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Star all-rounder Mitchell Santner admitted that New Zealand had a "chaotic start" to the T20 World Cup 2024 as the squad chose extra training sessions over an actual warm-up game due to logistical constraints and with players arriving in three batches due to Indian Premier League (IPL) commitments.
However, after a few days of training in Trinidad, Santner claimed New Zealand can "really settle in" now that they have relocated to Guyana, where they will play their first group encounter against Afghanistan on June 8. "It's been a chaotic kind of start with people coming in at different times. It was nice to get home for a few days before travelling with the team to come over here, had a nice little time in Trinidad. One training kind of got rained out. But we are here now in Guyana, a good week or so to get some good prep done for our first game," Santner said as quoted by ESPNcricinfo. "They always put on a good party in the West Indies. I guess not having any warm-up games and guys coming in at different times, it kind of felt a little distorted. We are here in Guyana, we can really settle in with the tournament starting tomorrow. We can watch a little bit of start and then see what the pitches are going to do, especially in Guyana, and do our prep accordingly for our first game," he added. The World Cup will be held in nine venues around the Caribbean and the United States, with New Zealand scheduled to play one of their Group C matches in Guyana and three in Tarouba. Santner felt there was a little bit of the "unknown" about the competition, which included Uganda and Papua New Guinea in addition to the West Indies and Afghanistan. "It's obviously good to watch [the first few games]. I think that's going to be a common theme in the World Cup, you know, different places will play very differently. Traditionally, Guyana can be a little bit slow and Trinidad can be pretty good. America is going to be different. So teams have to assess and adapt quickly throughout the whole tournament," he said. Aside from that, New Zealand will rely on experienced players such as Kane Williamson, James Neesham, Glenn Phillips, and Ish Sodhi, who have all played in the Caribbean Premier League, to share their expertise on the conditions. "As a squad, we have guys who played a lot. And then there are few guys who know these conditions. Glenn has played a lot of CPL and a few other boys as well. Channelling that kind of information is going to be big to hit the ground running," Santner said. New Zealand will start their T20 WC campaign against Afghanistan in Guyana on June 7, with further Group C contests to follow with co-hosts West Indies, Uganda and Papua New Guinea. New Zealand Squad: Kane Williamson (C), Finn Allen, Trent Boult, Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi and Tim Southee. Travelling Reserve: Ben Sears. (ANI)
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