The team also had to avoid rain since arriving in the Caribbean across various groups, but managed two full training sessions, including a central wicket scenario in the absence of a warm-up match.
“You don’t always get ideal situations when people come from all over the world,” Stead told reporters. “And one of the things we’ve found here is that jet lag can take a bit of a toll on you. A lot of people have been up in the middle of the night, so it’s not a good time to prepare, but fortunately we have plenty of time. . It’s the 14th game of the tournament so people can sort it out.”
Like many teams, there will be a nervous eye on the weather as to how rained-out matches could affect the qualifiers, and shortened matches could put the DLS in jeopardy. New Zealand also have the challenge of starting two big games against Afghanistan and West Indies, potentially their toughest group.
“It looks like the weather bomb that landed here passed us by,” Stead said. “It’s definitely a bit concerning that pool play times are so fast and you want to play every game you can.”
“We’ll get an idea of whether that helps the ball glide a little bit more. It’ll be interesting to see how that plays out after tonight,” he said. “We have tried to select a group of players who we feel are adaptable and able to adapt to different roles and situations in the game. If you look at our squad, that has been the strength of many of our players in the past: what is the par on a particular pitch?
“I think there will be a difference between playing during the day and playing in the evening. We’re expecting a higher drizzle here to play in the evening and that’s the news we’re getting.”
