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Fleming backs Blackcaps to shine in ICC Champions Trophy tilt
Stephen Foote • February 19th, 2025 11:15 am
Photo: Supplied
The Blackcaps will begin their bid for a second ICC Champions Trophy triumph on Wednesday night, when they take on reigning champions Pakistan in their tournament opener in Karachi.
Mitchell Santner's side enter the competition with wind in their sails, having reeled off three consecutive ODI wins en route to victory in last week's quickfire tri-series.
Two of those came against hosts Pakistan, a timely result for the team's confidence heading into Wednesday's opener.
Despite the late losses to injury of speedsters Lockie Ferguson and Ben Sears, former Blackcaps captain Stephen Fleming believes all of the ingredients are there for the New Zealanders to lift the title.
Given the current nature of the current global game, Fleming notes players are much more adept playing in the slower, turning conditions of the subcontinent - no longer the level of daunting proposition it once was.
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"These players now are playing and training a lot more in Asian conditions, so going over to places like Pakistan and India, Sri Lanka aren't as foreign," Fleming told Sport Nation's Scotty & Izzy.
"Rather than just coming out of a sort of a cold winter in Lincoln where the ball seems around, they're actually getting some real knowledge and an understanding of how to play in these conditions."
Pointing to the team's recent success in India with the red ball, Fleming says the Blackcaps have adapted their approach - especially with the bat - which has the 280-ODI veteran bullish about the team's chances or replicating his side's heroics in Kenya way back in 2000.
"There have been more consistent performances in the subcontinent, just because batters in particular are more comfortable playing spin and having options to score," explained Fleming, whose 16-year tenure as coach of the IPL's Chennai Super Kings has left him more familiar than most with the complexities of the pitches in that part of the world.
"You see a lot more reverse sweeping and sweeps and ability to rotate the field, and that's just confidence in being able to train in IPL conditions and in other tournaments that pop up around the world that have this kind of condition.
"I think we're a much more skilled side now
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than what we've been so that is giving certainly me confidence to compete."
But Fleming warns that in such a highly competitive field of just eight teams, victory will be decided by the finest of margins.
New Zealand are in a hotly contested group alongside Asian teams India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, but Fleming still thinks they'll still manage to emerge to the knockout round alongside the Indians.
"It's such a tight tournament, so a bad performance or a 3/30 at the top order and it's almost that tight that that could be your tournament.
"So, it's about the Blackcaps taking this confidence, and just making sure that they are in each and every game, and making sure that they keep creating the opportunities that they put the games away."
Listen to the full interview below:
