If you listen to the man on the street then you’ll be left in no doubt that the BLACKCAPS are going to walk all over Zimbabwe in the first ODI at Dunedin on Friday.
Stand-in captain Brendon McCullum doesn’t see it quite the same way, but is confident all the same of the BLACKCAPS being successful should they stay focussed.
“We know we can be good in this format, we just have to execute given the opportunity,” said McCullum.
“We’re enjoying the ride of finally being able to put some wins together, but complacency is certainly not an issue.”
That’s despite the wave that the BLACKCAPS are currently riding after three Test victories in four matches. McCullum however doesn’t believe that New Zealand is in any position to get cocky yet, as he reminded the team at University Oval today.
“We haven’t won enough games to be complacent. Wrighty wouldn’t let that sneak into the team.”
Two players who certainly won’t be going in lacking motivation will be debutants Andrew Ellis and Tom Latham. While there is one still to be dropped from the team of 12 that was named today, McCullum says both new-comers are expected to play.
“Tom will probably bat around four or five and Andy Ellis will get a run as well. We’ll be looking to bat him at around eight and obviously bowl a few overs through the middle.”
McCullum says there’s never been a better time to enter the BLACKCAPS squad claiming the feeling around training has never been better.
“These guys are coming into an environment where there’s some confidence and momentum.
“There’s a really good feeling amongst the camp at the moment and we’ve just got to make sure that we harness that and we direct that in the right areas.”
On a personal note McCullum said that he would be batting at number three tomorrow, but was most excited about the prospect of playing in front of his home crowd.
“Obviously I love playing down here and managed to captain the Otago team in the HRV series as well, so I have some experience down here as of late.”
Playing in front of his home province, by his brother Nathan and leading a New Zealand team high on confidence, McCullum’s expectations are simple, but great.
“We win this series and we win it well.”
Funnily enough that’s the same as the rest of New Zealand’s expectations.
BLACKCAPS 12 to play Zimbabwe:
Brendon McCullum (c) – Otago Volts
Doug Bracewell – Central Stags
DeanBrownlie – Canterbury Wizards
Andrew Ellis – Canterbury Wizards
Martin Guptill – Auckland Aces
Tom Latham – Cantebury Wizards
Nathan McCullum – Otago Volts
Kyle Mills – Auckland Aces
Rob Nicol – Canterbury Wizards
Jacob Oram – Central Stags
Tim Southee – Northern Knights
Kane Williamson – Northern Knights
