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Speaker 1: You're listening to the Weekend Sport podcast with Jason Vine

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Speaker 1: from News Talks.

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Speaker 2: A'B cricket on the menu right here, right now. Black

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Speaker 2: Cats back on a New Zealand shores. They play South

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Speaker 2: Africa and their first T twenty at the Mount tonight.

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Speaker 2: That's started seven o'clock and coming up in about all

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Speaker 2: fifteen minutes time the White firms take on their South

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Speaker 2: African counterparts. They're all doubleheaders, all five of these T

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Speaker 2: twenty experiences. Nathan Smith, he's had a horrible old time

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Speaker 2: with injuries now, hasn't he Hopefully he'll be back today,

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Speaker 2: like he joins us, now, how are you mate?

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Speaker 1: I'm good?

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Speaker 3: Thanks? So are you?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm magnificent. I tend to try and be that

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Speaker 2: way all the time. It's the nice thing. But you you're

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Speaker 2: finally back playing again. That Nathan Smith one day cricketer,

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Speaker 2: it's a Test cricketer. And then he had to have

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Speaker 2: a cup of teen to lie down because his side

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Speaker 2: fell apart. So you've been out for quite some time.

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Speaker 2: The injury you're recovering from how it went through?

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Speaker 3: Yeah, so fully recovered now. Initially you know during the

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Speaker 3: Test match thought it was a side strain, but turned

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Speaker 3: into a little bit more of a ribbon pingement type injury,

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Speaker 3: which was like if imagine if you're you're sort of

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Speaker 3: you know, you're eating eating some spare ribs and you

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Speaker 3: you kind of get to the bone and there's that

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Speaker 3: little bit of like sheath on the bone. I pulled

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Speaker 3: a little bit of that off my ribs. So that

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Speaker 3: took a little bit longer to hell, unfortunately. But we're

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Speaker 3: back now. I've been playing some domestic cricket for the

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Speaker 3: last sort of month six weeks and yeah, looking forward

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Speaker 3: to this the series against Africa.

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Speaker 2: So you're one handy right your back, You've you've been bold,

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Speaker 2: you've batted from time to time and everything's working.

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Speaker 3: Yeah. Yeah, we're good as gold.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm never going to be about to eat spare

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Speaker 2: ribs again, because I'm going to think about is pulling

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Speaker 2: your spare ribs off of your body and chewing on

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Speaker 2: Nathan Smith. So thanks for honing it that way. So

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Speaker 2: form wise, how how well are you playing right now?

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Speaker 2: Because there's that like real interesting space when there are

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Speaker 2: so many quicks who are aiming for that same spot.

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Speaker 2: So where are you at playing wise?

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Speaker 3: Yeah, it's a tough one result sort of come and go,

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Speaker 3: which is it's the nature of the sport we play.

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Speaker 3: They're pretty fickle. Some days you can bowl really well

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Speaker 3: and you know, not get wickets, and other days you

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Speaker 3: get lucky following a few half trackers that get caught

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Speaker 3: a deep square. So in terms of the outcomes, you know,

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Speaker 3: I'm not trying to ride that too much. But I'm

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Speaker 3: feeling pretty good. The balls coming out well, the rhythm.

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Speaker 3: The rhythm took a couple of games to come back,

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Speaker 3: but I feel like it's there now and I'm you know,

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Speaker 3: I'm hitting the crease hard and with the bat, I've

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Speaker 3: spent a bit of time in the middle and the

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Speaker 3: plunket with it, with the plunket shield over the last

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Speaker 3: sort of you know, two weeks, I'm starting to feel

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Speaker 3: pretty good.

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Speaker 2: Right, so middling it good, good timing, you know, your play.

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Speaker 2: So when you play for the black Caps next time,

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Speaker 2: and it may well be tonight, we don't know the

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Speaker 2: naming of the team yet, you feel you're going to

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Speaker 2: better contribute. You're on You're on all your cylinders.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, I'm feeling good, feeling good, Darcy.

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Speaker 2: They're traveling up there. There was a pain in the though, wasn't.

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Speaker 2: I think he had a bit of a journey to

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Speaker 2: even actually keep here in the first place. That's got

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Speaker 2: to put a bit of strain on you.

