New Zealand will start their Champions Trophy campaign against Australia on June 2 at Edgbaston, Birmingham.
Head coach Mike Hesson has however expressed his desire to see his side play an aggressive brand of cricket against the former champions. “You don’t want to go home feeling you haven’t fired a shot,” told the press in Birmingham on Wednesday (May 31), ahead of the clash.
New Zealand will take positives from a successful home series against Australia four months ago. They had fought aggressively, nailing the series in a two-match win against the Aussies.
“We’ve had a bit of success against Australia in the recent past and we’ll certainly draw on that. We’re pretty clear how we want to play the game. It’s up to the opposition whether they allow us to do that,” said Hesson
New Zealand won against Sri Lanka in one of the warm ups, whereas, lost to India in the other game. On the other hand, Australia’s game got washed out against Pakistan due to heavy rain. The conditions at Edgbaston will play a huge role in the game.
“The wicket is really flat, it’s a really good surface. But if you do whack it in, especially with the new ball, there was a little bit of variety in bounce, little bit two paced in nature,” he added.
Blacks pacemen Tim Southee and Trent Boult are proven performers in England, but Southee said:
“We know the conditions, but you can’t rely on that.The wickets over here are pretty good, and the bowlers are going to have to be at the very top of their game as a result.”