‘Not taking New Zealand lightly’
15 Jan 2014 5:29 AM IST
‘New Zealand are a fantastic side. They’ve got good bowlers and their recent performances have been really good.
‘And especially at home, they’ll know the conditions better than us and for some who have not played here it will be a challenge,’ Dhoni was quoted as saying by The New Zealand Herald following India team’s arrival for the five-match series to be followed by two Tests next month.
‘We’re not taking New Zealand lightly, we’ll give them the respect they should get and we know their experienced players are dangerous enough to win games by themselves,’ Dhoni said. The skipper feels the tour would be a good exposure trip for his teammates as they start preparing for the World Cup to be staged in New Zealand and Australia next year.
‘It’s good exposure for them. The grounds here are a very different shape and it’s difficult to exactly pinpoint the fielding positions. They are quite different to where you usually place your fielders. Overall, it’ll be a fantastic tour for all the guys,’ he said.
Dhoni said he is hoping for a good performance from his bowlers. ‘Overall I’m quite happy with the bowlers. Again it really depends on the conditions. But if the wicket is favouring the fast bowlers we’ve definitely got bowlers who can make the most out of the new ball,’ he said. Following the twin series loss in South Africa, he refuted the general suggestion that the Indian team is lion at home and lamb abroad. ‘If you see, in South Africa the last series we lost. Before that in England and Australia, we didn’t perform that well. Apart from that, wherever we have gone, we have done well. We did well in West Indies, New Zealand and South Africa. This is a tagline that gets stuck to us... but for us, we like to do well as a team,’ he said.
He defended the team’s performance in South Africa and said they played poorly and paid the price for it in the second Test at Durban. ‘In fact, if you look at the South Africa series also, we played well in the Test series. We lost the second Test because of the two to two half hour session, we played really bad cricket, because of which, we were on the receiving end. ‘Apart from that, our tours have been good. But we are seeing that because of the last series we played in England and Australia,’ he said.
Dhoni also said the team needs tail-enders to contribute, if not with the runs then at least with the time spent at the crease. ‘Today your no 8, 9, 10 and 11 have to contribute, because if they don’t spend enough time in the middle, you also end up wasting one batsman, maybe a number seven or a number six batsman, so that is one area we have to do slightly better.
No Vettori for India ODI series
WELLINGTON: New Zealand’s veteran spinner and former captain Daniel Vettori will not be considered for the upcoming series against India owing to a back injury which has flared up in recent days. ‘Daniel Vettori won’t be considered for the India series and his international cricket career remains under an injury-darkened cloud,’ the ‘Dominion Post’ reported quoting confirmation from New Zealand coach Mike Hesson.
New Zealand squad for the five ODIs against India, starting January 19, is set to be named on Wednesday. The inspirational former skipper, who has been battling injury setbacks, is also scheduled to have a chat with Hesson about his future by the end of this month.
‘I’ve spoken to Dan and he wants to come back from Australia and see how his body is, then have a good catch up with Brendon and I and chat about his future,’ Hesson said. Vettori is currently playing for Brisbane Heat in the Australian Big Bash.
‘And especially at home, they’ll know the conditions better than us and for some who have not played here it will be a challenge,’ Dhoni was quoted as saying by The New Zealand Herald following India team’s arrival for the five-match series to be followed by two Tests next month.
‘We’re not taking New Zealand lightly, we’ll give them the respect they should get and we know their experienced players are dangerous enough to win games by themselves,’ Dhoni said. The skipper feels the tour would be a good exposure trip for his teammates as they start preparing for the World Cup to be staged in New Zealand and Australia next year.
‘It’s good exposure for them. The grounds here are a very different shape and it’s difficult to exactly pinpoint the fielding positions. They are quite different to where you usually place your fielders. Overall, it’ll be a fantastic tour for all the guys,’ he said.
Dhoni said he is hoping for a good performance from his bowlers. ‘Overall I’m quite happy with the bowlers. Again it really depends on the conditions. But if the wicket is favouring the fast bowlers we’ve definitely got bowlers who can make the most out of the new ball,’ he said. Following the twin series loss in South Africa, he refuted the general suggestion that the Indian team is lion at home and lamb abroad. ‘If you see, in South Africa the last series we lost. Before that in England and Australia, we didn’t perform that well. Apart from that, wherever we have gone, we have done well. We did well in West Indies, New Zealand and South Africa. This is a tagline that gets stuck to us... but for us, we like to do well as a team,’ he said.
He defended the team’s performance in South Africa and said they played poorly and paid the price for it in the second Test at Durban. ‘In fact, if you look at the South Africa series also, we played well in the Test series. We lost the second Test because of the two to two half hour session, we played really bad cricket, because of which, we were on the receiving end. ‘Apart from that, our tours have been good. But we are seeing that because of the last series we played in England and Australia,’ he said.
Dhoni also said the team needs tail-enders to contribute, if not with the runs then at least with the time spent at the crease. ‘Today your no 8, 9, 10 and 11 have to contribute, because if they don’t spend enough time in the middle, you also end up wasting one batsman, maybe a number seven or a number six batsman, so that is one area we have to do slightly better.
No Vettori for India ODI series
WELLINGTON: New Zealand’s veteran spinner and former captain Daniel Vettori will not be considered for the upcoming series against India owing to a back injury which has flared up in recent days. ‘Daniel Vettori won’t be considered for the India series and his international cricket career remains under an injury-darkened cloud,’ the ‘Dominion Post’ reported quoting confirmation from New Zealand coach Mike Hesson.
New Zealand squad for the five ODIs against India, starting January 19, is set to be named on Wednesday. The inspirational former skipper, who has been battling injury setbacks, is also scheduled to have a chat with Hesson about his future by the end of this month.
‘I’ve spoken to Dan and he wants to come back from Australia and see how his body is, then have a good catch up with Brendon and I and chat about his future,’ Hesson said. Vettori is currently playing for Brisbane Heat in the Australian Big Bash.
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