All rounder, Scott Styris, is confident the BLACKCAPS have the firepower to win the ICC World Twenty20 but with a squad stacked full of dynamic cricketers he knows that he will have to be at his best to make the starting XI.
“We’ve got 15 strong players in this squad. Perhaps this hasn’t been the case in the past where we have relied on a few players but now we have got guys that are pushing each other for positions and you have to be playing well,” Styris said.
The Auckland Aces all rounder hasn’t featured in the national Twenty20 side in recent times but he is staking his claim for a starting berth after an outstanding HRV Cup domestic competition. He topped the Mitre 10 MVP points table after contributing 274 runs and taking 12 wickets for the Aces.
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“I personally finished the season quite nicely but I know that this is a new tournament and a new start and I would like to think that if I play well then I will be in the team as well,” he added.
Another factor in Styris’s favour is the form he showed in the 2007 ICC World Cup which was held in the West Indies. In that tournament he played 10 matches with a batting average of 83.16 and high score of 111*. He also chipped in with nine wickets at 26.88 with the slow nature of the wickets suiting his medium pace bowling.
The BLACKCAPS made the semi-final of the 2007 ICC World Twenty20 but a disappointing showing at the 2009 event saw them exit after the Super 8 stage. Styris is convinced that can be remedied when the tournament kicks off on Friday.
“We have a history of doing pretty well in global events in the last ten years or so. Again, if we play well then we are in with a chance and we are not just looking for a semi final spot, or the Super 8’s, we have a real chance to win.
“We go into this tournament with the view that we are good enough to win it and if we don’t win it then it has to be disappointing.”
