English cricketers ready for a hard time
England cricket coach Chris Silverwood had barely touched down on New Zealand soil before the inevitable question came.
In any other week, the arrival of England’s cricketers to these shores would be a leading sports story.
New Zealand and England begin their five-match T20 series in Christchurch next Friday, but over the next few days, the Rugby World Cup semifinal showdown between the two countries will dominate the headlines.
It took just two questions for new England coach Silverwood, who has taken over from World Cup winner Trevor Bayliss, to be quizzed about the much anticipated rugby clash.
‘‘I’m sure there’ll be a few conversations [about the rugby], but we’re here to concentrate on the series that’s in front of us,’’ Silverwood said. ‘‘It’s always a hard fought series when we come out to New Zealand played by two very good teams.’’
England’s squad will no doubt pile around the hotel televisions in Christchurch on Saturday. You can guarantee they’ll cop some good-natured banter from Kiwi fans leading into the game.
New Zealand cricket
supporters were left heartbroken after July’s Cricket World Cup decider, where the Black Caps missed out on the title to England on a boundary countback – following a drawn final and super over. England prevailed on the
boundary countback rule (26-17 on the day), which has since been scrapped by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
With five T20s and two tests on the schedule for this series, New Zealand won’t get a chance for
ODI redemption against England.
Winning the World Cup was a watershed moment for England’s long-suffering cricket tragics. Silverwood said they had well and truly moved on from that magical day though.
England will field a full strength test squad in New Zealand, but their 15-man T20 contingent is down on firepower with several of their top players enjoying a break following the World Cup and Ashes. World Cup stars, New Zealand-born allrounder Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Jofra Archer, Joe Root, and Jason Roy won’t be spotted in coloured clothing on the tour, but there’s still plenty of talent in the squad.