London: New Zealand cricket captain Kane Williamson said the squad he will lead into June’s Champions Trophy should be in good form given plenty of recent preparations but admits that is no guarantee for success when it comes to one-off clashes. Williamson, who is set to lead New Zealand into his first major 50-over tournament as captain, said a lot of the team’s members have been heavily involved in the Indian Premier League while others were in Ireland for the Tri-Series last week.
“It counts for something but not for everything because we still come back to one-off clashes with opponents and if you win then you can go a long way in the competition,” said Williamson, who took over as captain from Brendon McCullum in 2016. “But there is not much time for slip-ups or conservative cricket.” New Zealand are in Group A of the Champions Trophy, to be held in England from June 1-18, with Australia, England and Bangladesh the other teams in their group.
Williamson is familiar with being a part of thrilling one-day series in England but hopes his team will fare better this year after squandering a 2-1 lead over England in a best-of-five one-day series in 2015. “Any time you have those experiences against opponents you are coming up against in similar conditions, it is the same side too, it is only a good thing,” said Williamson. “But you don’t tend to look too much into it in tournaments like this — it is a one-off game and both teams will be playing with freedom and hope it comes off.”
