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Everything will seem normal when the first dance of the first Twenty20 international game between the Black Caps and the West Indies is played at 7pm on Friday night.
But getting to this point, the beginning of New Zealand’s cricket summer, in a post-Covid world has been the complete opposite.
The final piece of the puzzle was completed on Thursday afternoon, when Kiwi and West Indian players who had been involved in the Indian Premier League arrived in Auckland, fresh from their 14 days of managed isolation and carefully regulated training in Christchurch.
Randy Brooks – CPL T20 / Getty Images
All-rounder Rovman Powell says the West Indies have been patient in their planning for the Twenty20 series which begins Friday.
For many of the Antilleans, Friday’s game has taken four weeks to prepare. First they had to do their 14 days in managed isolation, then they were in Queenstown, training and playing a warm-up match, and now they are in Auckland, to start a T20 series that will end at 11pm on Monday night. the second and third games at Mount Maunganui.
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That’s a long wait for not much action, especially considering that only one member of his T20 squad is also on the squad for the test series which begins in Hamilton next Thursday and concludes the following week in Wellington.
But what matters is the action, and as the Rovman Powell off-roader revealed on Thursday, the West Indies have been patiently preparing for the flurry of action ahead.
“The last few days we have come closer to playing these games,” he said.
“At first when we were in quarantine, we weren’t really focused, because it’s not good as professional cricketers to be looking a month from now and getting closer, that will take too much brain power.
“What we tried to do was have fun in our first two weeks here in New Zealand and then in the last two weeks, we have become closer and we have been specific in the things that we want to achieve in these three games.”
This series was originally intended to take place in October and serve as a final set-up before the T20 World Cup in Australia, but with that tournament postponed until 2022, it now marks the start of the two teams’ preparations for the World Cup. next October. Cup in India.
The Black Caps don’t have four T20 regulars: Captain Kane Williamson and locksmith Trent Boult, both of whom were laid off after their IPL efforts; the SUV Colin de Grandhomme, who is injured; and starting batter Colin Munro, who was not selected and will not be available for the next series, against Pakistan in December while playing in the Big Bash League.
Hannah Peters / Getty Images
Mitchell Santner was one of four Black Caps who joined the team on Thursday, fresh out of managed isolation in Christchurch.
There will be a lot of interest in how batsman Devon Conway goes, now that he’s eligible for international action after dominating domestic cricket, while goalkeeper Tim Seifert is set to land a rare run at his preferred spot at the top of the order.
After impressing in his first outings in test and one-day cricket, lanky locksmith Kyle Jamieson could make his international T20 debut, while Game 3 will be Mitchell Santner’s first as captain, an opportunity he’s eager to seize. to the max. .
“I’ve played a bit of T20 cricket now with a few different captains so it’s a great experience to be able to do this and put my spin on it,” Santner said.
“T20 cricket is quite fickle and can be quite challenging at times so I am definitely looking forward to the opportunity.
“Obviously we are looking forward to back-to-back World Cups and I suppose there will be a bit of a rotation with the test guys coming and going so I might give myself a chance in the future if the other guys aren’t available either.”
Black Caps v West Indies, Twenty20 International Series
Black caps: Tim Southee (c), Martin Guptill, Tim Seifert, Glenn Phillips, Devon Conway, Ross Taylor, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Kyle Jamieson, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Lockie Ferguson, Hamish Bennett. I only play three: Doug Bracewell, Scott Kuggeleijn and Mark Chapman replace Southee, Jamieson and Taylor, with Santner as captain.
West Indies: Kieron Pollard (c), Fabian Allen, Romario Shepherd, Sheldon Cottrell, Andre Fletcher, Shimron Hetmyer, Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Rovman Powell, Keemo Paul, Nicholas Pooran, Oshane Thomas, Hayden Walsh Jr, Kesrick Williams.
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Friday, November 27, 7:00 p.m. 1st T20 at Eden Park, Auckland
Sunday, November 29, 2:00 p.m. 2nd T20 at Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui
Monday, November 30, 7:00 p.m. 3rd T20 at Bay Oval Mount Maunganui
All matches broadcast by Spark Sport with live coverage on Things.
