IND vs NZ | New look ODI side not swayed by T20I defeat, reveals Tom Latham
Tom Latham, who has taken over captaincy duties in the absence of Kane Williamson, is of the opinion that the New Zealand team will perform in the upcoming ODI series without looking back at the T20I defeat. Latham also pressed that this team is not stuck on their World Cup final defeat.
As injury ruled out New Zealand’s mainstays, the hosts had to see a ton of changes in the squad. Kane Williamson’s absence meant his deputy in ODIs, Tom Latham was vested with captaincy duties. Meanwhile, the injuries of Trent Boult and Lockie Ferguson led to the inclusion of uncapped players- Tom Blundell and Kyle Jamieson are ones who don't have an ODI cap to their name. When asked about the injury woes, Latham said that the team will miss Williamson but will also make the most of the situation in hand.
“It is disappointing to lose people like Kane...But again it presents an opportunity to someone else to come in and stake a claim. Fingers crossed, he (Williamson) will back as soon as possible,” Latham said in a press conference here, on Tuesday, ahead of the three-match series.
New Zealand recently lost the T20I series 5-0 to India and will now move into a three-match ODI contest, starting February 5. However, the defeat does not sway the stand-in skipper at all. In fact, Latham is ready to move on from the World Cup final defeat which was the team’s last ODI game.
"The T20 results were disappointing for the T20 side. (But) It is nice that a slightly new group has come in for this one-day team, a few new faces and a different format. So it is important that we don't try and reinvent the wheel to try and change our style of play...Obviously it is hard but as I said there is a new group now. Fresh faces in a different format, which will pose challenges in a different way. So, fingers crossed and we can switch into One-day mode and start getting those results," he stated.
"We had guys who sat and watched it (the World Cup final) over again. It was an experience for us where we didn't quite coming out on the right side. But you know it was an unbelievable game....now for us it is important that we refocus on the job in hand. We have played India a lot over the last couple of years. So, there shouldn't be too many surprises...for us it is about trying to focus on the series rather than looking back to that World Cup game," he added.
New Zealand are battling an injury crisis, which includes regular skipper Kane Williamson. The Black Caps will, however, be rejuvenated by the inclusion of all-rounder Jimmy Neesham and Colin de Grandhomme in the ODI squad.
