New Zealand’s cricket coach, Gary Stead, acknowledged that their team has endured the most challenging travel itinerary among all participants in the Champions Trophy.
Their journey began in Karachi, followed by Rawalpindi, then Dubai for a match against India, a semi-final in Lahore, and finally back to Dubai for the final.
Stead mentioned that while suggestions about India benefiting from playing all matches in one city are beyond his control, he emphasized the strain of their travel on the players.
He noted that the tight schedule, without any game cancellations due to weather, has been physically demanding.
“Traveling from Lahore to here, with a full travel day yesterday, definitely takes a bit out of you,” Stead stated. Consequently, the team opted for rest instead of training on Friday, two days before the final, to aid recovery.
Looking ahead to the final, Stead emphasized the importance of physical and mental readiness over extensive training. “It’s about getting your body and mind prepared to compete in the final. That’s our main focus for the next couple of days.”
Addressing the fact that India played all their matches in Dubai, Stead reiterated that such decisions are not within his purview. He added, “We can’t control it, so we just have to deal with it. We played one game here against India, which was useful. Ultimately, we need to perform better than them on the day, regardless of location.”
New Zealand also faces the challenge of adapting from the high-scoring pitch in Lahore to the spin-friendly Dubai surface, where lower scores have been typical. In their previous match in Dubai against India, New Zealand scored 249, and India successfully chased it down.
Stead stressed the importance of adaptability and real-time assessment of the par score in Dubai. He cautioned against assuming high scores are always achievable, especially after playing on high-scoring venues. “It’s about figuring out the right approach for the conditions and the opposition.”
He also highlighted the need for effective communication between batsmen to strategize risk-taking and build a competitive total.
