Both teams had to cut short their preparations at Brian Lara Stadium ahead of Wednesday night’s Group C clash, with New Zealand having to abandon their afternoon training session an hour before the scheduled time due to “unacceptable” training kit, while heavy rain completely obliterated West Indies’ floodlit session.
The rainy season has begun in Trinidad, with the national Bureau of Meteorology issuing a yellow-level severe weather warning for Tuesday morning, indicating the possibility of thunderstorms. There was brief downpours during the New Zealand session (when the pitch was exposed) followed by longer, heavier downpours after they left. The forecast for Wednesday night is much better.
New Zealand briefly tried to use a practice strip but quickly abandoned it. “We did some good fielding drills instead because the ball was going over the surface,” said Stead. “It was considered really unacceptable to take anything out of the net… The players figured out pretty quickly that it wasn’t going to make much sense.”
“We did a good fielding drill instead because the ball was going over the surface. It was considered really unacceptable to take anything out of the net.”
Gary Stead About the shortened practice session in New Zealand
An 84-run defeat to Afghanistan in Friday’s opening match means New Zealand will be effectively – if not mathematically – eliminated from the World Cup if they lose to the West Indies. West Indies captain Powell believes his team can capitalise on New Zealand’s poor start to the tournament.
“I think if there was ever a good time to play New Zealand, it’s now,” Powell said. “As you said, they’re a little bit undercooked. The pressure is really on them because this game is going to determine whether they go on or not. But we’re not focused on New Zealand. We’re focused on what we have to do.”
“Again, the pitching wasn’t great,” Stead said. “The ball was regularly high on the neck, so we were facing more slow bowlers and pitches. We have to be in a good frame of mind mentally and prepare for this game tomorrow night.”
“If you look at the history of the stadium here… it’s definitely not about 200 wickets or anything like that. The stadium looks interesting. It’s important for us to cover our bases.”
Powell also hinted at a low-scoring game. “If it rains, it can affect the score,” he said. “If the groundsmen don’t have enough time to make a good wicket, then that’s also a problem with rain. There’s not enough time to get the sun. Hopefully tomorrow will be a very good day, weather-wise.”
“We go into every game and try to figure out what the best match-up is,” Stead said. “That comes from the data analysis and video we do when we scout. I expect there will be a few changes.” He also hinted strongly at Sodhi’s inclusion. “When you look at the West Indies team, (he) is someone who fits in well with a number of opponents.”
New Zealand’s net score against Afghanistan is quite poor and even if they win their remaining matches against West Indies, Uganda and Papua New Guinea, it may not be enough to qualify for the Super 8 depending on other results in Group C.
“We know what’s ahead of us. We have to win the three games and we have to do it well,” Stead said. “It’s still about having the belief and confidence within the group that we can go out and do this. We know the odds are against us now, but that’s the challenge. That’s the card we’ve been dealt. Now we have to go out and do a performance that we can be proud of.”
Matt Roller is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo. @mroller98
