Gud Luck Iain ... I wish, you guys give a tough fightback this time to my team .. See you in Napier again ..

Its always good to be the first one to reply your blog.Although this is the first time I am writing something here. As everybody else here I am a huge fan of your blog and a very passionate Cricket follower. I read somewhere that Patel and Oram will be in the 11 for next test, I was wondering who'll make a space for them. I am sure Mills have will have to make a way for 1 but who'll be the 2nd one to sacrifice?

Any idea!!!

Hi Iain,
It was a superb display by the indian side in all three departments of cricket,u can't help it! you gave some resistance at the end,but it was over by then, next two text matches will be more competitive i hope and you can give your best because you hate loosing,but india gonna win this series. good luck

It's a gr8 blog and really enjoy it. All the best for the next Test.

chill dude still two more to go its not over yet
keep writing
cheers

hi dude your comments are some times inventive but not this time.Best players are not selfish but team players so only their team wins.First and fore most you should appreciate the GREAT indian team the way they played as a team and not as individuals as u guys played.
best of luck for napier test.come back like south africa team BYE

Mate, your team fought pretty hard. Let's face it, you people have lost many great cricketers in the past like Craig McMillan, Nathan Astle, Chris Cairns, and Stephen Fleming. Your current side is undergoing transition. Although the current names are nothing to boast of, I am sure the likes of McIntosh, You, Guptill, and Ryder will replace your old mates and do a fantastic job. Untill then I guess you people need to go through a lean patch. Anyways, my suggestion to your cricket board would be to prepare a seaming pitch for the next test. It may backfire, but certainly a risk worth taking. All the best

U r a very honest person, many people would whinge about being given the short end of the rope (ur wrong catch decision)... Never the less, u batted very well yesterday, better than few of ur "top order" batsmen. Get well soon mate!
Cheers

Top class sweep shots yesterday Ian! They looked excellent at the ground. I thought your dismissal was a bit unlucky but I think umpires are always trigger happy on tail enders. Can you tell the NZ batsmen not too throw the kitchen sink at every ball when Chris Martin comes in. I understand he's possibly the worst ever batsman to play test cricket (but an excellent bowler), but it doesn't help anybody if the other batsman gets out first ball when he comes in.

good luck dude........

All the best for the second test Newzealand folks. I am a cricket lover and want the series to be exciting till the last test. Put up a great show in the second test.

I never knew you guys put so much into cricket which is meant for entertainment for us spectators!! I'm touched. Good luck for the next test IOB!!

Guy!

i hope you will reach your highest score in the very next match ...............like(6,4,6...) may be.....

I know losing is hard and although I support the opposition I enjoyed the game and your bowling. Its been long since I have seen cricket played in such good spirit between two teams. Thank you for your blogs

Ian, Indains outplayed you guys... though i have enjoyed wtahcing you bowl - it was nice to see you bat :-)

i don't see you guys winning this series unless someone picks up 5 for 50 and bowl out india below 150-175 in both the tests :-(

It will be great test/learing exp for you guys to play against the team that is best form..

Hope you remain fit and play next match..

Awesome sticking around for the batting! Good tailend runs. Just need the top order to score eh. go hard!

i love ur blog a lot...n i appreciate ur sense of responsibiltiy....frankly speaking i was like frustrated wen u n brendon were batting...being an indian cricket team's fan i wanted NZ to bundle out early....bt i think u n brsndon were the only one who showed some resisitance....kudos to u....best of luck for next match n take care of ur injury...ur side need u a lot

Wish you a speedy recovery Iain. Cheers.

one thing more IOB...i appreciate your team for such a high standerd of sportsman spirit...i that hav been australia they would have made a big hue n cry of the catch....u people dont even sledge ...i respect ur spirit....

Very well written... All the Best for Napier..

Hi Iain !
Bummer that you a good lad like you had to end up on the losing side, but as you summed it up pretty well yourself, the better side won. For this match, at any rate. I really felt you were the pick of the bowlers from the NZ team and the deliveries to get rid of Dravid and Tendulkar were real rippers. Those two rarely gift their wicket away and you really earned and deserved those wickets. Kuodos to you for that and the way you gritted it out during the 9th wicket partnership with McCullum.
I guess the mental makeup of a few guys in your team currently isn't as solid as say guys like you, Vettori, Ryder and McCullum. Best of luck with working out the composition for the next two matches.
Would be good to see you working up a pace in Napier and giving the Indian mighty bats a serious challenge.
Best of luck, Mate. You're one of those rare honest souls in cricket, who actually walks the talk ! Cheers !

Hard luck lain. . i thought u guys could have given a better fight than u actually did. .neverthless it was a terrific effort from the indian side it was one of the most convincing victories they ever had. .Sachin was outstanding and bhajji bowled superbly. . and we the readers r really enjoyin ur blogs keep blogging and hoping for a better fight from the kiwis in Napier. .all the best. .

Mr. O'Brian,
Keep your head high.. you did your job in the team effort but other players on the team has to pick up the slack ....

keep on ur good works and best of luck for your next test, but not more than India

I enjoy reading your blogs Iain. Do keep at it. What are your thoughts on the referral system? Did you think you could have been saved if the referral system was used in this series?

I tried reading this blog for the last few days. Sorry to say that it is pretty boring and too self-centred to evoke much interest.

Nice batting preformance there mate, truly was an annoying one from my point of view being an Indian supporter. guess all the hard work on your batting is paying off.

Tell your batsmen to do their job properly, then you wont have to concern yourselves with the result........at least u guys will salvage some pride in your performance.......best of luck for the Napier test.......

good luck for the remaining series!! I again enjoyed your bowling but NZ could have fought more.. one thing about harbhajan is sure that if you dont give him a wicket early, he is not gonna get many!! so frustrate him more..!! this is the experience of watching every match played by india anywhere on this beautiful planet!!:D
again good luck n i still hope india win the series!!

tough luck man!...

Atleast you tried hard and gave your everything. I remember on the second day, you bowled beautifully. Overall you were the best pace bowler in your side in this match, and you batted well with great application despite your limitation with batting. To top it all, you gave your everything..... unfortunately for you its a team game, you need all 11 members to contribute the way you did to push this Indian team.

It was great test match, loved each off it and read your blog about the happenings of day from your pen. Its been wonderful, thank you for giving us your view despite you being tired and drained. Gud luck :)

Good show Iain. You were up against a quality batting side, ranked five whole places above you guys. Although the overall game may not have been close, there were moments of genuine fight out there. Your ninth wicket partnership with Brendon was valiant, to say the least. You used your limited batting skills to great effect and despite how bummed you feel about the overall result, you can take heart from the fight you showed. I'm an Indian supporter and it was excruciating to watch, since I was just hoping they'd hurry up and finish it off so I could go to bed :)

I have to agree with Riggers though, you are missing a quality spearhead who can get wickets on any surface. Somebody needs to hurry the batsmen a little, put them in two minds, so the rest of the seamers can benefit from it. As far as the batting goes, maybe a little more positivity wouldn't hurt. You are an efficient one day batting side after all. Good luck with the remaining games. You'll be a better side when its over.

i think newzealand batting is just aweful at the moment if they want to get success versus bigger teas they have to play positively and brendon mcculum is the best choice for opening the innings because i dont see any other batsmen who can handle the initial swing james franklin should be out of the side and jacob oram must come back.

I think you guys lost because of the inexperience your top order batsmen showed against Indian fast bowlers.I hope in the next game your top order batters take some more time and apply themselves to the pitch and the bowlers. Batting order also needs to be changed.It seems very inexperienced at the top order.