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Speaker 3: Oh yeah, you know, we're sort of used to that

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Speaker 3: now though. When you're play in the subcontinent, you usually

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Speaker 3: get you usually get three am flights in between in between.

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Speaker 3: I mean we had it in the Champions Trophy, didn't

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Speaker 3: we. We sort of had to get up at three am

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Speaker 3: and fly between Dubai and Pakistan. So you know, we

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Speaker 3: we're used to this now and we just adapt and

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Speaker 3: we get on with it.

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Speaker 2: Are you good at watching the Black Caps play when

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Speaker 2: you're not involved? You do that or you just run

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Speaker 2: and hide?

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Speaker 3: No, no, I do watch it. I checked in during

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Speaker 3: the World Cup, which was awesome to see how well

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Speaker 3: they did there. You know, unfortunately couldn't get over the

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Speaker 3: line in the final, but it was there was an

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Speaker 3: awesome campaign to follow and and yeah, everyone was behind

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Speaker 3: them and they can be really proud of that that

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Speaker 3: World Cup campaign.

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Speaker 2: A few people have ripped on the fact that the

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Speaker 2: bowlers took a bit of tap, but I choose to

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Speaker 2: look in the other direction. That was India at home

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Speaker 2: defending a title, and they were giving everybody a bit

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Speaker 2: of tap. They battered. It was another It wasn't cricket

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Speaker 2: the way they were playing. It was on another level,

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Speaker 2: wasn't it.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, And it's just it's not just it's not just India,

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Speaker 3: you know, those those pictures are not conducive to Succeaine

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Speaker 3: bowling anyway. And I mean two fifty is becoming so

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Speaker 3: common now, Like how often are we seeing two fifty

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Speaker 3: And we're going, oh, yeah, that's kind of you know,

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Speaker 3: we're not whereas like two hundred. Back in the day,

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Speaker 3: we were like far out two hundred, you know. So

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Speaker 3: it's just it is. I understand the batting has gone

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Speaker 3: to another planet, but the seam bowling is tough. But

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Speaker 3: I think potentially, you know, bowlers are going to have

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Speaker 3: to find ways and you're probably going to see it

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Speaker 3: over the next few years of bowlers trying to, you know,

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Speaker 3: find either either work on their execution or find different

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Speaker 3: different ways to try the effective.

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Speaker 2: What are you trying? You're looking at that you know

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Speaker 2: you're going to have to deal with these batsmen the

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Speaker 2: way they roll. What South Africa managed to do before

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Speaker 2: they folded in that semi What are you looking at

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Speaker 2: how are you going to go about your business?

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Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean there's an element of there's an element

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Speaker 3: of what I bring to the table, and then there's

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Speaker 3: the you know, conditions you're playing with. You know, there's

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Speaker 3: so many variables, but I think skin of the scouting

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Speaker 3: is the main thing. And then I guess it comes

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Speaker 3: down to what's the pitch offering you at the time.

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Speaker 3: And then to be honest with you, it's just a

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Speaker 3: game of execution really, you know, I suppose you see

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Speaker 3: look at Bomber, he goes at six and over in

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Speaker 3: India because he can nail a Yorker and he's got

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Speaker 3: a great slabll So it's like, you know, if you

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Speaker 3: if you can execute, and you can you can be

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Speaker 3: nice and calm under pressure, then I think you can

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Speaker 3: be effective. For me, it's you know, doing what I

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Speaker 3: do really well, running in heading the book at hard,

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Speaker 3: nailing a Yorker and then and then being smart around

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Speaker 3: my around my slables. So you know, I think it's

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Speaker 3: it's it looks something like that when I'm playing well,

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Speaker 3: so hopefully can replicate that if I get a run.

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Speaker 2: And Nathan Smith that joins us. And I suppose you

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Speaker 2: can't just have one different delivery. You've got to have

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Speaker 2: a number of different weapons in your quivert, don't.

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Speaker 3: You You do you do need you do need a few.

