On the backfoot: MS Dhoni © Getty Images

A 2-0 victory would have been a more correct index of the difference between India and New Zealand. The visitors appeared only too satisfied with a 1-0 win. This is not how champion teams play, and if India aspire to knock Australia off the perch at the top, they will have to be more ruthless in their approach, more focused, and not so easily satisfied. Suresh Menon has more in Dreamcricket.com.

In the end, a series victory in New Zealand will deflect the questions that need to be asked of the Indian captain. The fact that it has come after four decades will mean that Mahendra Singh Dhoni's curiously defensive captaincy won't come under scrutiny. It was the Indian captain's inexplicable defensiveness that decided the Test in Hamilton, and not the rain.

Martin Crowe apologising about his criticism of the stand-in Indian skipper Virender Sehwag, Brendon McCullum's dismissal and the person who gave Jesse Ryder a new bat. These are among Paul Holden's picks for the 10 muppets from the third Test between New Zealand and India in Wellington. Read more on his blog Sideline Slogger.

Muppet #7: Whoever came up with the rule at the Basin Reserve that punters must enter the ground in the lunch break only through the two tiny gates at each end. That would be at the two skinniest points around the perimeter and away from where most of the people were sitting. Pity the security guards who were abused for their lack of common sense as they tried in vain to enforce the rule.

In the New Zealand Herald, Chris Rattue looks back at a cricketing summer of relentless frustration and fascination for New Zealand.

All things considered, the national side almost copes, although it is an eternal frustration that the lack of anything approaching B-grade opening batsmen prevents the Black Caps from realising their potential. This is the handbrake on New Zealand cricket. Whatever New Zealand Cricket is doing to find openers, it ain't working. If ever a sport needed to put together a think tank in an effort to sort out a specific problem, then this is the cause.

In the same paper, David Leggat lists the top ten moments of India's tour.

April 8, 2009

Roadkill no more

Posted on 04/08/2009 in India in New Zealand, 2008-09

The single most remarkable feature of India's series win is that this was a series with no transformative moment, no miracle rescue, no return from the edge of the abyss. The quality of the opposition may have much to do with that but overall, India's execution and control of games was immaculate, writes Sharda Ugra in India Today.

Oddly enough, the first sign of genuine vulnerability from MS Dhoni's men in New Zealand came when they were at their most dominant, right at the end, with the delayed declaration in Wellington. It was almost as if India did not trust their own (proven) superiority over the world's No. 8 Test team enough ... The team dreams of being No. 1 and so they must; but to get there they would need to sharpen their fielding as well as their risk-assessment skills. India are not roadkill anymore and this habit of looking anxiously over their shoulders in anticipation of calamity must be kicked.

April 7, 2009

Gambhir top of the class

Posted on 04/07/2009 in India in New Zealand, 2008-09

The New Zealand tour ended in anti-climax, with the Wellington weather denying India a 2-0 series victory and making them wait a few more months for their 100th Test win. Dileep Premachandran in his blog on the Times website gives the players marks out of 10 for their efforts.

April 2, 2009

Sehwag has no business leading a Test team

Posted on 04/02/2009 in India in New Zealand, 2008-09

There may be no greater sight in the game than Virender Sehwag using his licence to thrill at the batting crease. But, to be honest, he should not be leading India. The job calls more often for a cerebral approach that may be beyond a cricketer whose approach to the game is on an entirely different plane, writes R Mohan on ESPNStar.

A skipper should be able to tell off his batsmen if he thinks they have not played responsibly. How can we expect Sehwag to have been able to convey this message when he took a swipe at Vettori soon after hitting him for six? And he did this when the only result India could realistically play for was a draw after having conceded more runs than water flowing down the Waikato.

For a spectator's account of the Napier Test, read Garth George's piece in the New Zealand Herald.