I always wanted to know what goes on through the minds of the players who end up on the losing side, especially after such a defeat, as to how they deal with it and all, and you've put it so well. I am loving each and every blog of yours :)

Get well soon Ian! As i have always said, i wish you get all the 10 Indian wickets but still want India to win the game. Something similar to what i wished for Steve Waugh, my all time favorite cricketer next to Sourav Ganguly. I always wished him to score a century against India and still lose the game :) Same to you as well. Good luck!!

all the best

I am a bit surprised with the Kiwi reaction (press, friends and fans) in general. We can certainly understand disappointment in losing. But then there is a total negation in acknowledging the fact that they are playing a superior team. Sometimes you have to just enjoy sheer genius and quality. For instance in Dominion Post there was a heading questioning Sachin's catch and very little mention about his beautiful century.

I did not expect Kiwis to be such sore losers. Defeat must bear introspection, but also admiration and acknowledgement of winner.

You did your best mate. I guess the umpire could have referred your decision to third umpire. Even if we had a 100 run lead I guess we could have made them sweat a little bit. I hope our batting picks up. Essentially watching Tendulkar's innings is the key. From his experience he knows which balls to leave and which to attack. Even in defeat we can learn something from great players like Tendulkar since a test match is a like a Marathon and being quick like sprint (for a 20/20) doesn't work for a test match. No wonder Test match is the true "test" of a cricket team since it requires a team to sustain the intensity session after session. Good luck for the next test. Hopefully we will at least draw with the Indians.

It is difficult to beat India.. Try hard man..Best of luck..

Losing will always hurt cricketer confidence.so don't lose confidence.fight till the last moment of the match.Team Newzealand is an young team.young people can change the world.All the best for napier test

Last time you did a handy job with the bat. Work hard you can even get a fifty but don't forget to do your primary role i.e bowling. You guys are lucky last time that Sehwag got out early. Beware of him this time.That guy has got no mercy whether it is test or ODI or T20.

You are just a amazing guy with all these blogs. U had done pretty well on the 4th day... the partnership was really a frustrating one for the indians.. good to see u getting better with the bat as well.. Even ravi shastri was all praise for u in the commentary box

dont worry iain, test cricket is hard!... all the best to NZ for the next two

Ian, i love your honest comments and feedbacks....having genuine cricketing talent is one thing and having a good cricketing brain is something else....No doubt you have a good cricketing brain....the only problem here is, how do you match guys who not only have genuine cricketing talent but also good cricketing sense....Tendulkar, Dhoni, Sehwag, Zaheer, Dravid etc..you know what i mean?
And mind you Ian, losing this test match is not such a bad thing for NZ cricket..coz..the NZ batsman got an handson learning experience on batting materclass from "Sachin"..belive you me, this innings from "Sachin" would go a long way in bringing NZ cricket up from where it is now..:)

So cheers! mate...enjoy your game and yes do keep writing..

All the best..:)

Debanuj

Hi Ian. Good to hear your point of view. However what was your honest opinion after seeing the replay of your run out (which was not given). A whole lot of us, other than the 3rd umpire, were pretty certain that it was out; and had it been so, it would probably have resulted in an innings defeat. I guess, your eventual dismissal balances the equation and the 74 run partnership was pretty amazing and yes pretty 'annoying'. Congratulations and well played. Your batting and particularly bowling performance seems to improve by the day. Wish you all the best and I am certain that the team will produce a far better performance for the rest of the tour. It takes a match or two to get into the groove. Cheers.

dont worry iain, test cricket is hard!... all the best to NZ for the next two

Well written Iain... I hav read 2 of ur previous posts too... but many ppl commented and I thought they said it all....

Well, first of all, very well done with your batting yesterday... I was getting really annoyed to say the least, I was even contemplating your chances with McCullum batting so well.....

You got a tough decision, but McCullum had a luck for a close catch earlier... Your team got a bad decision in 1st innings as well... So, I guess, luck also didn't play with your team...

Still, you guys have a potential line-up...
hoping for a well-fought 2nd test...

As an Indian, I am yet not confident of test-series win... we can never under-estimate your team

I love your optimism buddy.. All the best for the rest of the tour. Keep writing.

Ian, it is really nice of you to put the event of your run out chance on the blog otherwise some else might have skipped it. But mate, you were out by a whisker actually as no part of your bat was behind the craese. When the bails came off, bat was dead on the crease and that should have been out.
But I doubt about the bat-pad catch that actually led to your dismissal. I am not sure whether that was out.
Anyways, your team needs lot of improvement in case you have to beat India.

Cheers

Ian,
Cricket is, but, a game but honesty is character, it is everything!
I salute your truthfulness in your blog. In general, one could easily sense the propensity to dwell on the positive and downplay the negative, in your words which, is perfectly understandable.
This Indian team has gone through the test of fire to be whether they are. There is no shame, my friend, it is just a learning experience.
Sincerely hope that you take it for what it is. At least, the Indian team is not half as arrogant as the Aussies or arrogant by half as some of them (read Symmo here!).
Good Luck on the next Test matches!!!

Best of wishes for your speedy recovery. We need to see you in action in Napier coz Honestly you were the only one who looked like taking wickets in 1st test. And I was disappointed that you were given out when It was otherwise. But it averages out.. Is it not.. Hope you get five wickets and score a Half Century and lose to Indians by 21 runs ... ;-)

Firstly, wonderful blog Iain! These days, I don't even care about reading all the other articles on Cricinfo! I immediately look for your entry! It's created somewhat of a sensation, and that's because you honestly write what you feel about the game on your travails. Good for you!

Coming to cricket, I think you're the only NZ bowler who looks penetrative, and when you're at your best, you're really good(except for that tendency to conjure out a bad delivery from nowhere.).

Eagerly looking forward to the next test, and you're bowling, blogger!

(Do you look at comments, or what?)

You were not out,for sure.

But do you remember that run out call?
You were out then.So don't be disappointed.

Napier is said to be a good batting track.Your batsmen have to play atleast for 135 overs to entertain thoughts of even a draw!

Mantra for winning india - bend you back bit more, Bowl chest high balls,no room(even 1 inch), pace vary around 140kmph, be aggressive while bowling(don't show respect),encourage them to open up arms,do some flattering(rivalry) in the field, and of course if possible take some tips from shane bond. Otherwise NZ are down and out.

Hard Luck Dude Any Ways India Rock

yeah mate wonderful as always i like the sincerity of ours man and ya u need to be a bit more harder to beat a team like this indian team so all the best for the next test do well i would love to see a 5 for or a fifty from u come on man u can do it cheers mate.......!!!

Hey Iain, Tough luck buddy! But look on the bright side, 3 for 103 in the second innings is not bad. Getting wickets of Sachin and MS is not bad at all. Its good that you hate to lose. The best players are the ones who hate to lose. Just dust yourself and get back to what you always do best...Bowling, Batting and Blogging! 'All the best' for the next game and keep Blogging.
Cheers

thumbs up for you to stick for so long in the match, and for bowling well too to get wickets of tendulkar and dravid. all the best for your fitness and next match. please keep blogging, I love your blogs.

Good show Ian. Loved the guts with which you batted. Make sure you bowl better next match.

ian, i am a keen follower of cricket not only indian but the world cricket. i dont know, why i know very little of u. the first time i saw u when u were steming in to bowl at the speed of some 90 miles an hr in t20 against india with some late movement. i was impressed. i believe that u have a great talent to be a great cricketer and above anything a great man. this i say, because i have been reading ur blogs here on a regular basis, i like the way u pen down ur heart. being an Indian, i will never want u to be successful against India, but i would like to see u among the best fast bowlers of all time. i wish u all the luck in coming future and i believe u will live up to expectations of all who loves new zealand cricket and i m definitely one of them.

