New Zealand coach Gary Stead is skeptical of making too many changes and reiterated that he will not make radical changes to his side that is currently struggling against India in the five-match ODI series.
New Zealand coach Gary Stead is skeptical of making too many changes and reiterated that he will not make radical changes to his side that is currently struggling against India in the five-match ODI series.
Stating that the Blackcaps have a plan in store, Stead maintained that the opening partnership is one area where the think tank will look to work upon.
“I hope it’s not a problem in the future. We’ve got a very clear plan of how we want to play – that won’t change,” The New Zealand Herald quoted him as saying.
“We have to recognise at the moment that the top order aren’t getting as many runs as what we’d like, but also [Mohammed] Shami and (Bhuvneshwar) Kumar have been outstanding with the new ball and really put us under pressure,” he said.
“We’ll definitely be looking at the opening positions and considering change, but I’m not 100 percent sure yet. We haven’t got other openers that are in the squad as such, but we do have other openers who could cover at short notice.”
When asked about the batting position of left-handed Tom Latham, Stead said, “Latham could open, he’s done it before, but I think the 3/4/5 [positions] is something that’s been really positive for us over the past year or so.”
“I’m loathe to make too many changes to that after just having three poorer games,” he added.
India take on New Zealand in the fourth ODI at Hamilton on Thursday.
Stating that the Blackcaps have a plan in store, Stead maintained that the opening partnership is one area where the think tank will look to work upon.
“I hope it’s not a problem in the future. We’ve got a very clear plan of how we want to play – that won’t change,” The New Zealand Herald quoted him as saying.
“We have to recognise at the moment that the top order aren’t getting as many runs as what we’d like, but also [Mohammed] Shami and (Bhuvneshwar) Kumar have been outstanding with the new ball and really put us under pressure,” he said.
“We’ll definitely be looking at the opening positions and considering change, but I’m not 100 percent sure yet. We haven’t got other openers that are in the squad as such, but we do have other openers who could cover at short notice.”
When asked about the batting position of left-handed Tom Latham, Stead said, “Latham could open, he’s done it before, but I think the 3/4/5 [positions] is something that’s been really positive for us over the past year or so.”
“I’m loathe to make too many changes to that after just having three poorer games,” he added.
India take on New Zealand in the fourth ODI at Hamilton on Thursday.