The New Zealand men’s team features fast pace and high bounce options between Lockie Ferguson, Ben Sears and Will O’ Rourke. These are the kind of bowlers who tend to find ways to trouble batsmen on any surface they roll on.
But what if spin is what makes the difference over the course of the Champions Trophy in Pakistan and Dubai? We looked at how Asian tournaments are conducted. With a tight schedule, squares get quite worn, you end up playing with tired decks, and your average score plummets by the end of business.
New Zealand will play the tournament opener in Karachi, Rawalpindi and the final group match in Dubai. They must be prepared for whatever comes their way and have one more short, sharp three-series in Pakistan ahead of the big event. So they built a team with very versatile players.
“If we switch turns a little bit, Bracewell can bat at seventh and I can bat at eighth,” Santner said. “We have options, which is great for our team. We have raw speed, spin and we have versatile players as well.”
Santner took two wickets during this period and also struck Bracewell. Phillips sneaked in three cheap overs and conceded just 12 from those three overs. Santner compared his two off-spin options.
“They are both very good off-spinners in their own right. I think they are both different. On a wicket like that, Bracewell can get a little more bounce. Even in the three overs that GP bowled. It was good for us and Glenn has put a lot of effort into bowling in the longer format as we have seen.”
New Zealand’s usual strategy for global tournaments has been to build a team with players who can make a significant contribution at some point over the course of the campaign and they appear to be following this template again. All four of these spin bowlers are excellent fielders. Philips deserves recognition as one of the best in the world today.
Packing their XI with versatile talent also means they will have players they can call on no matter what game situation they face. Two final appearances and semi-final appearances in the last three ODI World Cups suggest that their versatility has worked for them.
“We would like to stay with the team once we have chosen, but it depends on conditions,” Santner said. “Karachi may play a lot different to Rawalpindi, who may play differently to Dubai. If you are happy with your XI due to the short nature of the tournament, you will want your XI to play in all three games. But we are open. There is change.”
Andrew Fidel Fernando is a senior writer at ESPNcricinfo. @afidelf
