January 21, 2026 • 7 mins
The Black Caps' build up to next month's T20 World Cup continues later tonight when they take on India in the first match of a five-game T20 series against the number 1 ranked side in the world.
Rob Walter is the head coach of the Black Caps and he joined D'Arcy to discuss.
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Sports Talk podcast with Dancy Waldegrave
from News Talk ZB.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
We joined now by Rob Walter. He coached the black
Caps about to picking a five match to twenty series
against India. It's part of the warm up and it's
a brilliant build up to the T twenty World Cup. Rob,
Welcome to the show. You couldn't have played it better
than this, could you?
Speaker 3 (00:27):
Morning?
Speaker 4 (00:27):
I said no, As you say, obviously will cup in
in Sri Lanka. We started in India, so so being
in India beforehand and playing against India's is obviously the
ideal preparation.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
You look to glean whatever you can out of this.
You've found out a lot and congratulations on the ODI
series victory as well. Short of victory, which I'm sure
is right up there in your eye line, what are
the key lessons you need to pull out of these
five matches?
Speaker 4 (00:58):
Yeah, I think most importantly, you know, just to continue
being on, you know, on the way that you play
the game, and one of the things we pride ourselves
on is adaptability and so being able to adapt to conditions.
You know, you play at five different venues I think
in eleven days, so it's certainly going to have your
(01:18):
adaptability tested there in probably in more ways than one,
but so being able to just respond well to conditions,
obviously from a squad point of view, slowly, you know,
we'll get to a full complement of our of our
World Cup squad by the end of the series. So
just good game time against a very strong opposition, you know,
(01:41):
obviously current World Cup holders. So yeah, so there's I mean,
there's there's plenty there that will that will experience over
the eleven days and very specifically to the you know,
the format that we're going into the World Cup with.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
As far as Dix concerned, how much variance do you
have in these five games you were playing. What are
your expectations around what the wickets will be like?
Speaker 4 (02:03):
I mean, first and foremost, I think all the groundsmen
are trying to cred really good wickers for Tea twenty cricket.
I spoke to the grounds when yesterday and you know,
just to cause him as to what the conditions are like,
and he was very clear, and they're saying, you know,
the people are there to see runs, so that's what
he has to produce. So we expecting good, good conditions.
(02:24):
But that said, every ground will have its own little nuances.
No two decks are the same, So yeah, I think
that's all we're hoping for is we're hoping for variants,
you know, so that we can really be tested and
be prepared for everything. Obviously three of our four pool
games are in Chennai, but you know Chenno, we were
(02:45):
probably playing fresh wikers each time, and so you don't
get the same thing every time. So and then obviously
three different oppositions, so you are really excited by the
build up and what it gives us to be ready.
Speaker 2 (02:58):
You mentioned players still to join the team, players have
been selected the squad for the World Cup. Well, one
of those is Finn Allen. Then the form is in
right now. I'm sure he'd love to have him, but
ain't moving from Australia. What's the like of him actually
joining you for any of these games. He's liked to
get there for four and five, maybe just five. Where
(03:19):
is he at?
Speaker 4 (03:20):
Yeah, I mean the day line up for him to
be available for game four and five. Obviously he's played,
he's playing great cricket and he's played a lot of it,
so you know he's actual participation in those games. We'll
just check when he gets when he gets to India.
And you know, we've learned also in the past what's
important is fresh minds and fresh bodies as well as
(03:41):
being ready for conditions. So you're always sort of balancing
those and that's the way of the modern world and
modern cricket right now. So you know, we'll see where
he's at when he arrives. But I mean what we
do know is obviously he's in great touch right now
and it's playing beautifully in Australia.
Speaker 3 (03:57):
So that's a huge place.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
When you look at what you've done against India, what
the whole team has done against India in recent times,
there's going to be more than a bit of spice,
isn't there about this five match series. So you look
back onto the three Test thrashing, and then you look
back to the one dance national victory just done. There
will be energy behind that. The Indians mon't be very happy,
will they, the crowd, all the players.
Speaker 4 (04:20):
Yeah, Havan dec think there's always energy. There's never short
of energy when you play cricket in India against India.
So I mean that's there without any other things that
in beneath it. You know, you know, the Indian team
are very proud team and so you can expect them
to have.
Speaker 3 (04:38):
A great amount of intensity.
Speaker 4 (04:40):
But I think with the World Cup looming, you know,
they'll probably be their primary focus and so that will
bring its own sort of intensity to the fixture and
the five match series.
Speaker 3 (04:50):
So we are we looking forward today?
Speaker 2 (04:53):
How much have you tweaked in the build up to
this away from look same game slightly longer one days
national down to T twenty? What have you changed in
your preparation with the players?
