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Former New Zealand and Wellington Firebirds coach Glenn Pocknall is naturally delighted with the way the Kiwis performed against England in their 2023 World Cup opener in Ahmedabad on Thursday, October 5.
The defending champions were handed an absolute hammering by Devon Conway (152*) and Rachin Ravindra (123*) as the Kiwis coasted to a nine-wicket win. However, they had some injury woes with both Lockie Ferguson and Tim Southee unavailable for the game.
The Kiwis will face India in Dharamsala on October 22, and that's a venue where the fast bowlers have found a bit of a purchase. Pocknall is hopeful that both Ferguson and Southee will be fit soon as he feels they give New Zealand that balance they need in their bowling.
Speaking exclusively to Sportskeeda, here's what Glenn Pocknall had to say about the India game:
"They (NZ) do need an extra bowler and probably a seamer to even up the balance of the side. Maybe that’s a Fergusson or Southee and that will give them great chance to compete against I strong Indian side."
Pocknall also opined that there could be an argument for having bigger squads for a crucial tournament like the World Cup. New Zealand just had 12 players to choose from in their first game with Kane Williamson also unavailable. On this, he added:
"Would make sense too, the NZ balance didn’t quite look right even though they won easily. In a long tournament, it would make sense to extend this."
Despite the lack of bowling resources, stand-in skipper Tom Latham rotated his bowlers really well and made some brilliant bowling changes, particularly the use of Glenn Phillips who picked up the big wickets of Joe Root and Moeen Ali.
Glenn Pocknall was delighted to see Latham lead so well and said:
"Latham is very experienced cricketer and like Kane, he brings an air of calmness and consistency. This leadership has allowed players to be themselves and punch high against so-called better teams."
Glenn Pocknall predicts New Zealand's World Cup chances
The Kiwis have made it to the final of the last two ODI World Cups, missing out agonizingly on winning the title four years ago. However, Glenn Pocknall believes they can go deep into the tournament once again if they are able to string together consistent performances.
On this, he stated:
"Consistency is the key for NZ to be able to get to the knockout stages. Playing good cricket as batting bowling and fielding unit and rising in those big occasions which is what they have always done at these events. Hard to measure character and resilience but those are two areas that have pulled this NZ team through in the past and they’ll need to do that again."
There's just something about New Zealand and an ICC event as they almost seem to raise their game to the next level in these tournaments. They have once again begun well and are looking like arguably the team to beat.
