Indies on Thursday (June 13).
Gary added that Finn Allen has recovered from his back injury because of which he was unable to play in the Pakistan tour. However, he is progressing well and has taken a full part in training.
"He's progressing well, has taken a full part in training so at this stage, touch wood, we are 100% with no injuries," he said.
Additionally, Stead and the team were interested in the Uganda and Afghanistan match on Monday evening in Guyana, as New Zealand will be playing against Afghanistan at the same place.
"We'll get an idea if that helps the ball slide on a little more…it will be interesting to see after tonight how that plays out," he said. "We've tried to select a group of guys who we think are adaptable and can adapt to the different roles and situations in the match. When you look at our squad it's been the strength of a number of players in the past, working out what par is on any given pitch.
"I do think there will be a difference between playing in the daytime and in the evening. I suspect there will be a high dew factor here to play in the evening and that's certainly the news we are getting."
