Unbeaten Kiwis thriving on true team effort, says Santner

The Kiwis are currently at the top of the table with 11 points from six matches, with captain Kane Williamson winning plaudits for racking up 373 runs at an average of 186.50.

Unbeaten Kiwis thriving on true team effort, says Santner

(Reuters)

But with only West Indies scoring more than 250 against New Zealand, and fast bowlers Lockie Ferguson and Trent Boult combining to take 22 wickets, Santner feels it has been an all-round effort with each member playing their part.

"You want everyone to step up at different times throughout the tournament, and I think that's what we've found so far," Santner told a news conference on Tuesday.

"We haven't relied on a few guys to do the bulk of the work, but in saying that, being on the winning side in tight encounters gives the whole squad confidence."

New Zealand's campaign has been built on a string of close wins, having edged out Bangladesh, South Africa and West Indies in tight finishes.

"You look at our side as a whole, we're quite a scrappy side, and we pride ourselves on winning those little moments, like I guess we have been, and saying that, we could have been on the other end of a couple of those games," Santner added.

A resurgent Pakistan side claimed a comfortable win over South Africa at Lord's on Sunday, and they must now beat the Kiwis at Edgbaston to keep alive their chances of qualifying for the semi-finals.

Santner said it was far from straightforward to prepare for a game against Pakistan, who also stunned pre-tournament favourites England earlier this month.

"I guess we've seen early in this tournament they've taken down big sides. They took down England and took down South Africa the other day," Santner said.

"When they're hot, they're really hot. We have to obviously find ways of trying to cool them down when they're like that."

(Reporting by Hardik Vyas in Bengaluru; Editing by Hugh Lawson)


Share

2 min read

Published

Source: Reuters


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world