NEW DELHI:
Ian Smith
, a former cricket player for New Zealand, has questioned the team's preparedness for the
T20 World Cup
, claiming that it appeared rusty and utterly disorganised after the crushing loss to
Afghanistan
.
At Providence, Guyana, on Friday, New Zealand lost embarrassingly to Afghanistan by 84 runs in the tournament's opening match. After chasing 159, they were bowled for 75, with four wickets apiece taken by Rashid Khan and Fazalhaq Farooqi.
T20 WORLD CUP: SCHEDULE | POINTS TABLE
The West Indies will play the Kiwis in Trinidad on Wednesday; with their poor net run rate, it will be difficult for them to advance to the knockout stages.
The Kiwis are now ranked fifth and last in Group C.
"They've got to beat the West Indies, and hope that they (West Indies) get beaten by Afghanistan, because New Zealand's run rate situation is so poor - we're going to be very behind the eight ball when it comes to that," Smith, who has played 63 Tests and 98 ODIs, told Sen Radio on Monday.
"I just don't know they're going to get up to speed from the flat performance they had the other day (against Afghanistan). What kind of team are they going to pick? Are they going to make any changes? The people they bring in haven't played any cricket either," he added.
After topping the group stage of the 2022 T20 World Cup, New Zealand advanced to the semifinals thanks to strong performances from
Devon Conway
,
Kane Williamson
, and
Daryl Mitchell
, among others.
However, things are not looking good for the Kiwis, who are renowned for their work ethics and fierce spirit, with Conway rejoining the team following a protracted injury layoff and
Finn Allen
failing to live up to expectations.
Furthermore, they haven't participated in a single official warm-up game before the World Cup.
"He (Conway) looked decidedly rusty, in fact very average, he looked down on practice with the gloves on. And he's been out of form with the bat for a little while," Smith said of the top-order batter who missed the entire IPL 2024 due to injury.
"Apart from the fact that he's had injures, Conway played no cricket in the IPL even though he was contracted, and still they maintained they didn't need to have anything like a specialist wicketkeeper in this tournament."
Finn Allen went for a first-ball duck, and Conway managed just eight runs, so the Kiwis did not have the ideal start against Afghanistan in the chase.
"They missed opportunities to put pressure on Afghanistan early on, one partnership was all they needed to win the game. It was probably one of the worst performances I've seen, when you consider all aspects of the game, from a Blackcaps side that I can recall," Smith said.
"It was underdone, it was rusty, it was disorganised -- they were so far not ready it was not funny."
"Finn Allen has got a bit to prove, I've been saying this for a while -- they basically ended the career for
Martin Guptill
to make way for Allen. They couldn't pick him in the 50-over World Cup because he wasn't consistent enough at that point, and I don't see much difference between then and now," Smith added.
Smith also bemoaned the subpar fielding by the Kiwis, saying it was in stark contrast to the team that gives their all in every facet of the game.
"One thing New Zealand has always done over the years is field well as a unit. We've been able to answer (to that) pressure with some really good fielding performances, we aren't doing it at the moment.
"Here again, we start with a poor performance, and I kept going back to Kane Williamson (in the post-match interview) and he said 'we lost it in the first ten overs' because that set the tone," Smith said.
"The only way you get those things sorted is to play cricket."
(With PTI inputs)
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