We can deal with heat — Black Sticks
The flowing delivery is the obvious one, but a low-slung two handed appeal could be an interesting study. There won’t be any surprises for the Black Sticks when they chase a third victory at the annual Azlan Shah men’s tournament in Ipoh, Malaysia from this weekend.
The extreme heat, a tropical 33C average, necessitates playing smart hockey, trying to conserve energy, and acting captain Arun Panchia reckons his players will know what to expect.
New Zealand are regular visitors to the tournament — they have won it twice, in 2012 and 2015 — and expect his team to be highly competitive.
The leadup didn’t go as well as would have been hoped, after an 8-3 tonking by the hosts in Kuala Lumpur, followed by a 3-3 draw yesterday, but getting quality games behind them won’t hurt the world No 8 side ahead of the opener against defending champions and world No 1 Australia on Saturday night.
“Traditionally the team has done well. It’s a tough competition and we’re looking forward to getting tested and playing a few different oppositions,” midfielder/defender Panchia said. “A lot of the guys have played junior tournaments in Malaysia so we know how to play in the heat and we’re a fit side.”
Panchia, with more than 200 in-
Bat raised in one hand, helmet in the other, acknowledging the crowd.
2006–) A marvellous career and great numbers, even if the connection with the public has never been what it might. Taylor has battled past the disgraceful way he was treated when stripped of the captaincy. This includes a record-laden 290 against Australia in Perth, the highest test score by an overseas player in Australia. Capable of both incandescent and prosaic innings, Taylor is also a beacon for players of Polynesian heritage.
His calling card – slogging the ball over the leg side.
ROSS TAYLOR (
ternational caps to his name, is filling in for striker Simon Child as skipper.
Child is one of a handful of players sidelined either by injury or European club commitments. Panchia had his captaincy debut in the 2-1 home series loss to Pakistan this month, where the big lesson for his players was achieving a consistent level of performance. “We need to be able to adapt throughout games, but at the same time have a consistent message through that we want to be a hardworking team, we’ve got to compete every minute and we aware of the team we’re playing, their strengths and what they’re likely to do.”
First up the Black Sticks will face their former coach Colin Batch, who resigned after the Rio Olympics to take on the Australian job.
Panchia, 27, is enjoying the extra responsibility of leadership, but says he hasn’t thought too much about it.
“My natural game is to be loud and communicate well and be organised,” he said. “I still want to play my natural game, make sure I do the right things off the field and lead by example.
“But it’s a really good group, there’s a number of guys who have been in the squad a number of years.
“With team sports nowadays you need to share that responsibility and everybody’s got to take on that leadership role in some aspect.”