New Zealanders are considered watchdogs of the tournament and they always played good and rational cricket over the years. New Zealand will kickstart their campaign on Saturday against Afghanistan in Trinidad. New Zealand came late to the party as they were the only team who hadn’t played any warm-up matches though they came a week ago. New Zealand didn’t play any warm-up matches so they are not prepared for the World Cup.
Gary Stead speaks on the preparation of New Zealand
New Zealand landed in the West Indies about a week ago some players were coming from IPL while some players went home and then joined the squad, almost traveling 16-18 hrs gets a jet lag after landing in different regions like the USA and West Indies being different time regions jet lag affects on the person’s mind and so it makes a person drowsy. New Zealand head coach Gary Stead speaks on the reasons and preparations of New Zealand in the World Cup 2024. Gary Stead says:
“You don’t always get ideal [situations] when people are coming from all over the world. And one of the things we have found here is jetlag probably hits you a little bit hard. I know several people have been up in the middle of the night, which isn’t great for your preparation, but thankfully we have enough time leading in being the 14th game of the tournament that guys can sort that out,” Gary Stead told reporters.
Gary Stead speaks on playing in different time zones
Later Gary Stead also sheds light on playing in different time regions as New Zealand will be playing the first three matches in Trinidad which will be under lights and last they will face Papua New Guinea which will be a day encounter. West Indies also have different time zones so some matches play under lights while some play in a day. Playing in such conditions and time zones will surely be a challenge for everyone to cop-up with such obstacles but need to accept the conditions so it will be a challenging World Cup for everyone. Gary Stead said:
“I do think there will be a difference between playing in the daytime and in the evening. I suspect there will be a high dew factor here to play in the evening and that’s certainly the news we are getting,” Stead said.
New Zealand are drawn alongside West Indies, Afghanistan, Uganda, and Papua New Guinea in Group C.
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