Nice write-up. Glad to see you'd the energy and the will to write after the gruelling game. All the best for the next match.

Well i am sure you guys tried your best, but i think at the moment, atleast when you compare Indian Team to the Kiwi team, Indians look far more superior skills wise as well has a lot more experience. It was always going to be hard for you guys, but a good session or two early in the second test can change all that, but being a indian fan i hope not!!, but i am looking forward to a good hard fought TEST from both the teams, hope the weathers good and we get to see some great cricket. Good luck to you and hope you are FIT for the second one.

Like your attitude.

" It’s tough cricket for five consecutive days." Unless it only goes for four :-D

Great battin' mate. Good to see you holding the bat for so long in the test match. But one thing for sure that everyone would agree is that you guys got a real good hiding from the Indians on a sporting wicket. We have to respect that this Indian team is so much better than the other ones that have visited Kiwiland over the years. Anyhow better luck for the next game in Napier.

I would have loved it if it had gone to the 5 th day

Hi Ian

You guys did well. You did well by sticking around with the bat and provided much needed support to Baz. At first you were scratchy, but i thought as you played, you became more and more confident and played well. Goood job, I hope that you carry it into the next match.

You batting line-up has come under a lot of fire of late. Do not lose heart. I see a lot of promise in them. I am from India and not long ago we had a bunch of rookies in our One day side. All young ones : Raina, Gambhir and Rohit. They had some pretty big shoes to fill. But as soon as i saw them, as many others would agree, I could see that they were class players and were here to stay. At first they weren't successful and then they bloomed. The results are there for everyone to see.

As i said, i see the same kind of promise from your team. Martin Guptill looks solid and very composed. He has played some great shots and seems to have good temperament too. He seems @ home on the cricket field.

continued....

Well done mate! U were the best of the NZ bowlers. Looking forward to c u in the 2nd test.

Good luck for the next game. I know you guys can do better. Go NZ!

Hi Iain-

Greetings from Chicago!

It is a real pleasure reading your blog. Just great to get things from someone who is out there playing cricket in the middle. You have to admit that this Indian team is just too good. Its really on a roll with everything clicking well. The batting line up is awesome with 4 of the top 6 averaging over 50. The bowlers also put in a solid team effort. On your end, you had a good match with ball and bat. That was a good fight in the 2nd innings with Baz. Dan and Jesse also had a good match, so did Flynn. He looks like a solid guy at one down. Rest of the team need to pick things up and play harder for you guys to have a shot at winning the next test.

Keep on blogging, bcoz we luv reading it. Good-luck for the next match...

Jay

Good Positive words.. All the very best for ur growth lain.

Excellent article once again. It's honestly a joy to read about your views on the day. Here's hoping to see you once again in Napier, giving the Indian batsmen a fight for the series.

Way to go mate. The way you batted in the two innings should be shown repeatedly to our so-called top six batsmen, who have failed miserably in this match. I hope New Zealand make a couple of changes for the next test. Bring back the in-form Jamie how to open the innings instead of the out of form Mcintosh, Kyle Mills should be replaced by Brent Arnel and maybe if a fit again Jacob Oram is rady for the second test he shold come in for Franklin who seriously lacks international batting experience against big quality bowlers. (I think he is sort of developing into New Zealnd's Irfan Pathan, who started his career as a strike bowler for India and now hardly finds a place in the test or ODI team).

Tough luck Iain...

I feel sorry for you...but thats the way life is...you may know it very well as you would have faced lots of situations like this before entering this National team...

But, still I feel you played your part by picking up 3 important wickets(out of 8 till you were on the field)...

Its just that the team didnt stitch together as a well knit unit...

So, better luck next time for you guys Iain..

[P.S. : I loved that delivery which dismissed Sachin]

continued ...

Flynn seems very solid and an ideal Number 3. Rosco is very talented and is a given. Jesse is the new star. I must confess i did not expect him to show that much composure and maturity to play the kind of test innings as he did. I do not know much about Franklin. Grant Eliott, who played n the ODIs looked good too. All that these guys need is more exposure and confidence, and more importantly the belief in themselves. As you guys get some wins under you belt, all things will fall into place. ( I wantedly skipped Baz. He just needs a little consistency)

You have a good captain in Vettori who backs these batsmen.If these guys realise their potential, in a few years NZ will be a terrific side. As for now, Vettori has to take up more responsibility and bat at no-6.

NZ is a growing side and with a lot of potential. I hope you guys do well. The game of cricket will be the winner.

All the best for the next 2 matches :) May the better team win !

Cheers

Good luck in Napier Iain. You were probably the best bowler for NZ in this test match, good on ya! Hope you're fit for the next match as NZ need you.

Iain
If you read my posts yesterday, I had predicted Bajji doing well and that NZ wont' be able to bat as long as you thought.

It was unfortunate that you were given out, but as you say your luck was the other way with the run out.
No one likes losing and we didn't like losing so badly last time either. Indian team was ridiculed and the same seniors like Dravid and Sachin's averages were questioned by none other than Stephen Fleming (if reports are to be believed). So now you know how losing hurts!
This time, if you prepare fast pitches, it will suit us even better, since we have better fast bowlers and batsmen who play much better. Just wait till you get a fast pitch and see how Laxman plays! Mark my words for your next blog!

Yes, even the best struggle when it comes to the moving ball, but this Indian team struggles much less than it used to.
Looking forward to Napier!

Well Iain all we can say that we are now feeling as a part of a dressing room with your blogs. It’s always nice to read blog from a current player rather than the former ones. One can easily make out the feelings which you are going through at this moment. I thought you batted really well along with Baz and you were certainly unlucky to be given out now that's a pay and parcel of the game you have to live with it. I being a pure cricketing fan would love to see New Zealand coming back strong against one of the world's most feared batting line up. You guys will be nothing less your best to compete against this superb Team India. Well Best of luck for Napier and keep up your good writing :)

I have become a fan of your honest, straight from the heart blog posts. Best of luck for your next test at Napier.
Mrinmoy Ghosh
India

Nice.I liked ur fighting spirit in te game and more than that I think it requires lots of guts to write a blog after being on the loosing side. Cheers!!

Hello Ian,
Tough luck mate ! , i hope u get some wickets and make some runs in Napier. I think u can become a allrounder if u concentrate some time on batting as well. I liked your honest comments , keep it going , i love reading ur blog. Good luck for Napier

Ian, love 2 read ur blog. A very sincere and honest writing. u bowled exceptionally well...hopefully u will be fit for 2nd test...yes india won convincingly but u did not disgrace urself at all..9nth wicket partnership between u and Baz was exceptional (u were a bit lucky to survive a catch out, it was a big edge) however u and baz never gave up...kiwis need to get in patel and southee...mills was a shocker...india will come hard at u guys but u have to be prepared...remember india has not won a series in nz for 33 years....

Nice one Ian...
but why don't you respond to the comments?

No need to worry bro, you was playing good and you gave your best, i hope you all will give even better competition next time.
all the best

Tough luck mate. The Indians outplayed you guys in each and every session. But you bowled well and with a bit of luck might have ended with more. Good luck for Napier and hope the side strain heals well in time. Look forward to your next post. Though, I must warn you, as an Indian supporter I hope MSD'd boys wind things up in Napier with a win.

Hard luck Iain, it was a dominant performance from India. They not only possess a swashbuckling lineup, they've now got the X-factor in MS Dhoni...Best of luck for Napier. NZ is a talented side that needs to group together better. This pandering to the BCCI hasn't helped anyone, you lads are out a genuine, bloody good quick because everyone's afraid of ticking off Modi & his cronies.

Anyway, appreciate your blog and it's honesty, here's wishing you a strong performance in the 2nd Test.

I think I forgot to mention who I meant in the last post, Shane Bond.

Its ok dude... U played ur part... I liked ur bowling very much.. more than that i liked ur attittude... it was awesme... u din let ur team down while bowling and batting... hope u recover from ur injury soon.. i hope ti c u in the next match,,,

All the best for your fitness. Even though I am a strong Indian supporter, I hope that you play well and true to your potential.

Good one Ian! Your positive attiude and passion for winning has been clearly sowcased in this post! Hope Kiwis put up a nice show in Napier.. We are all expecting a cracker of a contest though I hope India to seal the series here itself! Cheer up! Rock on!

Ah lain, losing it a part of the game! You blokes did well anyway. And I am an indian fan, too, btw. I reckon the boys from NZ and up there with the boys from RSA when it comes to sportsmanship. I live in Aus and I tell ya, Aus is way down the ladder there ;)

Hope you are fine and raring to go at Napier. Wish to see you there all guns blazing.

I've go addicted to your blogs was wondering why dint you post yesterday after the game.I understand tests are very tough both on body and mind.Well played Brien you showed good resistance in the middle. I felt sorry for Baz he missed his ton. Keep writing. Hope your form like ur previous game at napier continues. Laxman due for big score keep a watch on this guy :-).

First of all great job done with the bat, but once again for a loosing cause. Nevertheless u derailed a innings defeat which must be sympathising. Lack of inexperience in ur side caused we Indians to runaway with the first ever test win in 33 years. Lack of experience is not an excuse however as experience comes wid loads of talent which neither you are lacking. We Indians will only stop when we have had the series. M sorry to say that you wont have any chance in Napier and the only chance you will have is the 3rd test when we Indians drop their guard and make stupid changes to the side.

Dear Iain
I like your blog very much. Your analysis is very good and the best part and most important is that your views are always impartial. You have tried your best, but do not worry you have lost to a great team and I hope you will remember for a long time the three wickets you claimed of Dravid, Sachin and MS. Hope the injury to is not serious and wish to see u in both the tests. All the best for your next match. Keeping on blogging friend. It feels as if you are chatting with us from the cricket field. Cheers and again wish u all the best.

Good reflections Iain. Best of ... for Napier. Single minded focus.

Good reflections Iain. Best of ... for Napier. Single minded focus.

Ian,

You are a tough guy. I liked the way you hanged in there - you can become a better batsman for sure. Too bad, you got a bad decision, a whole bus could have gone through the bat and ball :)

NZ team just needs momentum and some confidence. NZ is not as bad as it plays ...its a below-par performance...the good side of it is - NZ can only get better, and we need to remember India got the best of conditions as well

Am I the 1st comment?

Cheers

Hi Ian (I think this goes directly to you)

I think u've done well this series. One thing though jumps out reading ur blog. You talk about urself a lot. You guys are getting spanked, it might be a better idea to compliment the other team and talk about their prowess.

Everyone hates losing but ppl hate a sore loser even more, don't dwell on ur close calls etc...takes away a whole lot from what u r trying to do.

In fact not only should u be acknowledging ur opponents talents there are some great players on ur team e.g. Danny Vettori -- give some insight on them, their presence in the locker room etc.

In summary don't take the narcisistic path on this blog..it will hurt ur image and ultimately ur game.

Good luck in the next couple of games (from what I see u'll need tonnes of it)

-J

I love your blog mate. I just love it.
Even though I support your opposite team, I hope you will show some spunk in next match. Good luck!

So, after a embarrassing tour of 2002-03, there is something to cherish about now.....
Now what I expect from India is a 3-0 whitewash bcoz stats say that NZ is ranked 8th in the rankings......
And since every indian player is in terrific form, I don't think that'll be tough......
Cheers to MSD and bhajji........
And Viru plz don't get run out again.....
And for you Iain, if you want sehwag's wicket, target his ribcage area, you'll get ur reward definitely........

Kiwis were surely outplayed by the Indians in all the departments. Vettori is turning out to be a batting allrounder. So we might see a change in tactic by the black caps. J Patel may come in place of a batsman, may be Flynn, and Vettori mat bat at number 6.

Actually, I personally felt, it was a good game in the end. I dont agree that India had done well in all sessions, they had only relatively been good (probably means, they are capable of more fighting abilities or can collapse when put into tough situations). It is harder to win, but its the same for both teams - I would say, NZ wasted a couple of sessions when they had opportunities.
Good things, I liked in NZ in this game - Jesse Ryder and Vettori's partnership, the spell you troubled Dravid (goes miles), McCullum and your partnership. I feel bad about the wrong decisions, but India had them too, and in the end, India used the opportunities well - Tendulkar and Harbhajan's patience, Gambhir-Dravid partnership.
I like your blog Iain, gives me good insights and I see the game like I had actually played it, thanks and good luck for your next game!

get well soon & best of luck for the next game
play well
(but not better than india ;D)

Well nice post Iain....well do stay optimistic and work harder enough to rattle Indian batsman.
May we all audience have a stupendous match at Napier....
.....An genuine cricket loving fan

Actually, I personally felt, it was a good game in the end. I dont agree that India had done well in all sessions, they had only relatively been good (probably means, they are capable of more fighting abilities or can collapse when put into tough situations). It is harder to win, but its the same for both teams - I would say, NZ wasted a couple of sessions when they had opportunities.
Good things, I liked in NZ in this game - Jesse Ryder and Vettori's partnership, the spell you troubled Dravid (goes miles), McCullum and your partnership. I feel bad about the wrong decisions, but India had them too, and in the end, India used the opportunities well - Tendulkar and Harbhajan's patience, Gambhir-Dravid partnership.
I like your blog Iain, gives me good insights and I see the game like I had actually played it, thanks and good luck for your next game!

wow !, last line make sense. You guys need to come harder , no matter how much experiance you have. Must respect to this view and looking forward for next test. Just wonder about pitch which allows pacer to laugh. Then you guys might need hard work as well as luck bit. Best luck mate.

When going gets tough, the tougher gets going. You will have to play hard with intensity to make any success. Win the mental game first, rest will just follow you. All the best for the series.

I love reading your blog! keep it up!

hey brieny, nice blog man, i love reading it , but this time its different u got bit of bad luck this time but this is how indians play, u need to get our openers out early to get us out in less runs,try to bowl sehwag on middle and off stump he will be in trouble for sure, best of lucj for mapier mate

Iain, Mark Richardson wrote a very good article recently. India is a far better test side under balanced circumstances, and it will take a lot for you to win a test match against this team. Even Indian bowlers looked a lot better than your lot.

That's fine. Keep trying your best and if you can win, that'll be great.

It's nicely written by Iain. It's not always possible to be on the winning side. The best thing will be to learn the lesson from it and move forward positively.

I think Iain is just focussing on the events involving him. But if he can give a over view from his team's point of view also, it would be great.

Well done, Iain. We love your blog...

cheers,
Suria

The partnership was 'annoying' no doubt to the Indians. Watching it from here in India, I had started wondering whether the 'tailender-bug' had hit us indians once again. The crucial thing for NZ is to get the top order in place. Losing six wickets before lunch is really bad. Guptil seems like he is a real good bat and it was only a lapse of concentration which got him out. The bowling of Mills is a real worry, specifically since he spearheads the attack. I would suggest he comes first change rather than opening the attack, a la Alan Donald when he started losing pace. I am also intrigued by the fact that none of the NZ bowlers are bowling accurate bouncers. Try to bowl at a length where the bowl is constantly aimed at the chest / throat, similar to what Wasim Akram did in his heydays. As far as I am concerned, the indian batting line up is the best of the current lot in the world, but baring a couple of batsmen, their achilles heel is still the fast bouncer aimed at the adams apple.

Ian, Now a days I started liking your blogs I should say. I am a die hard Indian fan and I found your blogs full of truth... We guys Respect Blackcaps as well. I guess a year ago or two, when we were losing badly we fans spoke about Indian Team playing like Blackcaps with team spirit and Playing as a team. We learned that from you guys, fighting hard and playing as though you are defending everything you have. hats off to you guys. Don't worry about losing you guys played good cricket... being All the best for you guys for Napier test (Dont win it guys Draw that match and the next one too, because we need to win the series)

Iain,You are a tough cricketer and winning and losing is part of this lovely historical game. I think NZ is a fab team and having stayed in NZ and doing umpiring in Wellington ( which club team did you play for ?) I know Kiwis do not like losing..Sachin and Kiwis batting failed the team but as Andy has mentioned..Napier will be a sterner test for the Indians and I for one feel confident of that. Indians are tentative beginners and if Kiwis come at them with intensity and they are 2/3 down for not many..they will be under pressure. In test cricket it is important to buy a wicket for less than 40 runs, if you are bowling and score more than 40, if you are batting..As you mentioned, It is 5 days of building blocks(or more recent "Tetris") that get's the team the victory. Lastly it is 3 game series and 1-0 is irrelevant to the final outcome.

Hey Iain....Don't be disheartened....u did ur part , got 3 good wickets in the 2nd innings...& then coupled with McCullum to avoid an innings defeat , which is a small consolation. One thing I would like to point out is that just a few overs prior to your dismissal, Simon Taufel had failed to see a rather big bat-pad from McCullum off Harbhajan which was caught by Laxman at silly point, so ultimately it was justice to Bhajji...
Anyways,Get Well Soon..

Hey lain,
Just work on the delivery that comes in to the right hand batsmen. If you manage the right length with precision - You are in for a wicket feast... This works for Gambhir as well - I am sure yu've noticed him fish outside offstump at the earlier part of his innings...

Don't feel unlucky for getting out mate.. there was a run out decision that was in your favor. 95% percent of other umpires would have given you out on what we saw on tv. I hope you saw the replay. Luck evens itself out.

Considering the way Harbajan bowled, i appreciate the effort by O brien and Mac. Good effort and you need to do better against a tough opposition like india. All the best for Napier

Hey Ian, you seem to have the goods needed for test cricket. You kept steaming in session after session, over after over and ball after ball. Great to watch your perseverence !. The Indian batsman were posted a challenge. You were a bit short of a length though I thought. You could have got them on the front foot even more often. Anyways you would know the conditions in your country more than I would. Now that you have got the taste of this Indian batting line up, we would expect more planning/execution and eventually the sting from you guys in the next two test matches. These Indian players are great pack of players but not invincibles. All you guys need to do is to break their confidence which is right now sky high. Create an element of doubt in their minds.

So kept tredding in the same vein. You and your team will scale much more peaks in the coming tests. All d very best!!

Regards,
Your new fan from India

Iain great blog keep going! We love your blog, yours and Kumara's writing are probably the most respected on this site! We love hearing the reality of players thoughts as opposed to the often emotionless and misinformed , critical ,opinions of the media (which unfortunately includes writers on this site)! So keep going this is a great change!

Well done Iain, you annoyed the heck out of those Indians with that partnership. Good luck for the next test, hopefully the pitch will help!

Is this really yours as in Ian O'Brien's blog?
Just wondering please don't feel bad.

As a fully NZ supporter I was devastated by that loss. And to cap it all off the bowling was rubbish in the second innings.

The REALLY frustrating thing about this NZ side is the fact that they are not playing to their potential. NOT EVEN CLOSE. I have seen the you guys field out of your skins when playing against teams where you have batted badly. I have seen the bowlers get their line and lengths right and the field being attacking and positive. What I saw in the test was a team that was tired, scared, passive and got trodden over and outclassed by a team that played to their potential. There are no areas that I saw the NZ team play their best and this has been a trend over this summer of cricket. We have players who have shown glimpses of greatness but arent patient and aggressive enough. You were probably the best of the NZ bowlers throughout the match because you bowled aggressively and with the intent of wickets. Batsmen looked tentative and unsure. I think Baz should be no.5.

Hi Ian...India have won the 1st test quite easily n have gone 1-0 in 3match series n lot of work to be done by NZ to get back in the series...i think it is impossible for NZ to beat india in this series n i hope india wins the test match series 3-0 .....bhajji hve bowled well in the 2nd innings n slienced the critics...looking for 2nd test....
..........Chak Dey India................

Losing is easy . Winning is hard.We have to be harder..

Nice words to finish.

Nice blog mate. But things would be more tough for you if india wins toss at napier

Hi Iain, unfair to blame the Kiwi batsmen alone for the heavy defeat. The bowlers too have to take some responsibility. When the 7th wicket fell, India was only 160 odd ahead. You guys allowed them to add another 80 runs from thereon. The fielding too was ragged, uncharacteristic of what the world has come to expect of the Kiwis.

Anyway no point in crying over spilt milk. Hope you recover fast from your niggle and keep up the good work in the second test too. Your bowling is more consistent and your batting has picked up by leaps and bounds. All the best.

Personally can't figure out why McCullum bats so low down the order in tests. Surely he deserves to bat ahead of Franklin atleast.

Hey Iain, I commented on your blog right after your 2 T20 wins againt India. I mentioned how you guys have unearthed talent and have great potential. I haven't changed my mind. I'm a die-hard Indian fan, but believe with perseverance and mental toughness the kiwis can match it against the best teams in the world in the Test match arena. Good luck with the second Test. GO INDIA!

That's nice to hear Ian.Yes it was tough playing against India, specially after that mammat 520. Hope to see better performance NZ in NAPIER, all the best.

Well written mate. Good luck for next match.

Hey Iain,
Thanks so much for your views, its wonderful to hear from someone out there in the field!.
Yes those run outs must be deceiving.
Good Luck for the next test in Napier. Prepare well and dont get injured or anything.
-Arjun

Well well Iain, Strange things have happened in cricket indeed just like you had said. The New Zealand innings completely nosedived and then lingered around a little longer than expected in the end. You were given not out when you were run out and given out when you were not out! Tim was given not given the benefit of the doubt (though it looked clean enough to me) to be followed by Baz getting a double life once when on 3 and again when he was caught bat-pad off Bhajji. Guess thats the way cricket is. Good job keeping out the 1-2 deliveries every over though.
But I am a little disappointed in this blog. The majority of it consists of your partnership. It would have been nice to know a bit about Bhajji himself who took six wickets on a batsmen-friendly pitch or your feelings when you faced an innings defeat.
Anyways, well played by India and all the best to New Zealand and yourself. Guess a green top is coming up next.

If NZ was touring and up 1-0 in a 3 game series, I can bet my life that you guys would have got a square turner for the next game. What is stopping NZ from dishing out a 02-03 style pitch? I say dish out a green top, that is the only chance you might have against our guys. And I would love to see India still beat you guys!

I think NZ did well after being 60 for six in first innings. India did well as it had experienced players like Tendulkar and Dravid. NZ has lost good players to ICL due to bureaucracy of BCCI and ICC. They played well but were defeated by a very experienced team

Kiwis should open with Jesse and Baz. It is all about getting a good start and those two have gotten you good starts in all ODIs. If you lose a couple of wickets too quickly, it robs the middle order of spirit and demoralizes them.

You guys lost the game but not the Spirit, Winning and loosing are part and parcel of the game. Tough luck this time and show your mettle in the next one. I really like your sportsmanship and it requires big heart to accept defeat and you do certainly have tonnes of those. I started to really admire you and you showed good temperament while you are batting with McCullam but devoid of technique. There your are - rectifying your mistakes what you did in the 1st innings. Your can achieve anything when you put your mind into. Your can take many positives from this match and build on those for the next test. oh yes sorry on your dismmisal. Good luck buddy.

Bring Green Pitch. That is only NZ has a chance. Yes if sehwag fails , india can be put under tremendous pressure. You need to sustain pressure on dravid and tendulkar and do not give 4balls. That is the key. You really need a bowler who holds one end tight and other end you bring pressure. NZ miss shane bond. Period. You need speedster with 145+ speed. Southee will be good if NZ make green pitch. Hope they do. Because india pasting NZ is not fun. I am an indian but i need fair fight. I do no think the problem was with NZ batting. Ishant sharma will get his right hander wicket. Taylor is his bunny. Ishant sharma schooled Ponting. His angle of delivery and height is impossible to play as one miscalculation , you are gone. Key guy is Taylor. He has to tough it out. Defend defend. DO not try to be sehwag. He is something else. Kinda freak. Dravid is true example of Test batsman. He is da greatest Batsman ever lived. Pure will power!. Taylor has to learn from Dravid , get tips from him.

"Test cricket is hard; it’s supposed to be. It’s tough cricket for five consecutive days. It’s hard on the body and extremely hard on the mind". Actually we can't even imagine how tough it is at that level! Imagine facing speeds upwards of 140 kmph and you are expected to score shots...
Best of luck for the two tests and I hope we get to see really good cricket.

Ok my tips to NZ for fair fight.
1. Green Pitch.
2. if it is green pitch play defense and learn to leave ball against Zaheer. Oncefew overs gone smack Zaheer khan. He will be ineffective after few overs. Attack indian's energy level of bowlers. They get tired after first two overs of the spell.
3. Right hander play careful against Ishant sharma. His bounce and angle will get any righthander. Defend defend. Play waiting game.Wait for energy of bowlers to drop then attack like crazy.
4. I can't give tips to bowl to Indian batsman. Hahaha. But can give bowling tips against tendulkar. Strong onside field and bowl incutter on to tendulkar stumps. Or bowl close outswinger initially. He normally fails on that as age catching him up. He rarely get out with catch. best to get him out with LBW. long on fielder as straight drive. And he flicks straight ball so strong onside field. If he try to be cute , he gets out. Good luck. VVS laxman is easy Big incutter. Watch asif bowling to VVS.

Great blog, Ian. From watching the match, I don't think you guys bowled badly - you bowled well, in fact. But your top batsmen seemed to be stuck in the 1-day mindset, and did not adjust to the test format.

Once Rahul Dravid was asked about his test mindset, and he replied, "To bat as long as I can." Not score as many runs as I can, but bat as long as I can. That is the fundamental difference -- you have to bat time, not just runs.

As a result, your scores of around 250 in both innings would be competitive scores in the 1-day format, but fell short in a test.

Good Luck for the next match! Wish you guys all the best!

Firstly, I find it kinda amusing to see more Indians commenting on your blogs than your fellow New Zealanders. Quite some brotherhood, eh?
You're right, you guys were outplayed. But not writing you guys off. As an Indian cricket follower, the first thing you've got to know is that it isn't over until it's over; anything can happen. The Indians have a long way to go, and they know it.
Good luck for the next one, and get well soon!

Hi Iain. Well written. I am a die hard Indian fan. Actually yr team is in the building process. Anyway loosing at home hurts very badly. I thought you might have been given with the new ball as you are the fastest of your bowlers. James Franklin I am sorry to say this doesn't fit in the scheme of things. Your fielding was really a shocker to me. I have seen yr team in the past fielding and throwing superbly. I have never seen you dropping catches and misfielding. Had the chances been taken I think it would have been much closer. I cant imagine you missing out for the Napier. Prepare well. Dont loose heart. All the best.

vettori should come up the order.ian o brien bowled some beautiful bouncers.ross taylor should play his part in the innings mcintosh was unlucky but newzealand were outplayed in all departments by INDIA

Iain, I do remember your wanderers' 064040. You did fought well with your bat in the Seddon Park, that 100 min stand was really remarkable. All the best for Napier.

Hi Iain,
You were the pick among the bowlers...if you miss out the next test...its a shame....its very refreshing to see a player with s keen eye on things...and also the ability to present them well..all the very best

If Bond had played, there is no question Indian lead would have been probably around 150, which would have set up an exciting fourth innings. Damn you BCCI.

Enjoy reading your blog however was disappointed with this one - you made sure to bring up the incorrect decision however conveniently forgot to mention the TWO clear cut (one LBW when he was on nought and one bat pad) against Baz. Sorry you let us down...!

i think kiwis played badly in the 1st test.the main reason for this loss is the 1st session of the match ,where newzeland lost almost half of the side for just 61 runs.even through newzeland played well the 2nd session it is hard to get big score in the 1st innings specially when they have only four wickets in hand.after newzwland getting out for 279 indian scored 520,then onwards its always tough ask for newzeland.then newzeland had only one way that is to save the match.and then it is tough for any team to bat for 2 days.in the 2nd innings newzeland made a mistake by sending kyle mills up the order as a night watchman,newzeland should have sent vettori instead of mills.vettori is a better player.he has played remarkeblely well in the last couple of years specillay in the batting department,and also in the bowling as well.thats where they made a mistake.again ian u batted well with mecullam but again ur unlucky to be given out.iam hoping kiwis to play better cricket in the 2nd test

We love your true spirit unlike the the Australian spirit with which we are tired of. You guys belong to a different class compared to the arrogant Aussies. Wish you a good luck. Your bowling unit is not that bad. But your inexperienced batting line up that is letting you down.

Good blog but by seeing the comments i feel there are only Indians following cricket. There are v few comments from NewZealand followers. I feel very few NZ are following and enjoying cricket. U response awaited

Love your blog as always...i agree with comments posted on your blog, that Brendon/Jesse should open with Mcintosh/Guptil... I understand losing is unbearable but there is always something you can take from that.... I was hoping you guys will push it till 5th day. anyways... good luck for next two and i hope you guys come up with green tops... something tells me you guys are worried that indian fast bowlers might decimate your team if pitches were like 02-03 series..

damn!! that was an frustrating partnership for the 9th wicket dude!! u kno..at least for me as an Indian fan. The way India were going in the recent past i thought you guys gave away the match in the very first day after lunch! but kno what Ian? you are bowling some seam beauties! keep it coming!

Ian,

Great Blog, When India is playing against NZ, I pray good things happen to 12 players (11 Indians and you) :D.

It was very good performance from you. You were the only one who looked like taking wickets and batted with tremendous application. Hats off to you and way to go.

I also love Cricket when Cricket is played in the true spirit. The whole of the test, there was no talk from either team.

I am sure NZ will bounce back, you guys are known for your fighting spirit.. Good Luck!!

NZ and IOB, please show all your skills to India and defeat them in the next two tests. Good luck. Indian team is defeatable.

Boss, really good blog and responses. I am really amazed by responses you are getting.
Yes, one way of looking at test playing is play selfish or shall we say "team"fish. It certainly looks ugly. One fine performance from few is enough for an ODI win, but for a test match of 5 days, you need all to add their bit(s). It should be teamfish than selfish.

Hi Ian

As a great cricket follower and an expat indian in San Fransisco, I really enjoy reading your blog. I had been to Hamilton and Auckland in Jan, and visited those stadiums too, really awesome people and cities. I wish you and your team all the best and hoping to see some good cricket, cheers

Firstly Congratulations to the Indian team and supporters (first test win in N.Z in 33 years).
I was gutted to see the lack of application, I’m sure the determination was there just the ability to put that into practice (under pressure) was missing.
Great to see test match cricket in N.Z and a 3 match series (all to rear down here)! I’m sure the guys in the team would have taken a lot from this, we have the makings of a very competitive unit and with experience (more test cricket) and the talent in team things can only improve.

Best of luck for the next match (can’t wait), go hard!

I find this blog now losing its excitement - the postings of Ian was insightful the first few times - Now, it is really lacking zip - Ian, what happened

New Zealand - cricket is betetr than what they have shown - I mean in Tests - ODI - India is at the top

next Test, prepare a teal swing and seam type wicket - New Zealand may suffer as well - but that's the only way they can take 20 Indian wickets

so, stop preparing wickets that suit spinners and batsman - sachin, sehwag and dravod are so good, they can play in all wickets

Neha - not suprising there are more Indian comments on this blog than Kiwis - seeing Kiwis are outnumbered about 250 to 1.

It was great test for India.But the way NZ batted in first innings was really great...!I think if they want give fight in second test the have too bat as long as they can.Best of luck,Indian fan but i like to see NZ fight in second test

Nice one Ian, one dropped catch off Tendulkar changed the game. The team is improving under the new coach & all the fans are behind you boys.

Lan, the 9th wicket fight was great, it frustrated indian fielders however they had scored
500 plus and it was just bad luck that you were declared out though the replay was in yr favour.Early wickets fall was a tragedy and Harbhajan was too good for NZ!

The Kiwis have no chance of competing against this experienced & entertaining Indian side. Accept it & get on w/ it. The reason why everyone found your partnership w/ McCullum "annoying" was that you were just delaying the end. There was absoluely no chance of your changing the end result. NZ Cricket & Vettori's defensive tactics of packing the team w/ allrounders makes the bowling attack lack confidence. The "Jack of all Trades" approach at this level doesn't work.

Hi Ian,

Fantastic, keep blogging. I saw you in close range when you played Australia in Adelaide. I thought your bowling was good. NZ team is young, you will get there, dont worry. Your top order batsmen had no clue playing a test match, I felt they were in a hurry. Ask them to stay put for a while, like you did with Brendon. I want NZ to perform well & 'ANNOY' Indians but I hope India wins this series. Dont get me wrong I love good cricketers around the world.
GOOD LUCK.

damn!! that was an frustrating partnership for the 9th wicket dude!! u kno..at least for me as an Indian fan. The way India were going in the recent past i thought you guys gave away the match in the very first day after lunch! but kno what Ian? you are bowling some seam beauties! keep it coming!

best of luck for the next test. Can't wait for it to start (more for your blog than the test match). keep it up!!

Not many teams can come back from being 60/6 on the first day of the match. I felt that if the target for India had been 150 instead of 36, there would have been a few hiccups at the very least. Ross Taylor has been a non factor this entire tour. It's about time he showed why he is a highly rated batsman.
The series is still very much alive. There's 2 more games to go. Wish you the best!

Hi Iain,

A very nice blog from you. I really love to read blog from cricketers and I hope you inspire the Indian cricketers too to start writing blogs :).
I am sure you guys would come hard on India the next test. All the Best!

Cheers

Hey Ian,

It is a nice blog you have got here. As you said, test match is about the patience. Patience in whole sense. I don't know much about the tactics in cricket, however my only suggestion would be to test the opponent team's patience. Indeed, it is not the easiest thing to do, but you need to stick on to it. Well, it is not all about patience, it requires some thought too. For instance, I don't see a reason as to why Dravid is being fed with wide balls. He never plays them. The more closer you bowl to him, the most likely chances that you get him to play and thereby getting him out. Though, he is good at playing when bowled close to his body, I still take it as positive point just because one can get him play the ball, instead of avoiding it. I hope to see the best of you in the next match. Honestly, if I were you, I wouldn't read all the comments in your blog. It is huge and one sided.

I can't help that think that lack of test cricket doesn't help NZ. If you look at the amount of test caps often 1 indian player has more than the entire NZ team. Also there is nothing coming up. No cricket for NZ till june and that's the 20/20 cup.
Test cricket has it's own flows and methods that you only learn if you play and we just don't play enough. It's a great shame as it is the greatest form of the game and it is the true test of a great cricketer.

So come on world play us! come to NZ we're not so bad the indians are having a great time.

All the best .. will like to see you @ naiper...

Nice batting. guts u missed out by one run but you guys did awsome u n Baz were great.At least you didnt loose by an innings which i geuss would be worse than loosing by 10 wickets. Good Luck in Napier hopefully you can play better and just out play the inidans this time!good luck all the best for a quick recovery!!

Hey us Kiwis read this blog, I guess we just don't feel as compelled as you Indians to post :)

We love that the this Indian team is here, and even moreso the fact that they are playing their best cricket against us and not taking us lightly.

Yes we miss Shane Bond from our bowling attack, and Fleming and Astle from our top order, but the experience our current guys are getting is invaluable.

Perhaps we'll give you the contest you long for in a few years, after Jesse, Guppy and Rosco have a few more centuries each... and OB has a few 5fers!

Hey Iain! I watch you guys on TV - but I never know what’s goes on through your minds. Thank you for your blogs.
Through your blog "Dark times and daemons" - its really nice to know that no matter what, there is no escaping our human feelings - irrespective if we are pros or just amateurs.
I'm watching NZ after a long time and the likes of Guptil, Jesse and yourself add a lot to the team. It may not mean much to you - this coming from a cricket commoner - but you have the skills - don't give up. Have faith in yourself, know you can do it - and you will succeed. Give nothing less than 100%.

gud luck.waitin to see sehwag vs jeetan,o'brien

Ian, Such a great blog...i love to read your each and every blog. Really our Indian team outplayed NZ in each and every department. Hats-Off to our Indian Team. By the same time you guys fought well. Best wishes for our Indian team as well for NZ team for next match in Napier.

It seems i am much more hopeful in you than you yourself. I am praying you get 5 wicket in next test. I am kind of sure you will get it. Just collect yourself, You are surely better than what we see in first test. I an indian and i am supporting you. Does that tell, How much you have already done? I would love to win a bet from my aussie friend, that you are can get 5 this time. No worries if you can but like they say: DIE TRYING!
Indian saying : Do your Karma, leave the rest to god almighty.
(just do what is assigned to you , best you can, and result will be given by god.
Your fan, Danny

Ian,You are giving me surprises each time i read your blog.You are extremely honest and put your everything which is a rare quality to have.Indians are playing great cricket and nothing to take things personally for the defeat.Put up your best and let the best team win.regards and all the best for 2nd test

I think daniel vettori must bowl as many overs as he can cuz he is by far the best kiwi bowler at the moment but he is under-rating himself hope 2 see jeetan patel in the squad...

