As New Zealand gear up for their third outing at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Wednesday (November 8) - the first semifinal of the World Cup, no less - Kane Williamson can't decide if coming back to a venue that his team is familiar with is an advantage or not. New Zealand began their World Cup with panache at this very venue, where they thrashed hosts, holders and one of the overwhelming title favourites Australia by 89 runs. That came on a day when New Zealand batters made merry early on, and ended up with a total of 200 for 3, before the bowlers bundled out Aaron Finch's side for just 111.
A week later, they returned to the venue for a game against Sri Lanka and opted to bat first again to put on an imposing total, only for the top-order to crumble inside the PowerPlay. Sri Lanka reduced New Zealand to 15 for 3 in 4 overs before Glenn Phillips hit a scintillating ton and rescued the side to a defendable total. "I suppose it's kind of interesting, the first game we played here, the wicket was a very good one," Williamson said on the eve of the semifinal. "And then the second time we played here it had changed. And sometimes you can take perhaps what you were expecting the wicket to be like in the first game and think it would behave in the same way, which it didn't.
"So whether that's a disadvantage or an advantage, it's sort of hard to know. Both teams have played here. So it will be about looking to focus on our cricket really and the plans we want to look to execute and make sure we do adjust to the conditions and try and play smart," he said.
Though Allen couldn't work his magic at the SCG the second time around, he turned heads in the game against Australia where he went after a famed bowling attack enroute to a 16-ball 42. The blitzkrieg included five fours, three sixes and trademark nonchalance from the 23-year-old opener. Allen has scored just 91 runs in this tournament, but has the third best strike rate at 189.58. Williamson lauded the youngster's ability to hit the ball hard and talked up the need to encourage his high-risk, high-reward style of play.
"Yes, that's the strength of his game - his ability to go hit the ball hard and play with freedom - and encouraging that is important. Not just for him to play his natural game, but also for our team and the balance that he brings with his style of play. So, yeah, he's enjoying it cricket. And he's young and he's got heaps and heaps of talent has we've already seen," he said.
That fixture also saw Devon Conway build on the start that Allen gave and go on to make a brilliant 92 off 58 balls, catching the attention of Matthew Hayden, who is currently in the Pakistan camp as mentor.
"This match, they played against Australia and they got 200 on this particular wicket, actually. And Dev Conway was incredibly destructive during that particular match," Hayden said. "And Australia capitulated all out for 111. Clearly when you have a big batting effort, and I think New Zealand had some really destructive players, you can be put under pressure with the bat. And that almost was their perfect game, I felt, in the World Cup," Hayden opined.