MATCH STORIES
Follow UsNothing can replace game time and New Zealand found that out against Afghanistan in their opening match of the T20 World Cup 2024 in Guyana. Afghanistan, who have already played at this venue in the tournament, were expected to have a slender advantage, but an undisciplined effort from the Blackcaps made things easier for them.
Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmanullah Gurbaz were in excellent form going into this game, having added 154 runs together in the previous tie. Their wickets were always going to be important for New Zealand, given the damage the opening duo can do. Kane Williamson’s men had plenty of opportunities to send both the openers back into the pavilion, but what transpired was an uninspiring performance on the field by them that allowed the Afghan openers to put on over 100 for the opening wicket and, in a way, set up a platform for their middle-order.
So, who are these culprits?
Let’s begin with Devon Conway, the designated wicketkeeper for this game. While one can perhaps forgive him for missing the ball down leg after the ball clipped the bails, he cannot be excused for fumbling one time too many. One such opportunity came in the sixth over when Gurbaz stabbed the ball to short third and set-off for a run. Conway failed to collect it after the batter was sent back, missing out on a run-out.
Conway’s last competitive game came against Australia at the fag end of February. Since then, he has been recovering from a thumb injury that made him miss the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. But here he was thrown into the deep end with the wicketkeeping gloves in a World Cup game.
As a result, he has looked less than convincing behind the wickets, with him unable to do basic things like collecting the ball cleanly, on multiple occasions.
A couple of overs before Conway’s miss, Finn Allen – another wicketkeeping option in the side – dropped a sitter at deep square-leg. It was as straightforward as it gets. It seemed as though he lost it in the lights and Zadran was given a reprieve.
There is little to no doubt that catching becomes difficult with the lights hitting your eye, and with the floodlights placed at different heights in different grounds, it becomes tough to acclimatise quickly. New Zealand did have a practice session under the lights on June 7 (Friday) just to ensure they do not miss opportunities like these, but in a crunch situation, Allen failed to deliver.
In fact, Allen too has not played a game since February and was ruled out of the Pakistan series due to a back injury, raising concerns over his fitness.
New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson too did not get many games in the IPL. He played just two of Gujarat Titans’ (GT) 14 games, with both of them coming at the start of April. He put down perhaps the toughest of the chances. Zadran mistimed the ball looking to clear mid-off. Williamson stuck his right hand out but the ball did not stick.
However, Glenn Phillips did put in a valiant effort in the deep, but his momentum carried him over the fence, much to New Zealand's agony.
Also, to add insult to injury New Zealand do not review a leg-before call against Gurbaz when he was batting on 22 off 25. Bowler Lockie Ferguson thought that it had taken an inside edge and, as a result, the captain did not go upstairs.
Jet lag an issue?
New Zealand had refused to have warm-up matches scheduled ahead of the tournament due to logistical issues. Like the Australians, a few of their players arrived in the Caribbean a tad late after spending some time at home. Add to that, incessant rain too played its part as it led to cancellations of plenty of practice sessions.
"You don't always get ideal [situations] when people are coming from all over the world," Stead said on June 4.
"And one of the things we have found here is jetlag probably hits you a little bit hard. I know a number of 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."
Despite a shoddy show on the field, the New Zealand bowlers did well to ensure that Afghanistan did not run away with the match. In fact, Rashid Khan’s men had managed just 55 in the first 10 overs, and further added 104/6 in the remaining 10.
Given what transpired for the Blackcaps on the field, they would certainly take this, but they had a chance to bowl Afghanistan out of the contest, which they did not grab onto.
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