April 1, 2009

The cult of Jesse

Posted on 04/01/2009 in India in New Zealand, 2008-09

	Hit parade: Jesse Ryder © Getty Images

When Jesse Ryder is on top, New Zealand are on top. He has cricket charisma and his team-mates love playing with him as much as the fans love watching him. JRod in his blog on the Wisden Cricketer website believes the left-hander may not just be a cult figure, he could become a cult leader.

He can bat – seriously bat, and has a technique so uncluttered it looks like a team of reality TV cleaners have just come through.

He is also a man who can laugh when he is on 99*, on the verge of his maiden ton and Chris Martin, the worst batsman in modern cricket, is playing and missing. This Test has shown us a whole other side to Jesse, one that a lot of New Zealand experts didn’t believe he had.

Bring back Bondy

Posted on 04/01/2009 in India in New Zealand, 2008-09

Flat deck or no flat deck, New Zealand's bowling was found wanting. If only New Zealand's cricket leaders could save their hot air for something useful, like offering our ace of pace Shane Bond the apology he deserves with a heartfelt invitation to take up the cudgels once more for the national side, writes Chris Rattue in New Zealand Herald.

If New Zealand were serious about trying to beat the Indians in Wellington (and previously for that matter), they would have torn up whatever rule book they are being forced to operate by, got out the chequebook, and moved heaven and earth to sign Bond up for at least one last 150km/h fling of the red leather.

In the Dominion Post, Jonathan Millmow feels New Zealand have to make one of their biggest selection gambles in recent times if they drop a batting allrounder, James Franklin, for a bowler, Tim Southee.

In the Hindu, S Ram Mahesh compares the knocks of Jesse Ryder and Gautam Gambhir, the two innings that most influenced the Napier Test. Both innings, in review, are instructive, not just in relation to the match, but in terms of how they might affect their young authors.

Ryder, 24, and Gambhir, 27, are so interesting because in their short careers they have already challenged perception multiple times. Ryder, to several cricket fans, was a heavyset basher, who could empty the odd bar when he wasn’t patronising it; good for a few ODIs against the Poms, but then, isn’t everyone?

Not many were sure if Gambhir had it in him to bat in denial. But he did just that, trusting his defensive technique and the reserves of his concentration. As Rahul Dravid said, the innings will have taught Gambhir a lot about himself.

March 30, 2009

Gambhir, the marathon man

Posted on 03/30/2009 in India in New Zealand, 2008-09

Gautam Gambhir's determined innings of 137, which helped India save the Napier Test after following on, is a part of a drastic transformation in his game for he had once held a reputation for attractive cameos and little staying power, writes Dileep Premachandran in his blog in the Times.

He has excelled in every format of the game too, playing a vital role in India's Twenty20 World Cup win and finishing top-scorer for the Delhi Daredevils in the IPL. Tellingly, he has scored runs at vital times. His consistency in Galle as Sri Lanka were overwhelmed was largely overlooked because of Virender Sehwag's brilliance, but he came into his own with centuries against Australia at Mohali and Delhi.

March 29, 2009

Why have we been so nice to India?

Posted on 03/29/2009 in India in New Zealand, 2008-09

Now that the Indian cricket tour is nearing the end, it's time to ask: Why have we been so nice to them? asks Paul Lewis in the Herald on Sunday.

Successive Indian teams here have found unsympathetic pitches and New Zealand's battery of medium-fast bowlers snorting and pawing the ground, knowing the ball would fizz about and make batting uncomfortable ... Yet, for this tour of New Zealand, we have produced good batting tracks, like that billiard table in Napier.

So what! No rider on ability

Posted on 03/29/2009 in India in New Zealand, 2008-09

I don't care if Ryder gets grumpy after getting out. I don't care that he's not the greatest media talent, all I care about is that Ryder is one heck of a cricketing talent and I hope to see that talent continues to be realised the way it has been so far, writes Mark Richardson in the Herald on Sunday.

