One New Zealand cricket team player is preparing in their own way to counter the spin of Ravichandran Ashwin ahead of the ICC World Test Championship final.
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For batsmen in England, New Zealand, South Africa and Australia, spin is their ultimate kryptonite. When these teams travel to the sub-continent, they struggle in a big way to counter the best bowlers. When it comes to India, the current team has some of the best spinners in Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. New Zealand will take on India in the final of the ICC World Test Championship in Southampton on June 18. The pitch might assist the pacers a lot more. But, spin will play a part in containing the batsmen.
New Zealand’s batsmen in the past have either gone on to attack or defend. They have rarely employed the sweep on a consistent basis and they play the bowlers primarily on length. In order to prepare for the ICC World Test Championship final, one New Zealand batsmen is preparing in a very unique way.
Devon Conway, who is in the 20-man squad for the two Tests against England and also for the ICC World Test Championship, is preparing for the potential confrontation with Ashwin or Jadeja by sprinkling kitty litter on practice wickets to simulate spin bowling pitching in the rough created by bowlers’ footmarks. Kitty litter is granulated clay which absorbs waste products of pets like cat or dogs.
In an interview with Spark Sport, Conway said he did not want to only defend against spin. “Basically the idea is to get the ball to sort of spit out of the rough. It’s a bit harder to play, but good practice. It’s about finding a game plan to combat that and just practice how you’re going to play in the game. If you’re going to look to just defending throughout, at some point there might be a ball that’s going to have your number,” Conway said.
In the ICC World Test Championship, New Zealand thrashed India 2-0 in what was their only loss in the cycle. New Zealand will be playing two tests against England in Lord’s and Edgbaston apart from a warm-up against Somerset. New Zealand’s team have reached England on May 15. The players coming from India are under quarantine for 10 days. India, on the other hand, will not play any warm-ups as they will be in two bubbles from May 25 to June 12.
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