ICC World Cup 2019 | Not every game will see scores over 350, says Kane Williamson
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Kane Williamson has stated that not every game in this World Cup will witness scores in excess of 350 and has cautioned his side to be ready to play on scrappy surfaces too. New Zealand had a mixed run in warm-up games and will start their World Cup campaign against Sri Lanka at Cardiff today.
Given the flat nature of pitches in England, this World Cup has been widely expected to be a very high scoring affair. The series between Pakistan and the hosts prior to the start of the tournament further reinstated that. However, the story has been quite different in the two matches played thus far.
England scored 311 runs on a tough surface in the first game and in reply, South Africa were skittled out for 207. In the next match, Pakistan were bowled out by the West Indies for just 105 runs. Thus, Kane Williamson has cautioned the New Zealand batsman from expecting flat pitches and high scoring encounters every time.
“There has been a lot of talk about really high scores but I think there will be a number of games where that isn’t the case and it will require adjustment. Guys maybe will have to push harder on a particular surface on a given day, but equally it might be about adjusting to what one-day cricket used to look a little bit like. Scores that are a bit lower and much more of that scrappy type,” he said, reported AFP.
“There will not be one way to play. We know that not every game will be a 350 score, and it’s important to be made aware of that as we go throughout this tournament,” the skipper added.
Tom Latham had injured his finger in the unofficial one-dayers that New Zealand played prior to the start of the official warm-up games. The wicket-keeper batsman had to miss out the two official warm-up games and Tom Blundell played in his place. However, Latham is set to return for today’s game, as pointed out by the skipper.
“Yeah, so fairly exciting for Tom. He’s progressed nicely and will be available tomorrow, which is great news. He’s very much looking forward to that,” revealed the 28-year-old.
New Zealand had defeated Sri Lanka 3-0 in the ODI series played earlier at home. The Kiwis will have a definite advantage when they will take on the same side at their World Cup opener, however, Williamson reiterated that he will treat each opponent equally.
“I don’t know how much the past really counts for as we come into a tournament. It is on the day and we know in this competition that every team can beat any of the other teams. We are certainly treating all of our matches like that and want to bring the focus back onto the cricket we want to play,” he signed off.
