Fiery all-rounder Jacob Oram believes the pressure is on New Zealand to win the Karp Group Hong Kong Sixes for the first time, and the big-hitting left-hander believes his players have the strength to do it.
'We have a very good line-up of all-rounders and I'm confident we have the squad to win this tournament,' Oram, one of the best one-day players in the world, said.
'New Zealand has increased the focus on this year's event. Former Australian coach, John Buchanan is coming as coach and there is some pressure to win.'
Oram, who bowls right-arm fast-medium, will captain a team that include test and one-day specialists Nathan McCullum and James Franklin, as well as up-and-coming Kieran Noema-Barnett, Luke Woodcock, Rob Nicol and Derek de Boorder. The players will arrive in Hong Kong from the one-day international and Twenty20 series in Zimbabwe.
Right-arm off spinner McCullum and Noema-Barnett have played at the tournament before and Oram will be relying on their expertise.
'Nathan has really come on as an international cricketer in the shortened forms of the game in the past two years. This will be his third appearance at the Sixes and he believes it has been part of his development at an international level,' Oram said.