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Speaker 3: But if I just if they're just okay as well

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Speaker 3: then and they don't have any deception, then you know,

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Speaker 3: the batters are too good. They're gonna they're gonna put

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Speaker 3: you away. So I think, you know, that's that's where

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Speaker 3: the skill with the bowlers is really important. And keep

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Speaker 3: to keep working on that execution, so you know, you're developing,

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Speaker 3: you know, some world class deliveries that you can go

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Speaker 3: to a sort of anytime. That's sort of the I mean,

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Speaker 3: that's at its at its very best. So hopefully, you know,

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Speaker 3: hopefully we can keep working on that and I can

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Speaker 3: sort of push my way to this T twenty team.

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Speaker 2: Nathan, do you bristle when people say this is not

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Speaker 2: a proper black Caps team because most of the players

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Speaker 2: are off having a cup of team to lie down

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Speaker 2: before they head back to India again? How do you

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Speaker 2: feel about that accusation?

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Speaker 3: Ah, I personally haven't heard that accusation, but I'm assuming,

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Speaker 3: I'm assuming.

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Speaker 2: You talk about the radio mate, Yeah.

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Speaker 3: I'm assuming, Well, the way the way I see it is.

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Speaker 3: For me, it's it's you know, it's a great opportunity

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Speaker 3: to play for New Zealand and T twenty cricket, and

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Speaker 3: you know, ultimately I want to I want to play

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Speaker 3: all three formats for New Zealand. So yeah, I hopefully

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Speaker 3: I can go do well and you know, it is

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Speaker 3: what it is. I guess really the guys have just

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Speaker 3: played an amazing World Cup campaign and they've got ipl

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Speaker 3: commitments which is you know, pre agreed upon. So for

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Speaker 3: me it's just you know, I sort of reaped the

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Speaker 3: rewards of that and get to play a few games

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Speaker 3: for New Zealand hopefully.

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Speaker 2: Well, there's no such thing as an eleven that plays

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Speaker 2: every format anymore. There's there's thirty guys out there who

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Speaker 2: can do it and on T twenty representing Have you

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Speaker 2: got a line on what has to happen for New

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Speaker 2: Zealand cricket as far as our domestic T twenty competition

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Speaker 2: is concerned, because there are options everywhere? Do you lean

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Speaker 2: toward any of those names?

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Speaker 3: Are you talking sorry, are you talking about with the

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Speaker 3: way New Zealand Cricket's going to go next year? Well?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, with a super smash the adjusted Super Smash or

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Speaker 2: the Big Bash of the NZED twenty. There's a lot

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Speaker 2: of options out there. Do you lean in any of them?

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Speaker 3: Yeah, I definitely. I think, you know, in New Zealand

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Speaker 3: twenty would be the best option for players within New

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Speaker 3: Zealand and for New Zealand cricket. Yeah, I think it's

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Speaker 3: the best way to grow the game in New Zealand.

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Speaker 3: Get the backing behind and then yeah, it should be

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Speaker 3: pretty fun. I think if it goes ahead.

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Speaker 2: Well, there's a chance next year a lot of the

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Speaker 2: tests might have to be curtail removed to that window.

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Speaker 2: That doesn't concern you at all.

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Speaker 3: Oh, that's that's above that's above my pay grade, you know, scheduling.

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Speaker 3: But yeah, I think I think whatever whatever decision they make,

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Speaker 3: you know, the players players are going to be happy.

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Speaker 3: And there's a lot of chat around the best players

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Speaker 3: not playing Super Smash as it is, so hopefully, you know,

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Speaker 3: after games, all the games are still going to go ahead,

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Speaker 3: so hopefully they can find a result there. But yeah,

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Speaker 3: I think all the players will be happy regardless, especially

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Speaker 3: if this comp goes ahead.

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Speaker 2: Well, let's hope you get the NOD. More importantly, for

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Speaker 2: the evening and you tear it up. Nathan Smith, thanks

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Speaker 2: so much for joining us as per mate. You look

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Speaker 2: after your sir.

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Speaker 3: Cheers to Arsy, Thanks mate.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, thank you for your time. To to forty five,

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Speaker 2: the women start their first of five T twenties. They're

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Speaker 2: all doubleheaders. Seven fifteen the men It underway.

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Speaker 1: For more from Weekends Sport with Jason Fine, listen live

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Speaker 1: to news Talks at B Weekends from midday, or follow

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