New Zealand head of cricket Gary Stead on Champions League final against India

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New Zealand head of cricket Gary Stead on Champions League final against India  07/03/2025  ICC25 Champions Trophy final

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00:00Matt Henry obviously landed on his shoulder and it was pretty uncomfortable. I guess the

00:06positive thing from our perspective is he got back out there to bowl. We've had some

00:11scans and stuff done on him and we're going to give him every chance to be playing in

00:14this match. Still a little bit unknown at this stage. He's obviously pretty sore just

00:20from landing on the point of his shoulder but hopeful he will be OK. Around Varun, he's

00:27obviously a very good bowler. He bowled very well. We'll have a look at the pitch conditions

00:31down there as well and see what the effect is that he may have on the game as well. We

00:39certainly expect him to play after getting 5-42 against us in the last game. We'll be

00:45planning our intentions around that as well.

00:48Gary, do you guys think Varun Chakravorty is more dangerous under the lights than in

00:57the daylight?

00:58Gary, my question was, was Varun Chakravorty or is Varun Chakravorty more dangerous under

01:10the lights than in the daylight?

01:13I think when you have a wrist spinner like that that's bowling, you're looking for cues

01:20as a batsman. I think it's always a little bit easier when you're in the daylight to

01:25see those things. There's no doubt he's a class bowler. He obviously showed his skills

01:31against us last time. He's a big, big threat in the game. We'll be putting our thinking

01:36caps on around how we nullify that and how we can still score runs against him.

01:42A word on Rachin Rabindranath, the way he's shaping up?

01:46Rachin had that nasty blow in his head in Lahore when we played there, but he's come

01:54back and shown his class. We're very lucky to have him in our side. He's one of those

02:01batsmen that seems to be able to score at a runner ball without particularly trying

02:05that hard. I think coupled with that is his ability to bowl some left-arm spin as well.

02:11He's a really important player in our team. I know he's really looking forward to what's

02:17ahead that's coming up on Sunday.

02:19The entire narrative in this tournament has been about India getting the advantage of

02:25playing all matches in Dubai. Do you think in that context, New Zealand at least, that

02:31you have played 100 overs match there, some advantage there at least, having known a fair

02:35idea of what the pitch would behave like, the centre plot, any pitch on the centre plot?

02:39The decision around that is out of our hands, so it's not something we worry about too much.

02:44India have got to play all their games here in Dubai, but as you said, we have had a game

02:49here and we'll learn very quickly from that experience there as well. When you come to

02:55this stage of the tournament, we've had eight teams here at the start, we're down to two

02:59now. It's always exciting to be in this situation. From our perspective, it just comes to a one-off

03:04game now. If we're good enough to beat India on Sunday, then I'm sure we'll be very, very

03:08happy.

03:09Kane Williamson has also been in superb form. Do you expect him to fire again in the final?

03:20Is he planning something ahead? You've had a couple of ODI retirements.

03:27I'm not sure about that with Kane, but look, he's a guy that rises for the big occasion

03:33and he's done it many, many times for New Zealand in the past. Look, cricket's a game

03:38where runs aren't guaranteed, but I know that Kane will be doing everything he can

03:43to prepare to score well. He's one of those unique individuals, I think, around the world

03:48that has that ability to adapt to different services and he seems to be able to do that

03:52faster than many other players. Fingers crossed from our perspective that Kane has a big day,

03:58but look, I think from our perspective, we've got 11 guys in the team that we think all

04:03deserve to be there, or 15 in our squad that all have a right to be in the starting line-up

04:08as well. But with Kane, look, he's a special player for us and again, we're thankful to

04:14have him in our squad.

04:15Coach, three days before the game, did you arrive to get the player to recovery and play

04:31in different pitches, one of them slower? Is that an advantage for the opponent and

04:39makes the mission more difficult?

04:45Yeah, I think there's no doubt that coming here off playing Lahore and we had a full

04:50day of travel yesterday, then it just takes it out of you a little bit. But we've got

04:54a couple of days now of a little bit of recovery and a little bit of planning and training

04:58towards the game. But I guess we're deep into the tournament now and sometimes it's not

05:03always a lot of training that you need, it's just getting your body and your mind right

05:07to compete in the final and that will be our key focus over the next two days.

05:11Coach, just about fielding, you've obviously had a lot of prayers for this tournament,

05:17what do you put the quality and success of it down to?

05:21Yeah, it's a strange one really because we haven't done a lot differently to what we

05:25would normally do. I think fielding for me is all about attitude and if the attitude's

05:31right and you expect that every ball will come your way, then you can pull off some

05:35amazing things. I think through this tournament we've taken some fantastic catches and Glenn

05:40Phillips is the obvious one to go to, but it hasn't been just him, there's been other

05:44guys that have pulled off some really good catching as well. That has the ability I think

05:48to change momentums in games and if you're all in that mind space of doing something

05:55for the team, then I think it can only help you.

05:57Why do you think Glenn is so good?

06:00He's fast, he's strong, he loves fielding as much as anyone that I've seen. He practices

06:08it regularly and he's got that, I guess, unique ability to get himself off the ground and

06:16it seems to stick more times than it doesn't. He's a fantastic fielder, there's been a lot

06:23of praise for him I know and I think it's well deserved.

06:27Australia most likely will field the same team, probably with four spinners. Is that

06:32one area of concern because New Zealand doesn't play against four spinners normally in ODIs?

