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Sport Nation
'This guy's winning them for fun': Ian Smith credits Santner's leadership for Blackcaps' success
Sport Nation • February 20th, 2025 2:30 pm
Photo: Supplied
The Blackcaps made an emphatic statement in their Champions Trophy opener against Pakistan overnight Thursday (NZ time), closing out a comprehensive 60-run win in Karachi.
Asked to bat first, Gary Stead's men piled on the runs courtesy of centuries to Will Young and Tom Latham, before putting the clamps on early with the ball in a contest where the hosts never looked likely.
It was New Zealand's third win over Pakistan in the last fortnight, having taken them out twice during their tri-series in what proved the ideal warm-up for the tournament.
According to renowned commentator and Sport Nation host Ian Smith, that level of impeccable preparation was the key to the team's well-rounded performance.
Smith says that opportunity to adjust to local conditions was a critical component to the Blackcaps' success - in stark contrast to their disastrous T20 World Cup campaign, where the lack of quality warm-up was brutally exposed.
"That tri-series did our team a world of good," Smith told Sport Nation's Scotty & Izzy from Karachi.
"To come over here in match play conditions against Pakistan and South Africa and mop them up was good because everyone played their part, everyone got confidence in the conditions.
"It was the total opposite to what we experienced 12 months ago in that T20 World Cup in the West Indies where we had no preparation, no game time, went in fresh and got absolutely done.
"I think that's the first thing we discovered. Preparation makes for a good performance."
Sumo is backing Blackcaps to win Champions Trophy | Scotty & Izzy
Also critical to the Blackcaps victory - yet again - was captain Mitchell Santner, whose off-spin artistry helped pile the scoreboard pressure on the Pakistan batters.
Santner finished with an equal team-high of three wickets on the day, including the prized scalp of masterblaster Babar Azam.
A self-confessed former Santner skeptic, Smith admits he's been impressed with the new white-ball captain's calm approach at the helm - which is clearly paying dividends.
Since taking the reins as full-time captain of the ODI and T20 sides, Santner has compiled an early record of eight wins and just two losses from his first 10 outings.
Santner's heroics with the red-ball in India won Smith over, and his leadership of the side since taking the reins - particularly in Pakistan, where Smith has first-hand experience of how tough it is to win - has consolidated that change of tune.
"Mitch Santner is proving to be quite the leader," Smith said.
"I've been a critic of Mitch, in Test cricket in particular. He proved me wrong on the tour of India. He played well at home again. But I don't know if I believed he'd be an outstanding inspirational leader.
"He's the most amazing sort of layback guy I think I've ever seen in interviews. You can't get much out of him. He's just so damn calm about everything.
"And he doesn't go over the top about a win like that even. I've toured Pakistan in 1984 and 1990. If we didn't get beaten by too much, we were happy. This guy's winning them for fun."
The Blackcaps' campaign resumes on Monday night against Bangladesh, before rounding out group play against India the following Sunday.
Listen to the full interview below:
