Southee's mixed feelings for rare Eden Park outing

By Kris Shannon

Facing the team who ended their last title tilt is an ideal way for the Black Caps to begin another World Cup year.

Playing that match at Eden Park, and dealing with the peculiarities those dimensions bring, is perhaps less fitting ahead of the T20 showpiece.

But Tim Southee knows more than most the fickle nature of the shortest form — a reduction in overs increasing the unexpected — and in that regard a rare encounter in Auckland is perfect preparation ahead of a step into the unknown.

The first of a five-match T20 series against Pakistan on Friday night will be the Black Caps’ fifth outing at Eden Park in three years, their first since a super-over defeat by Sri Lanka last April.

Southee, who is three scalps away from becoming the first bowler to take 150 wickets in T20 internationals, expressed some ambivalence about the venue, a hot day better spent near the beach than the misshapen concrete jungle in Kingsland.

“We’re very fortunate to have some beautiful cricket grounds around the country — purpose-built cricket grounds — and it’s always nice to see those grassy banks full,” he said.

“This being our biggest sporting stadium, when you play in front of a packed Eden Park it’s pretty special. We’ve had some amazing games here across all three formats. It’s always nice when you have a packed house here.”

The game begins a steady diet of T20 cricket that culminates with the World Cup in June, when New Zealand will initially be based in the West Indies and contesting a pool featuring the hosts, Afghanistan, Papua New Guinea and Uganda, who booked their ticket by beating Zimbabwe.

Southee acknowledged “there’s a couple of sides we don’t know too much about” in what will be an extended tournament, but the Black Caps will be confident of sealing a top-two spot and progressing to the last eight.

Friday’s opponents, though, are ones with whom they have great familiarity. Pakistan eased to a seven-wicket win when the sides met in the semifinals of the 2022 World Cup in Sydney, following that victory with a drawn series in the subcontinent.

It will be an imposing challenge for New Zealand’s bowlers in particular, with Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam ranked among the world’s top five batters and likely salivating at the sight of those straight boundaries.

“It’s always a tough one at Eden Park,” Southee said. “You expect high-scoring games, and as a bowler it’s always a challenge and something you look forward to as well because it’s such a unique ground and the wicket’s usually pretty good.

“Pakistan’s a great side. We had a World Cup semifinal against them at the last T20 World Cup and we’ve played a lot against them since, in their conditions in particular. So it’ll be great to see them in these conditions.

“They’re an exciting side with some great bowlers and really destructive batters, so it should be a cracking series.”

The hosts being near full strength will enhance that possibility, though fans may be dismayed to be denied a chance to see the resting Rachin Ravindra.

Competition among the top order is tight, with opener and wicketkeeper Tim Seifert set to miss out on Friday after Devon Conway returned to the squad, but Ravindra remains in contention for the apex of this year’s international calendar.

Black Caps T20 squad to play Pakistan:
Kane Williamson (c) (games 1, 2, 4 & 5), Finn Allen, Mark Chapman, Josh Clarkson (game 3), Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson (games 3, 4 & 5), Matt Henry, Adam Milne, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Ben Sears (games 1 & 2), Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee.

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission