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Six Test matches in two months are what New Zealand is about to undertake. That is unusual in two ways. In 2020 and 2021, for example, they worked for nearly a full year before becoming the first World Test Champions. Furthermore, every single one of those games is in Asia. They have never participated in more than three subcontinent Tests in a single year in the previous ten years. This eight-week trip is almost unknown, beginning on Monday with the one-off match against Afghanistan, followed by two matches against Sri Lanka and three against India.
Kane Williamson acknowledged it when speaking to the media on Saturday. “You know such a volume of Test cricket that we don’t usually get, and obviously in this part of the world,” he said in Greater Noida.
With 16 wins from 90 Tests, New Zealand’s record in Asia is not very impressive. Their success rate in India is much lower, with just two victories in 36 Test matches. Much work is being done to make this better. For quite some time now, domestic teams have been travelling the nation.
The next wave of New Zealand bowlers and hitters has spent a lot of time attempting to improve their skills in order to be successful in situations where spin is really important. After spending four days in Chennai practicing with their Wellington teammates, all-arounder Rachin Ravindra and fast bowler Ben Sears arrived in Uttar Pradesh to join the Test team.
Williamson spoke on the challenge of playing long-form cricket in simply staccato bursts and emphasised the need for New Zealand to learn how to play differently in Asia.
“I think it’s absolutely about trying to adjust your game,” he said, “because we’re not here consistently in this format. We go through quite long intervals of not playing here. So you know it is trying to sort of familiarise yourself again and for us, our last Test match was sort of six or eight months ago. So you know, as a team it’s really connecting with that again as a red-ball group and looking to apply our skills, our plans as well as we can.”