Two years on from crashing out of the last Twenty20 World Cup, the Black Caps have avoided making their biggest mistake again in India.
As cricket descended on the Caribbean and USA for the 2024 edition of the tournament, a combination of roadblocks ensured the Black Caps opened their tournament without being able to play any warm-up matches.
Once they arrived, New Zealand suffered group-stage losses to Afghanistan in Guyana and the West Indies in Trinidad, and crashed out – despite victories against Uganda and Papua New Guinea.
Senior players’ understandable desire to spend time in New Zealand after the Indian Premier League, combined with travel logistics to the Caribbean, left the Black Caps vastly underprepared for the tournament.
This time around, they couldn’t ask for better preparation. On the back of winning a maiden One-Day International (ODI) series in India, the bulk of New Zealand’s World Cup squad will now face their hosts – the world’s No 1-ranked side – in five matches over the course of 11 days, before opening their tournament against Afghanistan in Chennai.
It’s a formula that’s already been proven to benefit the Black Caps. Last year, the ODI side played and won a Tri-Series with South Africa and hosts Pakistan before the Champions Trophy, and reached the tournament final as a result.
Having been part of the squad in 2024 and the captain that led the side in the Champions Trophy, Mitchell Santner understands exactly how significant taking India on over the coming two weeks is.
And with the bulk of the 15-man side named for the World Cup already in India, or on their way shortly, the coming series represents a priceless opportunity to prepare.
“I think we can never miss a warm-up game ever again after what we did a couple of years ago,” Santner joked.
“But we saw in the Champions Trophy, we had a great lead-in with the Tri-Series against South Africa in Pakistan. It got us in a pretty good spot leading into that first game.
“Here is another great opportunity – five games against a very good team in conditions you’re likely to play under.
“You don’t want to cook everyone before the first game, but it’s a great opportunity for guys to keep the ball rolling. Guys have played a lot of cricket, whether it’s here, franchise guys coming in, the Super Smash back home.
“There’s no shortage of cricket, really.”
New Zealand will have to make do without the quartet of Finn Allen, Tim Seifert, Lockie Ferguson and Adam Milne for the start of the series.
Allen and Seifert will both be late arrivals due to their involvement in Australia’s Big Bash League. Ferguson, meanwhile, is on the way back from a calf injury suffered in the UAE’s ILT20, with Milne also monitoring a hamstring worry picked up in South Africa’s SA20.
Uncapped allrounder Kristian Clarke has remained with the squad after the ODI series win as cover in their places.
However, it’s going to take more than just warm-up games to see the Black Caps lift the T20 World Cup for the first time.
As coach Rob Walter points out, India’s vast geography doesn’t see the same conditions replicated across every single venue.
In his first tournament as Black Caps coach, Walter is well-versed in what it means to succeed at the T20 World Cup.
While New Zealand crashed out of the last tournament, Walter’s South Africa side reached the final – despite only assembling in full just days out from their opening match.
And with those lessons, Walter has already shown that success on the biggest stage is just as much about the team environment as it is preparation.
“We must always understand that in India, not all venues are the same from a conditions point of view,” he explained.
“Whilst there are some similarities, what you get thrown over a five-match series – you probably will have some similarity at some point across the venues, although not being identical.
“Time together is nice, but not crucial. Understanding fundamentally what we’re about as a team is probably more important.
“Those foundations have been set for some time now. For us, it’s more about coming together, having our sights set on the little things that we want to take care of daily that we feel will give us the best chance of winning at the end.”
Alex Powell is a sports journalist for the NZ Herald. He has been a sports journalist since 2016.