Consecutive test match scores of 89, 57, 59 no, 102, 21 and 201 say something is working and Ryder is in a great space right now. He's an uncut diamond and any attempt to cut and polish him may prove fruitless and even damaging. Yes, getting blind drunk and into mischief is far from ideal, especially from a New Zealand Cricket public relations perspective but such has been the quality of Ryder's cricket that, if the odd late night sighting happens, it only builds on his cult status and his special appeal.

March 23, 2009

NZ tour has played out nicely for India

Posted on 03/23/2009 in India in New Zealand, 2008-09

India’s first Test win in New Zealand in 33 years was momentous on many levels not least of which the fact that the side started a series abroad assuredly, writes S. Ram Mahesh in the Hindu.

India’s last two away series, in Australia and Sri Lanka, saw it lose the first Test. It isn’t a weakness unique to India: despite the unhealthy trend towards homogenisation of conditions (which gladdens broadcasters who benefit from games lasting the distance, but detracts from cricket’s essential appeal), every team on tour takes time settling.

March 22, 2009

There's no holding pattern in India

Posted on 03/22/2009 in India in New Zealand, 2008-09

	India should give their opponents little leeway © Getty Images

For New Zealand, the one-day series demonstrated that the "fighting fire with fire" method is largely futile. You could not hope to dry them up and frustrate them as well, as witnessed in the first Test at Seddon Park. So captain Daniel Vettori and Andy Moles are left with an unenviable task. Dylan Cleaver in the Herald on Sunday believes the hosts need to get clever, get creative.

India out-thought New Zealand; they out-hustled them. Find a word prefixed by 'out' and India did it to New Zealand.

They know that India don't do holding patterns; that the only time the switch flicks off is at stumps.

So crushing was the victory at Seddon Park, it underscored the fact that India had not beaten New Zealand in New Zealand since 1967. Indeed, on the evidence of this performance, Dan Vettori must now fear the worst while MS Dhoni can only fear that the prodigious form of all his players does not lead to complacency. Ayaz Memon in his column in Daily News & Analysis has more.

March 21, 2009

A different buzz

Posted on 03/21/2009 in India in New Zealand, 2008-09

Sachin Tendulkar being 70 not out at the end of day’s play isn’t merely a line on a scoreboard but a situation pregnant with possibilities. At Seddon Park, below the surface of calmness, there was a distinct drone reminiscent of the familiar noise one hears on such days back in India. Sandeep Dwivedi in the Indian Express tunes into the cricket mania of a different kind.

March 20, 2009

Move McCullum to No. 5

Posted on 03/20/2009 in India in New Zealand, 2008-09

India have the first Test firmly in their grasp and Adam Parore looks at what New Zealand can do in the following matches to avoid a series loss. In the New Zealand Herald, he suggests a re-look at the middle order and moving Brendon McCullum up to No. 5.

It's difficult to see McCullum maximising his test potential batting at number seven. It just doesn't give him the opportunity to make the centuries that his talent is capable of because the players around him can't stay at the crease long enough.

March 18, 2009

The glue that binds the batting wall together

Posted on 03/18/2009 in India in New Zealand, 2008-09

	Rahul Dravid: Strong bonding © AFP

Going into the Test series against New Zealand, India's composed, technically-proficient No. 3 batsman looms as a massive figure. In a line-up replete with glittering stroke-makers, Rahul Dravid is the adhesive that binds the batting together, the rock which gives others the liberty and licence to indulge themselves, writes R Kaushik in the Deccan Herald.

Amidst a plethora of cavalrymen, the one-time general has been happy being the foot soldier, taking it upon himself to bat long periods almost inconspicuously, ungrudgingly ceding space and limelight to the headline boys, content in the knowledge that the men that matter, his team-mates, appreciate, admire and respect his efforts.

The past experience of players who have stood in the catching zone in New Zealand suggests that the frequency with which balls fly towards them is very high in these parts. A quick check of past scoresheets proves that those with butter fingers have no place to hide.Sandeep Dwivedi in the Indian Express has more.

Daniel Vettori will have spent months planning the dismissals of Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Dravid and it is of utmost importance that the New Zealand captain is given the quiver he seeks. Hamish McDouall in his blog Googlies and Grass Stains takes a look at selection issues for New Zealand ahead of the Test series.

I have less truck with a captain wanting a batsman - Fleming obviously would have preferred to have Cantabrians at various times during John Bracewell's rein - but quite frankly most of a captain's control is abrogated when any side goes into bat. But bowlers? That's micro-management. Give them everybody they ask for.

March 17, 2009

India aim to be Cinderella, not the ugly sister

Posted on 03/17/2009 in India in New Zealand, 2008-09

India's three-Test contest in New Zealand will determine just how far this Indian team has progressed over the past two years, writes Dileep Premachandran in his Guardian blog. Over the last decade, India have always lifted their game against the best in the business, winning seven and losing nine of their Test matches against Australia. But when it comes to touring New Zealand, they have have often been suspicious victims of the Hollywood syndrome.

The Test series that commences in a few hours is perhaps the biggest test of the resolve that has been the most eye-catching aspect of India's cricket on the road to redemption. It started in England a few months after the World Cup debacle. Talk of that series win usually centres around Zaheer Khan's superb spells at Trent Bridge, but the spadework had been done at Lord's, with a combination of rain and obduracy keeping a rampant England at bay. Mahendra Singh Dhoni, derided as a show pony by some in the media, was the unlikeliest of heroes on that final day, stonewalling with a strength of purpose that had seemed beyond his Russian roulette style of batting.

March 16, 2009

Many hits, very few misses

Posted on 03/16/2009 in India in New Zealand, 2008-09

In the Times of India, Bobilli Vijay Kumar writes that the flexibility within India's batting line-up is a major reason for their success.

India open in T20s and Tests with Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir; in the in-between, however, there is a minor change with the arrival of Sachin Tendulkar. Gambhir usually bats at No. 3 in such a scenario; but he drops down like a potato if the team gets off to a bumper start, as it happened in the first ODI at Napier. Captain Dhoni himself came in at that position in that intriguing game; he has, however, batted at No. 5 and 6 in other games too.

March 14, 2009

Time to get on with the serious matches of summer

Posted on 03/14/2009 in India in New Zealand, 2008-09

Its off with the pyjamas and on with the flannels, says Mark Richardson in the New Zealand Herald. Test cricket is still the ultimate challenge for a cricketer, says the writer, and in New Zealand's case the team must earn respect in the five-day format.

Can we put up a better showing in the test matches than the ODIs? Well, if the wickets are juiced up, we can. But if that becomes the directive, the groundstaff must get it just right. If they overdo it, the result would be an even worse evil than being dressed up by the Indians on flat ones.

March 13, 2009

Without fear, Viru’s come into his own

Posted on 03/13/2009 in India in New Zealand, 2008-09

There is a secret to Virender Sehwag's fearlessness, a trait that resides in all those who are happy to live with risk; or indeed risk as most of us perceive it. Sehwag is not afraid of getting out. It doesn’t mean he is lackadaisical or that batting is a reckless, momentary pursuit. It is just that his mind is free from the fear of defeat, writes Harsha Bhogle in the Indian Express.

My guess is that he now has a greater variety of shots, especially on the leg side. He always flicked the ball well off his pads but could be kept quiet by the ball that bounced into his rib cage. Now he seems to have a couple of shots for balls in that area. First, the trademark straight jab through mid-wicket, a shot achieved through his incredible bat speed. But more important, when it gets higher, he has started pulling the short ball. And anything that comes off the middle of the bat and achieves decent elevation goes out of the ground in New Zealand anyway! I also suspect he is being given the space that every performer needs.

In the Hindu, S Ram Mahesh is also of the opinion that Sehwag has "transformed his batting with the addition of pull stroke".