Its hard to win in Test unless one team really exhibits its potential in all three departments. Nevertheless its NZ bowling that let them down. Try bowling the nagging length, the shorter deleiverlies that Indians dont like to play and maintain your bowling line according to field setting which I found missing in the last test. Good luck NZ and we all want NZ coming with flying colours and square up the series and finishing the series with deceider.

I am diehard fan of Indian cricket team. But I love your column. And also like you to get five wickets and scoring 50 in the next test. But India wins the test. Good luck Ian. Keep the writing on and on.

More indians than kiwis on the comments section. NZ were beaten fair and square but you know what's more terifying - Virender Sehwag hasn't batted yet. Can't wait for the next one. Good Luck mate!

I thoroughly enjoy reading your blog posts very insightful and well written. I hope more cricketers do what you do. I don't have to very far back in memory to remember how badly Indian teams lost tests outside India. It is really good to see them playing so well in NZ. If there was a team I would root for after India it would be NZ. I love watching you guys play especially Dan and Baz and now Jessie Ryder. Good luck for the next test. I hope Sehwag can give you guys nightmares :)

Hi Iain,
It would be a miracle if your NZ team wins any of the tests. As would readily agree, this Indian team is so full of the MASTERS of the game, that it will be just an imagination to even think of any win by team NZ in the foolowing tests. It is simply that there is just no hope. One has to live with that. The dwarf cannot touch the moon. The talent-gap is too wide to be breached. If anything happens on the contrary, it will be remembered as surprise. Learn to live with it, Iain.
Best of luck

That's nicely written Iain. Wish you a best of luck for your next match.

Hey Ian. Its always nice to read your blog. I would appreciate if you could provide some insights on what goes on in planning against a particular batsman or playing in a particular situation. Btw you bowled pretty well. Its just that we are a far better team. Don't loose hope.

Iain, you should explore the option of disabling comments on your blog. The comments here make your blog unreadable. Such fawning over the Indian team and a lack of grace towards you, your team and the content of your post by most of these commenters here are embarassing to say the least. A few comments here and there would be acceptable, but your blog seems to attract whole hordes of one eyed fans.

Don't feel disappointed Iain. Losing is a different thing than losing to the Master. Sometimes, you need to give it to the better ones. It was India's match right from the day one. They outplayed you guys in all departments. You know, "Sachin Tendulkar" is something that can never be written off. Beware of him. You are not playing only against 10 other Indians, but Sachin himself counts 10 times. So its NZ XI against India's XX.. :P ha ha... Don't try to do something that is beyond your control. Follow a simple mantra, "Just Work Hard". Wishing you luck n also congrats for your 3 wickets. Being an Indian, I hope you don't get any more again. Tc...

Great blog IOB! I would just like to volunteer my two cents for the New Zealand think tank. So, yoou got things right by getting Sewhwag out early, as the pace at which he scores is more damaging to your psyche than the scoreboard, so you saved some sold sweat there. Don't count on a run oput for a 2nd time though, try and have a short mid-on and bowl inswingers. No advice on Tendulkar, nothing works. Dravid is talened and skilled, but currently his confidence is down.. work on that.

Whatever pithes we prepare .. they r going to beat hell out of us .. bottom line is, its tough to bowl out .. Sehwag, Gambhir, Sachin, Dravid.. & tougher to face Zaheer, Ishant, Bhajji if we go for seaming & eicket friendly pitches .. so in this test series we should just try to avoid big defeats & learn batting tips from the masters..

Good luck

Well Ian just think of Bowling outside off on correct lengths don't care who is batting..think that even he is beatable with consistency........Let the concentration and determination be consistent with the NZ so that we guys can witness some really tough cricket

Hi again, Ian. One more comment from an Indian supporter, but I am a bigger fan of good cricket before my loyalties come into play. I would wake up at 2am in Bombay just to watch Shane Bond bowl on TV.

Having played first class cricket myself, your batting order leaves me scratching my head. What are batsmen of the caliber of McCullum and Vettori doing in positions like number 7 and 8?

Their very position in that lineup forces them to rotate the strike in order to shepherd the tail, instead of expressing themselves at batsmen. More often than not, they run out of partners before making a significant contribution in Tests, or holing out because they are trying to score quick runs before they run out of partners.

You batting order needs some re-jigging, in my opinion, for your team to be more competitive.

Best of Luck!

Okay a little disappointed that there has been no update while you were off from playing a match. Was wondering what the preparation for the next match is.

By the way you have won a new legion of admirers. You are a quirky guy, the blog is
first of its kind and it is interesting.

A team effirt is all well appreciated but when it comes to wrapping up the innings bowlers have no ideas to strike at times of need... to let after 6 wickets down less than 75 or so ..and then carry the fight .....it is always not bowlers record or batsmen prowess it is using of part time bowlers to good use who can chip in with results which will give team and the captain the necessary comfort of restraining... our seamers it seems lost the great power of letting the ball do the damage at appropriate time when it is most needed...Please do not put more burden on the players and we cannot always expect expertise to play its part while you let the things go off the hook by your complacency or lethargy ... Always it is to be taken seriously the fighting quality on the opposite camp also... please keep in mind and put your and captain's task within reasonable reach.... for all the good work you have done kudos...! have some ideas and let not think only perfect balls can take wikcets!!

Hi Iain,
It is tough playing a team like India at the moment. They are in top form and everything is falling into place. They remind me of how Australia was when they were at the top of their game. As with South Africa the batting is the key. It is hard to put a foot wrong when your top five are firing like they are. You guys have it in you to win against India and I truely believe they were not expecting the competition they faced so far. If Tendulkar had not been dropped on 10 it would have been totally different so keep your chin up. Good luck with the rest of the series.

Hi Iain,
This Indian Team can be rated the best to tour NZ.
It would take an herculean task to claim 20 wickets in any match, especially if there is an explosive start from Sehwag and with demi-god Sachin in such tremendous form. Good luck!

Well, I really like your blog and Kiwis I think are an under-rated team. you guys have it in you to make it to the top 5 teams in One Day and 20-20. But for test cricket, I guess you guys need a bit more time in the middle and playing against top teams like Oz, India and SA will do a lot of good.

All the best Iain and yes I really like your style of writing. Keep it going mate.

Hey Iain,

The great thing about your blog is that it is the first hand version of what goes inside a cricketer's head while playing the game. I like that you write directly to the reader as though we are chatting informally. Keep it going!

On NZ defeat - Your team needs to figure out the form of Kyle Mills and James Franklin. Both seem to be out of it.

Last time it was a LBW Appeal by Bhajji, By the way the best way is to play for a Draw on dead wicket against India right now, anyways all the best.

I'm Sure you guys will put on a better show in the 2nd test...When times are good everyone becomes a "Guru"...but I still have to say this...Dan is not a test match "cap-bow" material...He is good in the shorter version of the game coz he can contain the batsmen and as a result gets wickets...test match the batsmen just wait for the bad ball. Give a few new guys a go and someone else the captaincy..results want be visible immediately but if u find the right ppl they can turn the team around....look at Smith for SA and Dhoni for Ind.

I haven't got anything against the NZ commentators but trust me I have watched matches all through my life but haven't seen such biased commentators ever in my life. I presume it's because of desperation watching their team being all over the park in the one day matches n again in the 1st test match..I always wanted India to win the test series but how I would love beat this side badly now..