06:39It's probably what we expect for them to play against us, but we have four spinners as well

06:43within our squad and we think we're pretty well balanced, but it's always a challenge.

06:48They are very, very good spinners, all of them in their own right. So for us it's just

06:54being nice and clear on our plans and working out. It could be a match-up that we are deciding

07:00within our team that it's the right one for us to go after and the other sorts of things

07:04that we'll read through the match and work out what is the best way to go. So, who knows,

07:09they might have off days as well and that could be in our advantage.

07:12Councillor McGarvey says there is no advantage to India having been based in Dubai. What

07:18do you say to that?

07:20Again, it's a little bit out of our control around what that is. They're not decisions

07:25that come across my desk anyway. So for us, it's something that we can't control so it's

07:31really just getting on with it. Yes, India have played their four matches here. We're

07:36lucky enough to have had one here against them and it was a good match without us quite

07:42putting our best foot forward as well. Wherever you play, you just have to go up and be able

07:48to be better than them on the day and that's our focus.

07:51Does that noise around the side towards India put more pressure on them than you do?

07:57Potentially. I can't speak for what goes on in the Indian dressing room but from our perspective,

08:03it doesn't change anything.

08:04Coach, you expect Rajan to play a key role against India's spin. Just a quick follow-up,

08:10what's the talk been among the batting group for taking more attacking options against

08:14Chakravarty?

08:16I think the pitch that we played on in the first game was quite different to the way

08:20that the semi-final played against Australia. Again, it'll be something we have to read

08:26on the day and adapt to what's going on within the match. All our batsmen will have their

08:32individual plans around how they want to combat them and then it comes down to good communications

08:37in the middle and sometimes a little bit of bravery to take those options on. We're certainly

08:43up for that. We're up for that challenge of what India will bring and we know that they've

08:47got four very capable spinners.

08:49How is the experience of New Zealand team in Pakistan playing? ICC, Champions Trophy

08:54matches and tri-nation spectators and other facilities?

08:58Yeah, it was very good. I think when you come from New Zealand and we're that little country

09:04that's a long, long way away from here, then anywhere that you play around the world, especially

09:09in the subcontinent, you see the passion that's in them and the Pakistan fans were

09:15no different there. So, we've certainly really enjoyed the experience there. We played well

09:19in Pakistan as well. I think we had five or six matches and won them all. So, there's

09:25something we're obviously doing right in that part of the world.

09:28Gary, New Zealand have been really consistent in the ICC tournament, but the White Ball

09:37tournament has been eroding since the last one against India in 2000. How important is

09:42this title for taking New Zealand cricket to the next level, considering you've lost

09:47a couple of senior bowlers like Southie and Bolt now? There's a kind of a mini-transition

09:51that's happening. So, just to inspire the next set of, to make the process much more

09:55smooth and get a next set of players coming in.

09:58Yeah, I think if you look at our bowling group, we're possibly one of the most inexperienced

10:03groups that are here. Willow Rourke, Kyle Jamieson, for example, they haven't played

10:10a lot of one-day cricket or ICC tournament cricket either. So, for them to keep standing

10:17up on this stage is very good, especially after the loss of Southie and Bolt, for example,

10:22that's been in our ranks for some period of time. We've also lost a couple of other bowlers

10:27in Ferguson and Sears who were in our initial squad. So, we've certainly had our share

10:33of trials, I guess, when you look at the make-up of our bowling squad. But I've been delighted

10:40with the way the guys have responded and reacted. And I thought we bowled well against India

10:45here last time as well. So, we can take that confidence, I think, into this game and put

10:51our best foot forward.

10:52What will the title mean for New Zealand cricket in terms of it feeding down to the

10:58grassroots levels as well?

10:59Yeah, I've always said that when you come to a tournament like this and you've got the

11:04eight best sides in the world at the moment, then I think your first goal is to work out

11:09how you make the semi-final and then it's one-off games from there. And we've, I guess,

11:14managed to get two of the three goals. I think if New Zealand can get up and win this, it

11:18would be a real credit to the players and what they've done. They're a tight-knit bunch.

11:24We enjoy each other's company. We like playing well together and I'm sure it'll be a real

11:28coup for New Zealand, especially here in Dubai after the woman won the T20 World Cup here

11:33as well.

11:34You're coming from one of the highest-scoring venues in the tournament to, potentially,

11:35the lowest-scoring one. Can you just talk us a little bit through that?

11:43Yeah, I think that's just about adapting and working out on your feet what you think that

11:48pass score is for the day and, I guess, trying to be a little bit ahead of that. I think

11:52the danger is you come from scoring 360-odd in a game and you think you'll do that again

11:58immediately and you go a little bit hard. So, for us, it's just working out what is

12:03the right tactics on the day, who we are faced up against as well, and then adapting to that.

12:10As I said earlier, it's those comms in between the batsmen in the middle and making sure

12:14they're having good communications around who is the right player to take risks against

12:18and what that might look like.

12:20Thanks, everyone. Thank you, Gary. We're wrapping up. Thank you.

12:25Thanks, guys.

12:26No worries. Thank you.

12:27No worries. Thanks for coming, everyone.

12:28Good luck.

12:29Thanks.

12:30It's a bigger scrum than we get in New Zealand.

12:50Thanks.

12:55Thanks.

13:11It'll be much easier than that.

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