New Zealand train in Chennai ahead of Women's World Cup
What's the story
The reigning ICC Women's T20 World Cup champions, New Zealand, are gearing up for the upcoming ICC Women's ODI World Cup. The tournament will be held in India and Sri Lanka starting September 30. To prepare for this global event, White Ferns head coach Ben Sawyer and assistant coach Craig McMillan are overseeing a two-week training camp at the Chennai Super Kings academy in India.
Training insights
Training camp rationale
Speaking to ESPNcricinfo, Sawyer explained the rationale behind the camp, saying, "It's currently winter in New Zealand, there's no cricket and we're nearly two months out of the World Cup." He added that this preparation time in India allows them to bring seven contracted players and three potential future players. The squad includes all-rounder Jess Kerr, opener Georgia Plimmer, and all-rounder Brooke Halliday among others.
Adaptation strategies
Adapting to subcontinental conditions
New Zealand are also working on getting their players to adapt to subcontinental conditions. The management is taking advice from High Performance Sport New Zealand and Dr Kirsty Fairbairn, a dietitian who has worked with both White Ferns and Black Ferns (New Zealand's women's rugby team). Sawyer said they are trying to expose themselves as much as possible to the heat during this training camp.
Upcoming matches
Game time ahead of World Cup
As per the ICC, the training camp will include three WODIs. This will be followed by matches against England in Dubai and warm-up games ahead of the Women's Cricket World Cup. NZ will face against South Africa and India in Bengaluru. This gives New Zealand plenty of game time in subcontinental conditions before the main event. "It's hugely beneficial and even more so this year because we've had no official matches since February," Sawyer said.
Information
NZ's World Cup campaign
New Zealand will start their World Cup campaign against Australia in Indore on October 1. They will take on South Africa, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, India, and England going forward. The SL and Pakistan games will be played in Colombo.