Blackcaps skipper Latham wary of Mustafiz

Mustafizur Rahman was an unsolved riddle for the touring Australian batsmen last month as he spun them in circles to help Bangladesh achieve a crushing 4-1 series win. And New Zealand are also wary about his elusive cutters, said Blackcaps skipper Tom Latham.

In the virtual pre-match press conference, Latham told the media that Mustafiz is a key threat though the other bowlers are also difficult to deal with.

“They all present their challenges. Mustafiz, at the top of the innings, is renowned for his slower balls. We saw how he bowled against Australia. The spinners at the top and through the middle will present challenges. Guys have been working really hard for the last five days to come up with plans best to negate them. We are looking forward to facing them tomorrow,” said the New Zealand skipper.

The Bangladesh-Australia series served as a lesson for the Kiwis and made them better prepared to tackle the Tigers, said Latham.

“They have threats all around their group. We saw how well they played against Australia. They have some great spinners and experience in the group. Our batting will be challenged by their spinners. They have some fearless batsmen, who take the game head-on,” he said on Tuesday.

New Zealand were lucky to practice on the centre wicket on Sunday, an opportunity hardly offered to the visiting team, and Latham believes adaptability is a key factor to succeed in this condition.

“We are preparing for wickets that Australia faced about a month ago. We had some really good camps in New Zealand. We have to play on a surface that will be a lot more challenging than what we expect. We have acclimatised to the conditions here in the last five days. We have five games here so the wickets will be used two or three times. We have to adapt to each surface in each game. We have to wait and see what we get,” said the wicketkeeper-batsman.

Latham feels that handling spin will be the main battle to win the matches.

“We have to try to adapt, stick to your plans and blueprint, to see what you can do for the side. We have to put the best foot forward whichever situation we face. We know it is going to be a challenge, and how good those guys are in these conditions. They have a wealth of experience. We have to play the best we can,” he said.