NZ prepare for another spin test

One look at Group D and New Zealand skipper Ross Taylor would have realised straightway the challenge he and his teammates will face in this edition of the World T20 that begins on September 18.

New Zealand are placed along with former champions Pakistan and Bangladesh and both teams have world-class spinners in their ranks. Given that the wickets in Sri Lanka are likely to aid the slower bowlers, New Zealand's batsmen can expect more spin tests, similar to the ones they faced during the Test series against India which they lost 2-0. Though the five-day format is different from the Twenty20 one, the struggle of the New Zealand batsmen in the recent series means they won't have it easy in Sri Lanka too.

"We've got a tough pool in Pakistan and Bangladesh and we don't want to look too far ahead of those two matches," he said. "Twenty20 is a game where you now have to play attacking but they do have world-class spinners in their sides and we need to acknowledge that and allow our players to combat it," Taylor said.

But going into the tournament, New Zealand will be high on confidence after pulling off a thrilling one-run win over India in the second Twenty20 game in Chennai on Tuesday.

"I think it (the win) gives you a little bit of confidence but you don't want to get too carried away. It's just one win," Taylor said.

New Zealand play Australia and South Africa in two warm-up games before their tournament opener against Bangladesh on September 21.

Adjusting to humidity

New Zealand coach Mike Hesson hinted that the side would start experimenting once it was confident about its game. "It's sort of adjusting to the changing humidity, which will take a couple of days so a couple of good trainings and get ready for the warm-up game. Just making sure we give everyone some decent opportunities. Obviously, the key is once we get to the Bangladesh game, once we feel confident about our own game, we'll certainly give a number of people different opportunities," Hesson said.

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