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New Zealand's stand-in captain Tom Latham says his team has "put aside" memories of their 2019 World Cup final loss to England as they prepare for this year's tournament.
The dramatic nature of England’s victory at Lord’s – a nail-biting tie followed by an unprecedented super over and a last-ball run-out – will always be remembered, but for the losing team, time has passed.
Replays of Ben Stokes' batting heroics and Jos Buttler's stumping to win the trophy on boundary countback may be common in England, but Latham, one of several Kiwi survivors from that match, is focused on Thursday's curtain-raiser in Ahmedabad.
“We’ve played England a lot in a few formats over the last couple of years and it’s a question that always pops up, but I think from our point of view we’re solely focused on the job at hand,” Latham said.
“We’ve had time to certainly reflect on what a fantastic game it was four years ago and I’m sure everyone will say it’s probably one of the greatest games of cricket to be played.
“So from our point of view we’ve certainly parked that and we’re really looking forward to what the challenges present (on Thursday). To play a fantastic England side in a World Cup opener is really special so can’t get much better than that.”
Latham leads the side in the absence of Kane Williamson, the Black Caps skipper who ruptured his ACL in March. By rights, he should be nowhere near the squad but his recovery is well ahead of schedule and he is likely to be back in the side soon.
With experienced seamer Tim Southee also missing with a fractured thumb, sustained in Nottingham just a couple of weeks ago, circumstances appear to be conspiring in England’s favour.
“I guess any team that doesn’t have Kane in it is (weakened), you know,” Latham admitted. “We’d certainly be better off having him.“But I think from our point of view for him to be here, to be at the World Cup, is a testament to the work that he’s put on over the last four to five months. Fingers crossed he’s on the park sooner rather than later.
“There’s no Tim as well. It’s a bit of a day-by-day process with him in terms of what that looks like too.”
Seeing two of their modern greats on the sidelines may stack the odds against New Zealand, but they have made a habit of shrugging aside expectations and over-performing against them.
In each of the last two tournaments, they have finished as runner-up after outlasting better-fancied rivals.
“I’m sure, like most teams, we’re not necessarily focused on what people are predicting. From our point of view we’re solely focused on what we have to do,” Latham said.
“We just want to come here and play some good cricket, play our brand of cricket, and if we do that, then we know we’ll give ourselves a good chance of being there in the back end of the tournament.
“I guess Kiwis fly under the radar a little bit and go about our business in the way that we want to.”
