KARACHI
\nNew Zealand coach Gary Stead said his side will not underestimate Pakistan despite a three-nil loss to England, expecting a tight contest in two-match series.
\nSpeaking to the media persons during a press conference, Gary said that the team watched Pakistan and England series very closely and are analysing footage of three Tests as well but his side will not underestimate Pakistan.
\n\u201cWhilst it was three-nil to England, I think it was a very tight series and at times could have swung either way. We\u2019re certainly not underestimating Pakistan at all, especially in their home ground as well.\u201d
\n\u201cI think spin will take a bigger part than what we\u2019re probably used to normally but we also saw signs of reverse swing at times as well. For us, honing our skills in those areas will be very important,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cI don\u2019t think Pakistan can be beaten easily, I think there are times in Test cricket that you get a little bit of rubber, the green and things go your way. And I think maybe Pakistan haven\u2019t had that recently.\u201d
\n\u201cThey have had a few injuries to some key players in their team as well. But for us coming here, it\u2019s more focused on what we can do and what we can do well, so looking forward to the test matches that are ahead.\u201d
\n\u201cI expect they\u2019re going to be tight Test matches, hard-fought, and maybe very, very close as well. I think it\u2019s always exciting for us when you come to a new country or a different country, you have to adapt fast. And that\u2019s what we\u2019ll be trying to do,\u201d the New Zealand coach said.
\nIn response to a question, the coach said that there is still a little bit of jet lag in the group but hoped his side will adjust to the conditions quickly.
\nHe added that despite the fact that his side is out of contention to play the final of the World Test Championship, the Test series remains highly important as every test match is an important milestone.
\nOn Southee and Sodhi
\nHe also put his weight behind the new captain Tim Southee.
\n\u201cI think he will bring an aggressive nature to his style, I expect it\u2019ll be a good test for him. First up, because maybe more spinners are playing,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cIt will be a good challenge for him, but he has a great cricketing brain.\u201d
\n\u201cHe understands this team very well. And I\u2019m sure he will get the best out of the players that are around him,\u201d he said of Southee.
\nMoving on to Ish Sodhi, who has returned to the side, the coach said that the player has been in and around our test team in the past and hasn\u2019t played for some period of time.
\nDespite that, the coach noted that he\u2019s made a few changes to his action in the last 12 months. \u201cAnd we think he\u2019s probably going to be a little bit more consistent than maybe what he has been prior to that when he wasn\u2019t playing for us.\u201d
\n\u201cThe conditions that we face here are very different to what we get in New Zealand. So we picked our squad thinking that a leg spinner will be important. And we\u2019ve obviously seen Abrar and Mehmood bowling well for Pakistan in the recent test series. So that\u2019s great,\u201d he said when asked about Ish Sodhi\u2019s return to the side.
\nEngland changing face of cricket
\nWhen asked about the brand of cricket that England displayed recently, the head coach of the New Zealand side said that every team has their own way of playing but the way England played recently has changed the face of Test cricket.
\n\u201cI think the way that England are playing their cricket at the moment is probably through Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum as their coach and captain and I guess when you look at both of them, it\u2019s their natural style to play that way.\u201d
\n\u201cI think you have your own style as a team that you work out how you can best play but there\u2019s no doubt that they are changing the face of Test cricket a little bit and I think all teams will be thinking a little bit around how England play and the successes that they\u2019ve had in this past year,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cWhat England have done recently with their cricket, they played at a much faster pace. When they played the first test in Rawalpindi it looked like quite a low wicket and I think they read that and said we need to play at a faster rate there\u2019s no doubt T20 cricket has sped up scoring overall and now most cricketers that play test cricket have the ability to score at a much faster rate.\u201d
\n\u201cSo for me, it\u2019s still about finding your tempo, your style of play that suits your players the best and that\u2019s what we\u2019re all striving for as coaches, to find that and then you can get the very best out of your players,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
KARACHI New Zealand coach Gary Stead said his side will not underestimate Pakistan despite a three-nil loss to England, expecting a tight contest in two-match series. Speaking to the media persons during a press conference, Gary said that the team watched Pakistan and England series very closely and are analysing footage of three Tests as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":303194,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-303163","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n