Hay praises New Zealand’s fresh outfit after series win over Pakistan

Extending their dominant run in white-ball cricket, New Zealand gained an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series with an 84-run victory over Pakistan in Hamilton.

With several first team regulars away on franchise duty, the Black Caps fielded a relatively inexperienced group for the match. However, Mitchell Hay emphasized that while some players may lack international caps, the team is well-rounded.

“There's some pretty experienced guys here, both internationally and domestically, which have been great to talk to and learn from," Hay told reporters after the second ODI.

“Yeah, probably on paper, guys haven't played a lot of international cricket, but there's some experienced guys in the group still with some great knowledge to tap into, which has been really cool.

“It's awesome that there is good competition for spots, and I think it's a good place for New Zealand cricket to be in. Hopefully, just keep pushing each other to get better and keep trying to win games for New Zealand, which is really cool.”

Mitchell Hay fell just one run short of his maiden international century, scoring a blistering 99 off 78 balls to pave way for New Zealand's win the second ODI. His partnership with Muhammad Abbas proved to be a game-changer for New Zealand, stabilizing the innings after a challenging start with the bat.

Hay acknowledged the challenging start, emphasizing the importance of absorbing pressure before taking a counter-attacking approach.

“Yeah, it was pretty tough out there to start with. It was just a time that me and Mo talked about trying to absorb a bit of pressure and then hopefully be able to apply it a bit later on,” he said.

“Mo was great. He was a pretty calming influence out there. To be honest, he's crazy mature beyond his years and it was really nice to bat with him out there. It was good that we could put a bit of pressure on later, which was nice.”

Hay also praised the stand-in skipper, Michael Bracewell, who has led New Zealand throughout the series in full-time captain Mitchell Santner's absence - securing both the ODI and T20 series.

“Yeah, he's been great. He's such a good leader. Just the small chats people don't see, but he's just a guy that when he speaks, everyone listens.

“Similar to Mitch Santner as well, just a really calming influence over the group and just a really strong, natural leader and he's been really cool to play under.”