New Zealand A captain Henry Nicholls is adamant his side can be competitive in the one-day series against India A, despite his side's tough start to their tour.
The tourists were soundly beaten in two First-Class matches in Vijayawada, but a shift to a five game short-form series in Visakhapatnam has them optimistic about a change in fortune.
"It’s a different format and a new series so the way we look at it, we start nil-nil," Nicholls told a packed press conference on the eve of the series.
“It took us a while to adjust to the conditions and find our feet in the four-day games. We were comprehensively outplayed. But we still feel we are a strong competitive side.
"The challenge will be to play our best cricket from tomorrow. We’re looking forward to a tough series.”
Glenn Phillips playing for the Auckland Aces in the Ford Trophy. Image: www.photosport.nz
There's two changes to the squad with wicket-keeper batsman Glenn Philips replacing long-form specialist Jeet Raval as planned, while Auckland's Sean Solia has returned home with a hamstring injury and has been replaced by BLACKCAPS all-rounder Colin de Grandehomme.
When asked what could be expected of the ODI series, Nicholls reflected on what his side has learned from Vijayawada.
“Since we’ve been here for two weeks, now’s the chance to kick on better in the remaining half of the tour. We will be very competitive with changes in our batting order after Jeet’s (Raval) gone home. We’re looking forward to a tough series,” he said.
See New Zealand A's schedule here.
