T20 World Cup: Former New Zealand pacer Simon Doull thinks the Black Caps will not be fazed by the nature of the soil in the pitch for Sunday’s Men’s T20 World Cup final against India, to be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
In an exclusive conversation with IANS, Doull also talked about how the pacers can adjust their plans for bowling more slower balls, any possibility of tinkering with the combination, support for Mitchell Santner in the spin bowling department, their tactical shrewdness, and the casual contracts system.
Q. How dramatically does the choice of potentially playing the final on a mixed soil pitch shift the tactics for both sides? Also, will dew make the toss an important one to win?
A. All of the soils play slightly differently across India. The black soil plays slightly differently in one area of the country than it does in the next, as well, because of the humidity, heat, lack of sunshine, or more rain. So they all play differently across. When you go to Ahmedabad, no matter what pitch it's played on, it will be a good surface.
We've seen in IPL finals and international games there - it's just a good pitch. New Zealand won't be concerned with whether it's red or black soil - they'll know that it's going to be a good surface and they just have to make sure that they're at their best, particularly on that surface.
We haven't probably seen as much dew in Ahmedabad as we have in a couple of the other places. One thing is, we saw it a little bit in Dubai and Abu Dhabi during the T20 World Cup, where it was basically almost a foregone conclusion that once you won the toss, you would just about win the game.
You don't want to see that, and I don't think that will be the case from the final point of view. If there's a lot of dew, I'd like the umpires to step in and make sure that the ball's changed every two or three overs. You just want both sides to have a fair crack at it, whether you win the toss or lose the toss.
I've been sort of crying for that thing to happen for a long, long time, because the dew is something that is out of your control. If you have to bowl with a soaking wet ball, it is a real disadvantage, and you're already at an advantage batting second.
If there's a lot of dew, the surface is going to slide on a bit more anyway. But you add a wet ball to that, and it becomes impossible. So, as I say, we haven't seen as much in Ahmedabad as we have in other parts of the country. Let's hope it doesn't play a role at all for either side.
Q. The data for Ahmedabad shows that slower balls from pacers have a better economy and bring wickets at a faster rate than pace-on deliveries. How do you see New Zealand pacers like Henry, Ferguson, and potentially Duffy adapt their plans as per the surface?
A. Well, New Zealand had that one outing there against South Africa, which didn't go well for them. So they will have learnt a lot from that match and possibly how to bowl, what options to use for slightly bigger ground from a bowling point of view, so that certainly assists.
You can use the square boundaries a little bit more with those off-pace, slower balls. The wicket was holding a touch more than sliding on, but you generally get a very, very good surface in Ahmedabad, and it's a great stadium. So it's just about adapting to the conditions and the situation, the noise in and around which you do know there's going to be plenty of that.
Henry's highly skilled up front, but New Zealand probably need him to pick up one or maybe two overs. If he picks up one in the power play with that newish ball, then you can see when he does that, the side really gets on a roll with him, and he gets that confidence as well. Ferguson's been used with the new ball, and through the middle.
The selection dilemma, I guess, is whether they go with Jacob Duffy, who has been brilliant for 18 months, but just was slightly off the boil in that India series before the World Cup. That means he's just majorly warmed the bench for the tournament. If they do decide to go with that extra genuine seam bowler, then he's got an opportunity to sort of prove himself; he's got it at the elite level, which is that World Cup level.
Q. Talking of Duffy, he’s the leading T20I wicket-taker in the powerplay since 2025. But he has an economy of 10.1 in this World Cup. New Zealand didn’t play him in the semi-final. Do you bring him back for the final or persist with Neesham?
A. The selection dilemma is that you've got Sodhi and Duffy, who are probably the two that they would look at. If they thought the surface was going to turn a bit more, a la what happened in Sri Lanka, then they might look for Ish Sodhi. If they thought it was going to be a bit more pace-friendly, they might look at Duffy.
Neesham's got a lot more to offer with the batting; he lengthens that batting line-up, which allows the freedom for the Allens and the Seiferts and the Phillips and Chapmans and even Rachin Ravindra to go a little bit harder, because he lengthens the batting order.
His bowling is still genuinely okay. It's just a matter of where New Zealand go at the back end of the innings. My issue is that Matt Henry is more of a front-line, up-front bowler. He's capable at the death, but I wouldn't say he was the absolute best at the back end of the innings.
So, does New Zealand need Duffy in that situation, or can they get away with Ferguson and Henry and maybe one from Neesham somewhere towards the end, or does Mitchell Santner look to someone like himself to bowl an over in that 17 to 20 over mark?
