Ian Smith lashes out at New Zealand after getting thwacked by Afghanistan. “New Zealand’s run rate situation is so poor we’re going to be very behind the eight ball,” Smith stated.
In New Zealand’s first T20 World Cup 2024 match, Afghanistan prevailed. Afghanistan was asked to bat first after the Kiwis won the toss and they managed a respectable 159 runs on a slow pitch. The Kiwis looked nervous when chasing and lost with only 75 runs. Ian Smith, a former cricket player for New Zealand, has been harsh on the Kiwis, criticizing their sloppy and outdated style of play.
Aside from Glenn Phillips and Matt Henry, who each scored 18 and 12 runs, no batter reached double figures. Fazalhaq Farooqi was all over the Kiwi hitters, taking four wickets and conceding only 17 runs. Only five boundaries and one maximum were recorded during the entire chase. Smith remarked that New Zealand’s administration had no cricket experience.
“They’ve got to beat the West Indies, and hope that they (West Indies) get beaten by Afghanistan, because New Zealand’s run rate situation is so poor we’re going to be very behind the eight ball when it comes to that,” Smith was cited as saying by TOI.
“I’m not sure they’ll get back on track after their poor showing against Afghanistan the other day. What kind of team will they pick? Will they make any changes? “The people they bring in have never played cricket either,” he remarked.
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Devon Conway looked decidedly rusty: Smith
Devon Conway returned to the New Zealand playing XI for the first game after recovering from a finger injury. Conway has been out of cricket for a long, missing the Chennai Super Kings’ Indian Premier League 2024 season. Smith analyzed how the wicketkeeper-batsman was rusty and out of touch as he scored only eight runs against ten balls when opening.
“He (Conway) appeared decidedly rusty, in fact very average; he looked down on practice with the gloves on.” And he has been out of form with the bat for a long. Aside from his injuries, Conway did not play any cricket in the IPL despite being contracted, and they insisted that they did not require a specialist wicketkeeper in this event,” Smith said.
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