New Zealand’s flamboyant all-rounder James Neesham along with Mitchell Santner will have to play effective cameos for the teams at the back end of the innings. James Neesham can be used as a pinch hitter as well and the left-handed batter has got a wide range of shots and can surprise the opponent.
New Zealand would be banking on the elegant left-handed batter Devon Conway as the left-handed batter will have to do the bulk of scoring in the absence of Martin Guptill. Devon Conway will have to make sure that he lays the foundation for the rest of the batters.
There’s certainly huge motivation from the guys to win ODI WC 2023- James Neesham
James Neesham was having an interaction with BBC and stated that the group of players is excited to perform well in ODI WC 2023. James Neesham pointed out that Trent Boult has talked about 2019 WC and said that the tournament has come off pretty quickly after 2019.
“I think it’s motivated all of us. Trent (Boult) has talked about it as well, around a few of the guys back then talking about giving it one more crack in four years’ time. It’s come around pretty quickly, really, with all the events since 2019 in the world,” said James Neesham.
“We’ve got that generation from 30 to 35 years old. We’ve all played a huge amount over the last 10-12 years and there’s certainly huge motivation from the guys to give it one last, good crack,” he added.
Great chance for New Zealand
New Zealand fans would be hoping that the skipper Kane Williamson is fit & available for the selection. The batter can be seen in the nets but still there is cloud over his fitness after sustaining a severe knee injury during the opening match of IPL 2023.
The Black caps will have to manage the workload of Trent Boult & Tim Southee, the senior pacers in the line up. All eyes will be on Boult who made a lot of headlines after rejecting the central contract. It won’t be wrong to say that Kiwis might adopt split captaincy as Tom Latham would lead the side for some part of the tournament.