Speaker 4 (05:04):
I mean, such as the nature of you know, the
schedules that we've only really had. We only had one
session of training yesterday and then we played today, so
you know, the fixtures of contents, but but we've played
a lot of T twny cricket, The players have played
a lot of T twenty cricket. You know. We tried
(05:24):
to keep it very simple and to reiterate those simple
points to each other so so that moving from you know,
from format to format, it doesn't feel like a huge shift. Obviously,
we we got a number of fresh new faces into
into the environment who our old experienced hands very much so,
so it's really about just getting ready acclimatizing and being
(05:49):
ready to compete today.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
You've talked about a couple of the players that haven't
made selection for the T twenty World Cup, but they
are there any way. The likes of Jacobs and Robinson
about what they need to import to this, I'm presuming
they've climbed on them because the nature of New Zealand
cricket is that any stage someone might get the nod,
So they take this for what it is and get
(06:11):
the most out of it.
Speaker 3 (06:12):
Absolutely.
Speaker 4 (06:13):
I mean, as a team, you know, we really focus
hard on trying to be where our fee and make
sure that you're looking too far ahead or spending too
far in the past. You know, they'd be just focused
specifically on each game and that if I prep an
attachment to each of those games is good, you know,
then it takes care of the long term as well.
(06:34):
So guys like you know, Bev and Robbo, for them
it's critically important from an experiential point of view and
to grow their own games. But also, as you said,
like things can happen at any stage, so for them
to be here and part of the environment and if
something had to happen, it's great to know that you
know they would be ready.
Speaker 2 (06:55):
You want to give us the skinny around who's actually
making up the eleven tomorrow morning's game. But this over
here in New Zealand, that's two thirty in the morning.
He's been selected.
Speaker 4 (07:04):
I do only get into trouble with with any of
the authorities for sending up the team in advice, So
you'll have to wait for the tusks this evening to
get that infot Yeah.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
On that, mister Welder, Thanks very much for your time,
and go well, play hard and keep away from the
sick bay, all of your players and all of your
mean let's stay Fairteke.
Speaker 3 (07:25):
Yeah, we're going to try.
Speaker 4 (07:27):
We've had we've had a time of it, so we
were hoping for fresh bodies come in the World Cups.
Speaker 3 (07:32):
Thanks for that.
Speaker 1 (07:33):
For more from Sports Talk, listen live to News Talks
it'd be from seven pm weekdays, or follow the podcast
on iHeartRadio.
You're listening to the Sports Talk podcast with Dancy Waldegrave
from News Talk ZB.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
We joined now by Rob Walter. He coached the black
Caps about to picking a five match to twenty series
against India. It's part of the warm up and it's
a brilliant build up to the T twenty World Cup. Rob,
Welcome to the show. You couldn't have played it better
than this, could you?
Speaker 3 (00:27):
Morning?
Speaker 4 (00:27):
I said no, As you say, obviously will cup in
in Sri Lanka. We started in India, so so being
in India beforehand and playing against India's is obviously the
ideal preparation.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
You look to glean whatever you can out of this.
You've found out a lot and congratulations on the ODI
series victory as well. Short of victory, which I'm sure
is right up there in your eye line, what are
the key lessons you need to pull out of these
five matches?
Speaker 4 (00:58):
Yeah, I think most importantly, you know, just to continue
being on, you know, on the way that you play
the game, and one of the things we pride ourselves
on is adaptability and so being able to adapt to conditions.
You know, you play at five different venues I think
in eleven days, so it's certainly going to have your
(01:18):
adaptability tested there in probably in more ways than one,
but so being able to just respond well to conditions,
obviously from a squad point of view, slowly, you know,
we'll get to a full complement of our of our
World Cup squad by the end of the series. So
just good game time against a very strong opposition, you know,
(01:41):
obviously current World Cup holders. So yeah, so there's I mean,
there's there's plenty there that will that will experience over
the eleven days and very specifically to the you know,
the format that we're going into the World Cup with.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
As far as Dix concerned, how much variance do you
have in these five games you were playing. What are
your expectations around what the wickets will be like?
Speaker 4 (02:03):
I mean, first and foremost, I think all the groundsmen
are trying to cred really good wickers for Tea twenty cricket.
I spoke to the grounds when yesterday and you know,
just to cause him as to what the conditions are like,
and he was very clear, and they're saying, you know,
the people are there to see runs, so that's what
he has to produce. So we expecting good, good conditions.
(02:24):
But that said, every ground will have its own little nuances.