The pull stroke is a versatile, valuable weapon, and in cultivating the stroke, Sehwag hasn’t merely added a dimension — he has transformed forever his batting. As he said with typical economy of words, “They are bowling into my body and I’m playing my pull shot to get boundaries. There is no other way they can bowl to me.”

March 12, 2009

India impressively dominant

Posted on 03/12/2009 in India in New Zealand, 2008-09

India's comprehensive ODI series win against New Zealand, their first noteworthy achievement in the country in a long time, augurs well for the Tests where the gulf in the basic ability of the two teams will be highlighted even more, writes Sharda Ugra in India Today.

Unpredictability and inconsistency were old and faithful companions to Indian cricket but Dhoni’s team have made the Yo-yo Years, full of heaving, high drama and the birth of myths and legends, seem like a distant, historical curiosity

March 10, 2009

Batsmen calling the shots

Posted on 03/10/2009 in India in New Zealand, 2008-09

Late on Sunday night, after the crowd — treated to 726 runs in 95.1 overs — had drained, Sachin Tendulkar, in a revealing moment of emphasis, said, “We can change the momentum like that,” and snapped his fingers, writes S Ram Mahesh in the Hindu.

Batsmen, over the last several years, have become accustomed to changing it like that. This is a fine point — little should be detracted from what batsmen have achieved in the last decade and a half in limited-overs cricket. They haven’t been undeserving Shylocks extracting their pounds of flesh. Why, just on Sunday, Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, and Jesse Ryder batted uncommonly well. Each shone with a gem-like flame; the variety and richness of the stroke-making was of the highest order. But there’s no doubt the bowlers have been compromised.

March 1, 2009

Difficult to pinpoint what went wrong

Posted on 03/01/2009 in India in New Zealand, 2008-09

India’s batting lost it the Twenty20 Internationals. But it wasn’t so much a case of being tyrannised by the conditions — which is often the norm on tours of New Zealand — as a failing of their situational awareness, writes S Ram Mahesh in the Hindu.

They lit the fuse at both ends in Christchurch, burning out before Suresh Raina and Harbhajan Singh rescued matters slightly. Here at the Westpac Stadium, they lost vital wickets in the middle, which, combined with Dhoni struggling to lay a vehement bat on ball, cost them the late surge that might have realised a total of 170 to 180. Even here, we must be wary of exaggeration. It’s impossible to know how much of the batting failure was brain fade, how much was influenced by the New Zealand bowlers.

February 28, 2009

McCullum best suited to batting in the top order

Posted on 02/28/2009 in India in New Zealand, 2008-09

New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori has already positively gushed about his team's top order heading into the ODIs against India. On the same topic, former New Zealand batsman Mark Richardson, in the New Zealand Herald, has said Brendon McCullum should be persevered with at the top. Richardson believes that if McCullum can take the same mentality he took in his two unbeaten half-centuries in the Twentyy20s then those scores would convert to possible 150s. And scores like that achieve wins.

With the hitting power that permeates through this team, McCullum's true value to his side is in the time he can spend at the crease. This is something I feel he may have forgotten and he sold himself short in trying to demonstration his potential destructive abilities.

Zak the knife

Posted on 02/28/2009 in India in New Zealand, 2008-09

Zaheer Khan has gone from edgy, brittle paceman to the leader of India’s attack, the man who has delivered some of its most emphatic victories in the last two seasons, writes Sharda Ugra in India Today.

From an uncertain performer always on the fringe of hitting his stride to a mature bowler the Indians now rely on. He forms one half of what some call the best new ball-pair in the world, whose presence gives the Indian bowling attack its heft and will make all opposition think twice about loading their decks in bowlers’ favour.

