New Zealand are about to embark on a six-Test period in two months, which is unusual in two ways. Firstly, it is almost a year-long process, as they did when they became the first World Test champions in 2020 and 2021. Secondly, all the games are being played in Asia. They have not played more than three Tests in the subcontinent in a year in the past 10 years. This eight-week tour, which begins with a single game against Afghanistan on Monday, continues with two games against Sri Lanka and ends with three games against India, is essentially uncharted territory.
Kane Williamson admitted this while talking to the media on Saturday. “I know we don’t usually get a ton of Test cricket, and certainly not in this part of the country,” he said from Greater Noida.
New Zealand’s record in Asia has been disappointing, with 16 wins from 90 Tests. They have found it harder to succeed in India, with two wins from 36 Tests. Much effort is being made to improve this. The domestic team has been touring the country for quite some time. The next generation of New Zealand batsmen and bowlers have spent a lot of time trying to expand their game to thrive in situations where spin plays a big role. All-rounder Rachin Ravindra and fast bowler Ben Sears have joined the Test squad in Uttar Pradesh after a four-day training camp in Chennai with their Wellington teammates.
Williamson stressed the importance of New Zealand learning to play the game differently in Asia, noting the difficulty of playing longer forms of cricket in succession.
“I think it’s absolutely about adjusting your game,” he said. “Because we haven’t been here consistently in this format. We’ve had quite a gap of not playing here. So you’re trying to get used to it again, and in our case, our last Test match was six or eight months ago. So you’re really connecting as a team, as a red-ball group again, and trying to apply our skills and our game plan as best as we can.”
Williamson is a 100-plus Test veteran and a key member of the Fab Four, but he has yet to fully master the batting in India and Sri Lanka. In 22 innings, he has averaged 31.36 and has scored 50 or more runs on just five occasions. One of those was his debut innings in 2010, when he scored 131 off 299 balls. Since then, however, only five of his knocks have lasted more than 100 balls. The fielding skills that have set him apart and allowed him to shape New Zealand’s destiny on home soil have been severely tested by the quality of the bowling and the nature of the conditions here.
Williamson was looking forward to facing that challenge again, starting with New Zealand’s first ever Test match against Afghanistan. “It’s really important for us to grow as a unit,” he said. “It’s nice and clear how we want to play here. We always know that whenever we play in this region, it’s a little bit different from home and it’s a tough challenge. But it’s always a good experience and we know we’re playing against a really, really strong team.”
New Zealand have strengthened their short-term support staff by bringing in Sri Lankan spin legend Ranganath Herath and former India batting coach Bikram Latour as they look to improve their performance in the 2023-25 World Test Championship. They finished sixth out of nine teams in the last edition. This time around, they are third behind India and Australia.
“In some ways it’s a bit like tournament sport, isn’t it?” Williamson said. “In the Test Championship it’s played over a longer period of time but the value of the game is high. The context around Test cricket is really important with the Test Championship and there have been some really interesting games. So naturally playing six Test matches together is a big part of the Test Championship schedule and something we’re looking forward to.”
