Time to get out the magenta kit! New Zealand’s WHITE FERNS rev up for the first T20 International of the New Zealand summer — and their first since their exciting 2016 World Twenty20.
The form is looking good for a big-hitting bonanza when they meet Pakistan Women in the one-off match this Monday afternoon. After a diet of 50-over cricket in the last two months, our WHITE FERNS have taken 10 wins from 12 matches — but coach Haidee Tiffen is wary of the need to nail what’s effectively a one-game Series at Nelson’s Saxton Oval in the sole T20.
“A one-off game is always do or die,” she warns. “There are no second chances. So, whilst we do have good momentum from our 5-0 ODI Series win, it’s important to switch our focus effectively. The danger is that we can play across the line a little bit too much when we turn our mindset to T20. But it’s still about building partnerships. It’s still about the players playing to their individual strengths, to their individual game plans.”
Words of caution — even despite the batting averages that have gone through the roof in the just-completed ODI Series. Which begs the question — if the likes of Katey Martin, Suzie Bates and Amy Satterthwaite have been this destructive in their One-Day kit, how explosive will their brand of Twenty20 be?
Pakistan, meanwhile, has shown in the ODI Series that their own batting stocks are growing nicely, thanks: the top order, in particular, is no pushover. So it should be another very watchable contest.
“They have come out right from ball one with positive intent and put us under pressure,” Tiffen says. “And apart from the first game — which they quickly learnt from, we have struggled to get early wickets against them.”
The small stature of the opposition’s spinners has also required a little getting used to, the low release point and flatter trajectory of the likes of off-spinner Nida Dar requiring some adjustment.
“So we just have have to be on our game and focus on what we need to do in order to be successful in this T20 at Saxton Oval.”
Sunny Nelson has lived up to its moniker all week and Tiffen is expecting another blast of sunshine for the free entry Series finale.
“With the 3pm start time, the deck could be a touch slower, if anything — but as long as bowlers focus on their consistency, I think we should go well tomorrow.”
Pakistan has still never beaten the WHITE FERNS in a One-Day International, while in the Twenty20 arena the teams, until now, have only ever met each other at World Twenty20 tournaments — the WHITE FERNS having won convincingly on both occasions.
The two teams first met in 2010 at that year’s tournament in the Caribbean, and again four years later at the next tournament in Bangladesh.
So, this is effectively the first ever bilateral Twenty20 Series between the two nations — with just one chance to come out on the right side of history.
WHAT: Twenty20 International, New Zealand WHITE FERNS v Pakistan
WHEN: 3pm, Monday 21 November 2016
WHERE: Saxton Oval, Stoke, Nelson