Tendulkar and Dravid will get runs in NZ

Posted on 02/28/2009 in India in New Zealand, 2008-09

	It's unrealistic to expect to dominate Tendulkar © AFP

The Indians may have struggled in the Twenty20s against New Zealand but that does not mean all of them will find the tour an uphill task. Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid will certainly be expected to make runs almost like they always do, writes Adam Parore in the New Zealand Herald.

Our main tactic was to try and bore Tendulkar out, keep him off strike, disrupt his momentum, contain him as much as we could. We were only moderately successful, and the same goes for Dravid, a similar type of runmaker. Tendulkar's average is much the same here as it is anywhere else, even if he wasn't perhaps as fluid in his strokemaking here as he was at home or somewhere like Australia, where conditions are more to his liking. Greats like Tendulkar and Dravid know how to adapt. They will make runs anywhere. It is unrealistic to expect to dominate them.

In the same paper, David Leggat writes that Tendulkar and Dinesh Karthik's late withdrawal from the charity game demonstrates demonstrates, on New Zealand soil, the lengths to which the Board of Control for Cricket in India will go to shut down any link, no matter how trivial, with the ICL.

February 27, 2009

A wake-up call for India

Posted on 02/27/2009 in India in New Zealand, 2008-09

Harsha Bhogle writes in the Indian Express that the first Twenty20 in Christchurch proved that keeping wickets in hand is vital even in the game's shortest format. He isn't too pleased though with the "six-on-demand" situation brought about by the short boundaries at that ground, and hopes the authorities in Wellington resist the temptation to bring the boundaries in.

Solid players there [at No. 5 and 6] allow the first three the option of taking the odd liberty with the bowling aware that there will not be a slide that sees the team six down with eight overs to play. And yet five and six must also be able to produce the big shots in the end. From that point of view alone it made sense to send Rohit Sharma at number four allowing two inventive players in Yuvraj and Dhoni to man the crucial positions.

February 26, 2009

Crafty, courteous Vettori waylays India

Posted on 02/26/2009 in India in New Zealand, 2008-09

India Today's Sharda Ugra is impressed with the way Daniel Vettori handled the build-up to the series, showering India with compliments, before ambushing them in the first Twenty20.

There was no attempt at disintegration of any kind from New Zealand, except where it mattered - on the field. Mind you, the Indians have played a hand in this themselves, batting like the billionaires they all are. Or if you prefer, like Mumbai commuters who have had one last beer too many and are required to put in a sprint to make the last train home.

February 25, 2009

India's final frontier

Posted on 02/25/2009 in India in New Zealand, 2008-09

In India Today, Sharda Ugra previews India's tour of New Zealand and gets insights from former players on what the Indians can expect.

A quick check of current New Zealand cricket facts: Its captain looks like Harry Potter. Its hottest young batsman was christened Luteru Ross Poutoa Lote and its wicketkeeper answers to ‘Baz’. Another fella called Jesse Ryder could just bring the double chin into fashion. Everyone else is just tall and apart from English, the natives speak a strange tongue called Rugby.

February 24, 2009

A chance for India to improve their record

Posted on 02/24/2009 in India in New Zealand, 2008-09

While the lavish lateral movement may still trouble the batsmen, the improvement in pitches in New Zealand has been "dramatic". The playing conditions make the hosts formidable, but for India, it is a chance to remedy their miserable record. S Ram Mahesh in the Hindu hopes for good cricket wickets that uphold the balance between bat and ball and make for a fun-filled six weeks.

Stationed 2000 km southeast of Australia across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand bred conditions for cricket that were uniquely its own. The sticky-wet wickets yielded as readily as soft-set custard, enabling the ball to dwell and deviate when landed on the seam. The dense, water-charged atmosphere allowed the ball to swing — and as if this weren’t enough, the small, open grounds, sensitive to the blustery gusts that frequent these parts, furthered the cause of swing.

How many universities in the world can boast of having vineyards and a winery on their grounds? Lincoln University, which played host to the Indian team for their practice sessions is probably the most picturesque cricket venue. Anand Vasu in the Hindustan Times takes a walk through the campus.

