NZ vs ENG 2018: Kane Williamson ready for a tough challenge against England

One Day series opener will be played on 25 February in Hamilton.

New Zealand gear up for the tough challenge against England at home | Getty Images

New Zealand skipper –Kane Williamson has insisted that their inconsistent show in the recently-concluded 2017–18 Trans-Tasman Tri-Series won’t dent their confidence going into the ODI series against England at home. 

The five-match ODI series is scheduled to start with the first match on 25 February in Hamilton. Besides One Dayers, the Black Caps are also slated to play two 2-day warm-ups followed by the two-match Test series against the Lions, starting from 22 March at Eden Park in Auckland.

New Zealand lost the final of the T20 International Tri-series to Australia last week in Auckland, and Williamson said the hosts are ready with their plans to continue their good run in the 50-over format.

According to a report in ESPN Cricinfo, Kane Williamson told reporters in Hamilton, "I think we park the T20 for now and focus on a lot of the good one-day cricket we've been playing. The plans are fairly different so it's important we go back to that. We know it's a tough challenge against England.”

The skipper further said, “We don't want to get too far ahead of ourselves. There's been some good one-day cricket played by our group but we do know we'll have to adapt to the opposition and the surfaces which have been different throughout each venue.”

Williamson signed off by saying, “T20 is definitely having an influence, but it's important that all of us don't get too carried away with it at times when the conditions might dictate something else. We want to play, our plans, our styles. There are a number of quality match-winning players in the English side who have been playing good cricket.

It's tough to focus on one name. The way they've been adapting to conditions, which have changed a lot, has been a real strength. So it's important we look to do that again, but at the same time we want to be fluid in how we operate in terms of guys perhaps being able to adjust to slightly different roles when that's required.”

 

 
 

By Rashmi Nanda - 24 Feb, 2018

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