Christchurch: In either an honest appraisal of what lies ahead or a classically conceived bit of gamesmanship, New Zealand hailed India as the best cricket team in the world.
Indeed, the home side — which gathered at Lincoln on a chilly Monday afternoon for its first training session ahead of the first of the two Twenty20 Internationals on Wednesday, said it saw as India as a measuring stick.
Ross Taylor, New Zealand’s leading batsman, said: "I can only talk for myself but I think consistently over the last 12-18 months, India would be the best team going around in all forms of the game.
“They have beaten Australia consistently. I think they are the world’s best team at the moment and it is exciting for us to play against them and see where we really are at on our home turf,” he added.
New Zealand coach Andy Moles concurred. “I think in all facets, they are the number one team in the world,” he said. “They have got some very experienced players; they are obviously coached really well. They are coming at a time which will be really good test for us.”
Taylor didn’t think it would take India long to acclimatise to New Zealand conditions.
“A lot of people have made a lot of the wickets the last time they were out here,” he said. “I think the wickets have improved a lot since then. I don’t think the Indians need to worry about green, seaming wickets.”
The bounce factor
“It shows in our domestic form,” Taylor added. “The little dibbly-dobbly bowlers aren’t having as much success as they had five or ten years ago. There will be a little bit of getting used to for the Indians but our wickets aren’t as bouncy as Australia. I am sure after the first two T20 games, they would have got used to the bounce. That won’t be a factor come the first one-dayer.”
Moles agreed in part with Taylor’s assessment, noting India’s improvement as a touring side, but said bounce could play a role.
“We are really proud to play at home,” said Moles. “We like to defend our own ground. I am really looking forward to putting the Indians under pressure whenever we can and hope to expose the weaknesses they have.”
Which were? “If we can get the ball to bounce a little bit,” replied Moles.
“They are coming here from Sri Lanka, the wickets there and in India as well can be a little low. So if the ball bounces a little bit… We need to bowl well with the new ball.”
Source: hindu.com
Indeed, the home side — which gathered at Lincoln on a chilly Monday afternoon for its first training session ahead of the first of the two Twenty20 Internationals on Wednesday, said it saw as India as a measuring stick.
Ross Taylor, New Zealand’s leading batsman, said: "I can only talk for myself but I think consistently over the last 12-18 months, India would be the best team going around in all forms of the game.
“They have beaten Australia consistently. I think they are the world’s best team at the moment and it is exciting for us to play against them and see where we really are at on our home turf,” he added.
New Zealand coach Andy Moles concurred. “I think in all facets, they are the number one team in the world,” he said. “They have got some very experienced players; they are obviously coached really well. They are coming at a time which will be really good test for us.”
Taylor didn’t think it would take India long to acclimatise to New Zealand conditions.
“A lot of people have made a lot of the wickets the last time they were out here,” he said. “I think the wickets have improved a lot since then. I don’t think the Indians need to worry about green, seaming wickets.”
The bounce factor
“It shows in our domestic form,” Taylor added. “The little dibbly-dobbly bowlers aren’t having as much success as they had five or ten years ago. There will be a little bit of getting used to for the Indians but our wickets aren’t as bouncy as Australia. I am sure after the first two T20 games, they would have got used to the bounce. That won’t be a factor come the first one-dayer.”
Moles agreed in part with Taylor’s assessment, noting India’s improvement as a touring side, but said bounce could play a role.
“We are really proud to play at home,” said Moles. “We like to defend our own ground. I am really looking forward to putting the Indians under pressure whenever we can and hope to expose the weaknesses they have.”
Which were? “If we can get the ball to bounce a little bit,” replied Moles.
“They are coming here from Sri Lanka, the wickets there and in India as well can be a little low. So if the ball bounces a little bit… We need to bowl well with the new ball.”
Source: hindu.com
No comments:
Post a Comment