With the T20 World Cup around the corner, New Zealand have had a forgetful outing in the T20I series against India so far, having lost the first three matches.
T20 World Cup: The Optimism
Despite the lacklustre performance, New Zealand’s bowling coach and former all-rounder, Jacob Oram, is confident of the team’s performance in the upcoming tournament.
While speaking to journalists on the eve of the fourth T20I between the two teams, Oram said, “Well, the easy answer is that we win these two games (4th and 5th T20Is) and that would be nice for the overall team confidence. I said before about guys coming back from niggles and injury layoffs, guys finding their own individual confidence, but to win games is nice.”
T20 World Cup: The Mindset
Oram said the team should now focus on the mega event, i.e., the T20 World Cup. In the words of Oram, “To sing our winning team song after a nice victory against a good side would be cool, but at the same time you’ve got to look a bit deeper than wins and losses.
“And that’s not downplaying the results here, but we’ve got to make sure that we’re looking at the longer term and the bigger picture as well. And historically New Zealand have peaked well during the ICC events.
“Despite the results (in the ongoing T20I series), if we come out better off for it, and we’re somewhere near the Super 8s in the semifinals and the final (of T20 WC), this will be a great period for us.”
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T20 World Cup: The Confidence
Oram backed its players to come good in the upcoming games while admitting that they haven’t played well asa unit. According to Oram “I think we have an ability to stay calm amidst the storm that is currently happening and I think that is part and parcel of who we are as a team and probably as New Zealanders as well. We don’t get too high or low and we know we’re not playing as well as we can.”
Oram added, “At the same time we know that this Indian team is so good. So, we’ve got to make sure that we keep our eye on the longer term. I think that’s part of the reason why we are able to peak for ICC events. And if that happens in February, March, then that’s great.”
T20 World Cup: The Inclusion
One of the reasons for Oram to be confident was the inclusion of Lockie Ferguson, who, according to Oram, will bring extra pace, which will add a new dimension to New Zealand’s bowling attack.
Oram concluded by saying, “He’ll go through a battery of tests, if you want to call it that, where he’s bowling, fielding and coming out to bowl. It almost simulates spells where he’s going up and down in his energy, and we’re hoping to have him back for the back end of the series.”
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