Black Caps captain Mitchell Santner says his side are probably the underdogs heading into the three-match T20 series against Australia, but they are ready to put up a fight.
Speaking to media ahead of tomorrow's opening game in Wellington, Santner said it was exciting to have Australia back on New Zealand shores, and expected it to be a high-scoring, competitive series.
"We probably don’t play Australia as much as we probably should, but that trans-Tasman clash is always good fun, the crowds turn up, so I think this series will be no different," he said.
"We know looking at their squad at the moment they’re a very, very good team with all bases covered. We’ve just got to do our thing, we’ve got our plans in place.
"The team that can adapt quickly to the surface…playing the dimensions and the surface are pretty key when it comes down to it in the end.
"It’s always a pretty cool time when Aussie come over. You always want to challenge yourself against the best in the world and they’re up there for sure."
The New Zealand skipper was wary about his opposition, who are coming off a 2-1 series win over the West Indies. In particular, focus was being able to limit the hard-hitting top order of David Warner, Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh on small grounds.
"We know how good they’re going to be and how explosive their team is, so for us it’s just about staying in for as long as we can and see what happens. Finding ways to build pressure and get wickets from that is probably key.
"We want to put up a good fight this series, then we can look forward after that."
Mitchell Marsh meanwhile, had high praise for the Black Caps, and said it was going to be a tough series to win.
"I think they're a very good team and every international team is hard to beat at home. We've seen that the last time we played here and we have great respect for the Black Caps. They're a good team, great people and we're looking forward to, hopefully, a good game," Marsh said.
"I think they've got some very good players. Finn [Allen] as we've seen, his record over the last 12 months and especially at home in New Zealand, he can take the game away from you in that powerplay, so it's on us to take a few wickets in the powerplay and put them on the back foot."
New Zealand won the last meeting between the two teams, an 89-run thrashing in Sydney at the 2022 World Cup. The Black Caps also won the last series in New Zealand 3-2 in 2021.
Follow the Black Caps during New Zealand's summer of cricket on TVNZ+
SHARE ME