Blackcaps wicketkeeper Tim Seifert is confident of stepping off the bench to do his part in the Twenty20 World Cup final against Australia, following an injury to Devon Conway.
Conway, 30, has been ruled out for up to six weeks, missing both the T20 World Cup final and the Blackcaps' upcoming tour of India, after breaking his hand punching his bat in New Zealand's semi-final victory against England on Thursday.
With Seifert being the only specialist wicketkeeper in the squad in the UAE, he'll almost certainly slot right in to replace Conway, unless the Blackcaps opt to hand the gloves to Glenn Phillips to accommodate Mark Chapman as an extra batsman.
Seifert's been out of action since the Blackcaps' tournament opener, where he batted at No. 7 in the first-up loss to Pakistan, before a tactical rethink saw Conway take the gloves to allow for an extra bowler in the shape of Adam Milne.
But despite sitting on the sidelines for the past five games, Seifert is ready to return to the side, and do his bit to help the Blackcaps to a maiden T20 World Cup title.
"When you're not playing and you're one of the reserve players, you're always ready to go and preparing like you are going to play," Seifert says.
"Unfortunately injuries do happen, that's just sport. It's very unfortunate for Dev, and we're gutted for him. But at the end of the day, sometimes that's sport, and little things like that happen.
"As a player, I'm ready to go and very excited to be playing, hopefully, in the World Cup final.
"It's a dream come true."
There's no getting around the size of Conway's loss for the Blackcaps. Since his debut in late 2020, Conway has established himself as a key performer in all three forms of the game.
But even in the disappointment of missing out on the final, Conway is still with the Blackcaps, aiding in Seifert's preparation.
"I'm great mates with Dev. I spoke to him when I heard the news, just said just keep your head high, there's bigger fish to fry in his career coming up, hopefully.
"As sad as it is, there's always a bigger picture for him, and hopefully a speedy recovery for him.
"We'll do a bit of keeping tonight together and talk cricket, it's always good."
Coming off stints with the Trinbago Knight Riders in the Caribbean Premier League, and Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL, Seifert has had no shortage of match practice in 2021.
That experience of playing in different roles, in different situations, in different conditions will hold the gloveman in good stead - should he get the call up for Monday morning's final.
"I've had a pretty good period leading into this competition, with the experience of playing overseas and just being around some big environments, which helps, especially in these conditions.
"I've prepared well, and whatever team we put out there, everyone will be ready."
Join Newshub for live updates of the T20 World Cup final between the Blackcaps and Australia from 3am Monday.