No two decks are the same, So yeah, I think
that's all we're hoping for is we're hoping for variants,
you know, so that we can really be tested and
be prepared for everything. Obviously three of our four pool
games are in Chennai, but you know Chenno, we were
(02:45):
probably playing fresh wikers each time, and so you don't
get the same thing every time. So and then obviously
three different oppositions, so you are really excited by the
build up and what it gives us to be ready.
Speaker 2 (02:58):
You mentioned players still to join the team, players have
been selected the squad for the World Cup. Well, one
of those is Finn Allen. Then the form is in
right now. I'm sure he'd love to have him, but
ain't moving from Australia. What's the like of him actually
joining you for any of these games. He's liked to
get there for four and five, maybe just five. Where
(03:19):
is he at?
Speaker 4 (03:20):
Yeah, I mean the day line up for him to
be available for game four and five. Obviously he's played,
he's playing great cricket and he's played a lot of it,
so you know he's actual participation in those games. We'll
just check when he gets when he gets to India.
And you know, we've learned also in the past what's
important is fresh minds and fresh bodies as well as
(03:41):
being ready for conditions. So you're always sort of balancing
those and that's the way of the modern world and
modern cricket right now. So you know, we'll see where
he's at when he arrives. But I mean what we
do know is obviously he's in great touch right now
and it's playing beautifully in Australia.
Speaker 3 (03:57):
So that's a huge place.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
When you look at what you've done against India, what
the whole team has done against India in recent times,
there's going to be more than a bit of spice,
isn't there about this five match series. So you look
back onto the three Test thrashing, and then you look
back to the one dance national victory just done. There
will be energy behind that. The Indians mon't be very happy,
will they, the crowd, all the players.
Speaker 4 (04:20):
Yeah, Havan dec think there's always energy. There's never short
of energy when you play cricket in India against India.
So I mean that's there without any other things that
in beneath it. You know, you know, the Indian team
are very proud team and so you can expect them
to have.
Speaker 3 (04:38):
A great amount of intensity.
Speaker 4 (04:40):
But I think with the World Cup looming, you know,
they'll probably be their primary focus and so that will
bring its own sort of intensity to the fixture and
the five match series.
Speaker 3 (04:50):
So we are we looking forward today?
Speaker 2 (04:53):
How much have you tweaked in the build up to
this away from look same game slightly longer one days
national down to T twenty? What have you changed in
your preparation with the players?
Speaker 4 (05:04):
I mean, such as the nature of you know, the
schedules that we've only really had. We only had one
session of training yesterday and then we played today, so
you know, the fixtures of contents, but but we've played
a lot of T twny cricket, The players have played
a lot of T twenty cricket. You know. We tried
(05:24):
to keep it very simple and to reiterate those simple
points to each other so so that moving from you know,
from format to format, it doesn't feel like a huge shift. Obviously,
we we got a number of fresh new faces into
into the environment who our old experienced hands very much so,
so it's really about just getting ready acclimatizing and being
(05:49):
ready to compete today.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
You've talked about a couple of the players that haven't
made selection for the T twenty World Cup, but they
are there any way. The likes of Jacobs and Robinson
about what they need to import to this, I'm presuming
they've climbed on them because the nature of New Zealand
cricket is that any stage someone might get the nod,
So they take this for what it is and get
(06:11):
the most out of it.
Speaker 3 (06:12):
Absolutely.
Speaker 4 (06:13):
I mean, as a team, you know, we really focus
hard on trying to be where our fee and make
sure that you're looking too far ahead or spending too
far in the past. You know, they'd be just focused
specifically on each game and that if I prep an
attachment to each of those games is good, you know,
then it takes care of the long term as well.
(06:34):
So guys like you know, Bev and Robbo, for them
it's critically important from an experiential point of view and
to grow their own games. But also, as you said,
like things can happen at any stage, so for them
to be here and part of the environment and if
something had to happen, it's great to know that you
know they would be ready.
Speaker 2 (06:55):
You want to give us the skinny around who's actually
making up the eleven tomorrow morning's game. But this over
here in New Zealand, that's two thirty in the morning.
He's been selected.
Speaker 4 (07:04):
I do only get into trouble with with any of
the authorities for sending up the team in advice, So
you'll have to wait for the tusks this evening to
get that infot Yeah.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
On that, mister Welder, Thanks very much for your time,
and go well, play hard and keep away from the
sick bay, all of your players and all of your
mean let's stay Fairteke.
Speaker 3 (07:25):
Yeah, we're going to try.
Speaker 4 (07:27):
We've had we've had a time of it, so we
were hoping for fresh bodies come in the World Cups.
Speaker 3 (07:32):
Thanks for that.
Speaker 1 (07:33):
For more from Sports Talk, listen live to News Talks
it'd be from seven pm weekdays, or follow the podcast
on iHeartRadio.
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