New Zealand’s Latham wary of ‘Australia we know’

AFP, Dharamsala :
New Zealand Captain Tom Latham said Australia had reverted to type following a shaky start as the trans-Tasman rivals geared up for a World Cup clash in Dharamsala on Saturday.

Five-times champions Australia started this edition with consecutive defeats, by unbeaten hosts India and title contenders South Africa.

But they have since won three games in a row and head into this weekend’s encounter following a World Cup record 309-run rout of the Netherlands, which included Glenn Maxwell’s 40-ball century-the quickest at any World Cup.

New Zealand, by contrast, started with four straight wins before their perfect record ended with a four-wicket loss to India, the only side in the 10-team tournament still to lose after five rounds of matches.

Australia have had the better of New Zealand at the World Cup, winning eight of 11 matches, including the 2015 final and also triumphing by seven wickets four years earlier in Nagpur when India last staged the showpiece event.

“The trans-Tasman rivalry is really special and I think that’s not just cricket, that’s obviously for all sports,” Latham told a pre-match press conference on Friday.

“Even in the World Cup and over here in India obviously a long way from home it’s another special occasion,” he said.

As for the form of Pat Cummins’s men, he added: “They’re obviously playing some fantastic cricket at the moment.

They didn’t probably start as well as they would have liked, but I think the form they’ve shown in probably the last three games-that’s obviously the Australia that we know.”

New Zealand spinner Mitchell Santner is one of the tournament’s leading bowlers, with 12 wickets at an average of under 17.

“Obviously conditions back home obviously don’t suit spin as much,” said Latham.

“It’s another great opportunity for him tomorrow and hopefully he can stand up again.”