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Ahead of their ICC Champions Trophy semifinal against South Africa, New Zealand wicketkeeper-batter Tom Latham highlighted his team's "anywhere, anytime mentality", saying that while the tournament scheduling is out of their control, their job is to turn up for their games no matter what and their focus currently remains the Proteas.
New Zealand has returned from their trip to Dubai ready to overcome whatever the Champions Trophy throws at them. Like plenty of other teams, they have been made to not only travel but also adapt to varying pitches and conditions. The slow and low deck in Dubai helped bring them unstuck last start. They were looking to reach India's total of 249 but fell 44 runs short. The task now is to adjust back to Lahore conditions in time for their semi-finals date with the Proteas on Wednesday. Speaking to the media ahead of their clash with South Africa, keeper Tom Latham wasn't in an excuse-making mood, describing his team's 'anywhere, anytime' mentality. "(The scheduling) is something that is out of our control," he said, as quoted by ICC, adding that "For us, it is about turning up at each game regardless of where it is and trying to play our best brand of cricket as best we can. So, whether it be here, whether it be in Pakistan, our focus will obviously be on South Africa." "I think we have seen throughout the games in Pakistan that towards the back end of the game, a little bit of juice settles in and sometimes can be a little bit easier. A little bit nicer to bat on potentially, so yeah, we will have to wait and see what we get, or what sort of the surface is, and go from there," he concluded. It so happens that New Zealand played South Africa at this same Lahore venue right before the Champions Trophy kicked off in the Tri-series involving Pakistan that was used as a lead-up event. They edged out the Proteas in a six-wicket win, chasing down their total of 304 with eight balls to spare. And Latham confirmed the Kiwis certainly intend to draw on that experience. "We are fortunate enough we had a Tri-series in Pakistan and against South Africa," he continued. "So, we have got a chance to look back on those experiences and give it our best in a semi-final, which is pretty cool. It's yet to be seen whether New Zealand's loss to India will dent their confidence in any way." "They have won eight of their 10 ODIs played in 2025, which included winning the lean-up Tri-Series final against Pakistan," he continued. But, of course, none of those matches had stakes and pressure as high as what Wednesday's contest brings. They will take on a South African team that has already qualified for two ICC finals in the last year - the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup decider and the ICC World Test Championship final to be played mid-year against Australia. "They have been playing some fantastic cricket," Latham continued. "They have got some match winners throughout their side and they have been playing fantastically well in these conditions. We know that there is a lot of hard work to do to get to (the final) ... we know how strong South Africa are." "They have got all bases covered in terms of batting, bowling and in the field. So, I guess you look at it, I am sure it will be a fantastic game, and I am sure both teams are really looking forward to it," he concluded. (ANI)
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