NZ v SL 2018-19: Tim Southee excited for home campaign against Sri Lanka

New Zealand’s series against Sri Lanka kick starts with the first Test on Friday.

Tim Southee excited for home campaign against Sri Lanka | Getty Images

With New Zealand returning to home action against Sri Lanka starting from Friday (December 15), paceman Tim Southee is looking forward to making the most of the seam-friendly conditions in Wellington after having the tough time on low and slow pitches in the United Arab Emirates.

In the UAE, the spinners dominated across the three games, with William Somerville and Ajaz Patel ended as the leading wicket-takers for the Black Caps, who won the Test series 2-1 against Pakistan, but the home condition will offer the opportunity to the seamers to shine against Sri Lanka in 2-Tests series.

Southee told reporters on Thursday (December 13), “It's back to familiar conditions, and somewhere that we've played very good cricket for a number of years now. It's nice to come back to conditions that we're used to. We've come from a place that wasn't easy, especially for pace bowlers. There's a bit of excitement and a spring in the step for the fast bowlers anyway.”

Meanwhile, Southee believes that the bowlers may have to work hard for their rewards at Basin Reserve, saying: “It's nice to see some grass on the wicket but we don't know what it's going to play like until we get out there. You can get in and it can be a batting paradise as well.

We've seen in the past at the Basin, that if you can get in, it's also a very good wicket to bat on. I don't think the guys will get too carried away. We've come from the UAE where there's not a lot of grass on the wicket, but here also can be very good for batting. We're going to have to be on top of our game.”

Southee signed off by saying, “I remember a couple of years ago Bangladesh scored 500-odd here. It's a strength of our side not to get carried away with conditions. We don't know what it's going to be like when we get out there. We'll try and assess the conditions as quickly as we can.”

Noteworthy, New Zealand’s Sri Lanka campaign kick start with the first Test on Friday followed by three One Day Internationals and one of T20 International at home.

(With Sportstar Inputs)

 
 

By Rashmi Nanda - 14 Dec, 2018

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