I don't think I would personally tinker with the team. I would stick with Jimmy Neesham. Rachin Ravindra has done a great job, so I don't necessarily need four overs out of Neesham, and he definitely strengthens the batting. As far as Jacob Duffy is concerned, I probably wouldn't bring him back into the side for this encounter, but New Zealand may see it differently.
Q. Ravindra and Cole McConchie have been superbly supporting Santner in spin bowling duties. How massive a boost has it been for the Blackcaps in this campaign, where they have won all four games while chasing?
A. I've been really impressed with Cole McConchie. Obviously, he and Rachin Ravindra have been the backup spinners to Mitch Santner, who's one of the classiest left-armers in the world. But McConkie's a great story, and one of the reasons that New Zealand has success is that you're never too old to make your international debut.
He's a vastly experienced domestic cricketer, terrifically talented both with bat and ball, and just knows his game. When he comes into a New Zealand setup, he's had all of that domestic first-class experience in white-ball and red-ball cricket, and just generally knows what to do.
It's been a really big part for a guy who came in late to the team, and he's done a terrific job. Rachin Ravindra's bowling has really been the standout, I think, from a surprise or slightly surprised point of view. There was probably a time we thought Rachin Ravindra would give you two, if not three, loose ones in an over.
Now, he just doesn't seem to be doing that. He hasn't been doing that throughout this tournament, and that's been superb. For Santner to be able to go to another left-arm spinner when two right-handers are at the crease, or back to McConchie if a left-hander comes to the crease, has been a real bonus for him.
We haven't actually seen Glenn Phillips bowl a lot through the tournament. So we've got two right-arm off-spin options in McConchie and Phillips, and then Ravindra is there doing a brilliant job to back up Santner. It's been really nice - it worked well in Sri Lanka, and obviously in the first or the second over of that semi-final, McConchie picking up those couple of wickets was superb. So, he's done a terrific job, as has Rachin.
Q. Talk a bit about the Blackcaps team culture, which allows for data-driven match-ups like bringing McConchie in power-play in the semi-final against South Africa to be executed with perfection.
A. I don't know too much about the analytics and how much of that they look at from a Black Caps team point of view. But the fact is that they are so well prepared, and they won't leave any stone unturned, which means they will come into the final as well prepared as any team would, and they will fight man to man to get the best performance out of everybody.
That's just the culture that New Zealand's always had. People say we punch above our weight. Well, it's not the way that New Zealanders look at it. They just look at it as them being a consistently good team. It's not a team of superstars or a superstar team. There's no one person who wants the accolades or takes the accolades.
There’s a very understated captain in Mitchell Santner, but I think he's getting better and better with every game from a tactical and captaincy point of view, and really growing into the role. Rob Walter, the coach, has done a really good job with the backroom staff.
Just their preparation - it's as good as it's been in any tournament that I've seen New Zealand involved in, even going back to the 2019 50-over World Cup. So, they'll put in a performance, and if it's not good enough on the day, it's not. But they won't leave any stone unturned moving forward to the final.
Q. Many New Zealand players like Allen and Seifert have played a lot of franchise leagues by inking casual contracts with NZC. But they have developed big-match temperament and handy skills for succeeding in this fickle format. Do you think this arrangement is actually working well for New Zealand?
A. As far as the casual contracts are concerned, New Zealand has to do it. They don't have the money to pay their players an enormous amount, and these players are committed to ICC events, to World Cups, and that's all you can really ask for the white ball players in particular.
They don't want to be playing four-day cricket in New Zealand; they'd like to be playing the leagues around the world. But they're available from a week and a half to two weeks prior to any ICC event to pull the black shirt on. New Zealand cricket have done a great job in making sure that they still have the availability of some of these players and not just letting them go into the wilderness.
It's not a situation that will work in every country, but from the slightly limited resources and a monetary point of view that New Zealand cricket have, it allows these players to play four-five-six leagues in a year and still play World Cups for New Zealand.
They don't want to be playing four-day cricket in New Zealand; they'd like to be playing the leagues around the world. But they're available from a week and a half to two weeks prior to any ICC event to pull the black shirt on. New Zealand cricket have done a great job in making sure that they still have the availability of some of these players and not just letting them go into the wilderness.
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So I don't have an issue with it at all, and New Zealand Cricket is going to have to continue to do a similar thing with a lot of players moving forward if they want their best side available for the short-format World Cups.