February 21, 2009

It's just like playing your boss at golf

Posted on 02/21/2009 in India in New Zealand, 2008-09

It could very well be the groundsmen who feel the most pressure going into the marquee tour of the summer. India arrived in New Zealand last week, the first time they have been here for a full tour since December 2002, writes Mark Richardson in the New Zealand Herald.

But what to do? This is the last time New Zealanders will see the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, and possibly Virender Sehwag playing on our shores and it would be a shame to cheat the New Zealand fans once more of their considerable skill should we try to nullify them in seaming conditions. But we also want to win don't we? Nothing but the perfect cricket conditions will suffice for this tour. In the ODIs, we want conditions that provide for quality stroke play but ones that don't turn Iain O'Brien and Co into cannon fodder.

Those who want to play for New Zealand, line up in orderly fashion behind Daniel Vettori. Before long the selectors will get to you. Seriously, it's not as silly as it sounds, writes Dylan Cleaver in the New Zealand Herald.

A staggering 28 players have taken the field for New Zealand since the summer started in Bangladesh in October. Two others, wicketkeepers Peter McGlashan and Gareth Hopkins, have also been flown overseas as cover for Brendon McCullum. That's 30 players picked to play for their country - even in these days of million-dollar IPL contracts, surely the highest honour the sport affords you - out of a professional player pool of 92.

February 20, 2009

The time has come

Posted on 02/20/2009 in India in New Zealand, 2008-09

The relative low success rate of teams travelling to New Zealand may have much to do with looking upon the assignment as just another tour. There is little folklore about Indian teams visiting there in spite of the fact that India’s first series win overseas came in New Zealand.

However, with the bowling now available to make full use of the conditions in New Zealand, and the advantage of playing the ODIs first, Harsha Bhogle in the Indian Express writes that this time around, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his men can break the New Zealand jinx.

There is little of the excitement associated with going to England or Australia or Pakistan; or for that matter South Africa. Maybe it is because we do not see a lot of cricket from New Zealand, maybe the time difference is a factor or maybe, it is just not exciting enough. New Zealand, maybe, is a bit like a number six batsman who hangs in there, bats with the tail and returns 36 not out. Effective but not exciting.

Indian fielding coach Robin Singh feels the era of the specialist fielding positions is over and that in the age of Twenty20 cricket there is no choice, no preferred place. He also recognises that the campaign in New Zealand will be a challenging one and identified slip catching as a vital area for getting success. S Dinakar in the Hindu has more.

February 18, 2009

'We now have a good bunch of pacemen' - Prasad

Posted on 02/18/2009 in India in New Zealand, 2008-09

Venkatesh Prasad, India's bowling coach, shares his thoughts on how his fast bowlers are shaping up ahead of the tour of New Zealand in an interview with S Dinakar in the Hindu.

On Ishant Sharma

“He reminds me of Srinath. He has the same body frame, high-arm action and bounce. The challenge before Ishant will be to be consistent with his off-stump line.”

On the importance of the slower ball

"If you take the pace off the ball, the batsmen have to really hit it and this is never easy. The batsmen lose a fraction of a second attempting to pick the ball and this affects their mind-set. But you need to disguise it with your field placings as well. If you have a long-on and a long-off, the batsman will expect a slower delivery and will stand behind the crease.”

February 16, 2009

Scary tales

Posted on 02/16/2009 in India in New Zealand, 2008-09

India have had some sort of bogey when it comes to touring New Zealand. Ahead of what is a gruelling tour of that country, the Indian Express spoke to four players who toured there in the past, asking them about their experiences. Sachin Tendulkar recently spoke about how tough the harsh windy New Zealand conditions are, and here Dinesh Mongia describes how difficult it was to stand still out in the middle while holding a bat. Tinu Yohannan, the former India fast bowler, says he had tears in his eyes when he was bowling in one match.