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There is a school of thought that Australia will be jaded by the time it hits our shores in late February. Just poring over the Australians’ schedule over the last 12 months makes one tired. But that won’t make them any easier to beat.
“There’s no such thing as a tired Australian side. They will have had a full year by the time they come here but that won’t change anything. With Ricky Ponting at the helm, they’ll be fully competitive and that will put the acid on our guys. It’s hard cricket. There’s no easy runs to be scored and you have to work hard to dismiss them.
“It’s the series you want to play in, they are the best in the world and as a player you look forward to testing yourself against the best,” says the man who relished every trans-Tasman battle from his test debut in 1997 where he audaciously lifted Shane Warne over the sightscreen to bring up his 50.
“The BLACKCAPS should be peaking at the right time of the summer so when the Aussies arrive we can give them a heck of a surprise.”
One area seldom touched upon when previewing a game which is essentially a battle between bat and ball, is that of fielding.
It is not a stretch to say the BLACKCAPS can rightly claim to be in the top two or three fielding nations in world cricket, along with Australia and South Africa.
“You only have to look at the difference in the standard of fielding in that Champions Trophy semifinal between us and Pakistan. That is one area that we’ve always prided ourselves on that we can be better than the other sides,” says McMillan.
“But we’re a good, young, fit side, so there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be like that.”
Taylor has now developed so well at first slip he is one of the best in the business in that specialist fielding position.
“He’s got a great pair of hands and he’s found his niche at first slip, continuing where Stephen Fleming left off.”
* Article courtesy of the Official New Zealand Cricket Guide.
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