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Kirsten unfazed by seaming track
2nd Test tiring but rewarding: Martin
McCullum expects conditions to suit hosts
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Frustration building up since India debacle: KP
Force India close to maiden F1 points: Mallya
Solitary-goal win for Viva Kerala
Frustration mounting since India debacle: KP
CSK can do better this time: Badrinath
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Kirsten unfazed by seaming track
Wellington, April 1 Kirsten said he did not see any reason to be hassled about the wicket or the cold, windy conditions here. India has not won a Test in the city for the past 34 years. "What they have done all through this tour is they have prepared good cricket wickets. We can see there is going to be good bounce in it. It looks like a good cricket wicket. We are happy with the conditions as well," said Kirsten, taking time off from a tutoring session with Dinesh Karthik, to complete the mandatory press briefing. "Whatever be the wicket or the conditions, it is up to the performances of the day. New Zealand have shown they were really competitive and they were well up in that last Test match. We had to use all our determination to save the game, which we did really well. For me it was a remarkable performance. We are looking forward to a good Test match," he added. Kirsten felt it was important to give the bowlers something to look forward to in a wicket. "It is always important that you give the bowlers something on all the conditions. All bowlers love a bit of bounce. They feel if they get good bounce, and they have a good bowling day they can get something going," said Kirsten. Kirsten was glad that his bowlers were well-rested before the third Test. "Our bowlers have got a fair amount of rest watching the guys bat over 270 overs in the last Test. They are pretty keen to get out there and bowl," he said. The former South African opener said he backed his batsmen to play their natural game. "We play that way. We play flair cricket. We like to take it on. We like to play aggressively, and there is a risk element in that. But we feel that the team is well balanced, and we can have guys who can bat periods of time as well. "But we certainly encourage our guys to take the ball on and to dominate and play aggressive cricket. We want to go and win every Test match. That is certainly our intention," he said. Kirsten was confident that Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who sat out of the second match due to a sore back, would be fit for this game. "No decisions have been made yet. But he is doing nicely so far. He is a fantastic player. As he provides so much to the team, it would be great to have him on board. We also feel that we have got other players who can do the job, but certainly to have MSD as a captain will be great. He offers a lot as a batsman as well. "He would be of great value to any team in the world. We are hoping he will be fit," said Kirsten, before joining Karthik at the nets. PTI
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2nd Test tiring but rewarding: Martin
India escaped with a draw in the second Test in Napier despite New Zealand's domination but pacer Chris Martin today said his team still considers it a "rewarding" match which mentally toughened the host side for the third game starting April 3 here.
"I think the last Test was good enough mentally, as far as the good points can be taken out of it. So it was a very rewarding Test, though physically tiring. But now I suppose we have a chance to level the series coming here instead of being 2-0 down," Martin said. "It is basically a battle of the mind when you're trying to bowl these guys out for a reasonable score. I think getting 20 wickets is pretty tough, but I think we have put in enough hard work to maybe get rewards in this game. I think we learnt quite a lot from basically just having to bowl to these guys," he added. The Kiwi bowlers were stretched in the second Test where they had to bowl 270 overs after the hosts imposed the follow-on on the Indians, who batted out the last two days to save the match. Martin said it was once-in-a-career experience and he was not sore after lasting over three days on the field. "...it is new territory for us. I am not too bad actually. We have had three days to rest. I suppose to come here with a chance of levelling the series is inspiration enough to probably not need as much energy as you normally have," said Martin. Martin felt the chilly weather in the city would make it tough for the Indians to adapt to the conditions. "It is something we are used to and New Zealand has had some success on this ground over the past. It is something a lot of touring teams dislike and quite a lot of people playing domestically here find it tough as well. But playing in the cold is itself an exercise for character building," he said. "I know most sub-continental sides that have come out here find it very difficult to keep their bodies warm. I suppose that might want their bowlers to get us out even quicker. But I suppose that is one of the things you have to put up with just as we put up with the heat in India and places like that," added Martin. Talking about the wicket, Martin said: "I am not sure what you can expect from the wicket. Probably it will do just enough to keep you going and interested. "There are normally results here, which indicates that it is a good cricket wicket. The next five days if we do half as well as we did in Napier then we are in with a chance," he added.
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McCullum expects conditions to suit hosts
Wellington, April 1 "If we find it cold here, no doubt they will be freezing. I am sure from their point of view they will be hoping that the wind dies down and the sun comes out. But from ours, it will be great to have them on the park when the conditions are like this. I am sure we are going to find the conditions a little bit more pleasurable than they would," said McCullum. The talk of a seaming Basin Reserve wicket might be swirling around the city, but McCullum said he would wait to see how the track behaves. "It is usually a pretty good surface. What the overhead conditions do over the next few days will determine whether some moisture goes into it from those or whether it remains dry and plays as flat as it is predicted. But we will just have to wait and see," he said. The dapper wicketkeeper-batsman said New Zealand will go into this match, more positive than they were at the start of the second Test at Napier. "We will be more confident than we were after the Hamilton Test. When you have come off a 10-wicket loss in the first Test, your confidence is really dented", he said. "And when you respond the way we did, particularly after being three for 23 on the first day, and come back and put ourselves in a position from where we could force a result is a pretty good sign for the team. The boys are a lot more confident now than they were a week ago," McCullum said. Asked whether the failure of the top three batsmen put pressure on the middle order batsman. "It does put pressure on the middle-order. But it is not for lack of trying. The openers are trying to do everything they can to get a start. Even if we don't get a sound start, we are still confident that we are capable of turning it around like we saw the other day with what Ross and Jess did. "You can't be too concerned about how other people are travelling, you just try and make sure you remain confident and do your own job," he said. He backed left-hander Tim McIntosh despite his poor display in both Tests. "Tim's had a bit of bad luck. The last two Tests, he hasn't had the greatest of decisions. But Tim works hard and he will get his results. He still remains confident through the work he does in the nets. If he gets in during this Test match, I am sure he will score heavily for us," said McCullum. McCullum said he was happy that Tim Southee was back in the squad. "It is great to have him back in the environment. He is constantly laughing and joking away. I am sure if he gets a game in this Test, he will do really well," he said. McCullum felt he doesn't expect Indian batsmen to target Southee in a Test match as much as they did in the one-day series, during which he went for 105 runs in one of the matches. "I will be surprised if they targeted the bowlers in the Test match, more so when they are 1-0 up in the series. I would imagine they wouldn't necessarily try to force it as much as they did in the one-dayers," he said. "If they do, then it might provide some sort of opening for us as well. But from our point of view, we are just trying to make sure that we control the areas that we can control and put ourselves in a position from where we can steal back a result and walk away from the series 1-all," he added. The left-hander said he was keen to contribute more significantly to the team's cause as a vice-captain. PTI
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Frustration building up since India debacle: KP
London, April 1 "The first half of the winter was a shambles under my leadership. We didn't come close to winning a game in India and we didn't come close to winning a game here before we won on Sunday - except for the mathematical error on the West Indies' part in Guyana," Pietersen told 'BBC'. England lost the Tests 0-1 to West Indies and are level 2-2 in the one-day series, the final match of which is due to be played on Friday. Pietersen had requested to be allowed to go home for two days last week claiming he was at the end of his tether in the "soul destroying" tour. Pietersen said the comments were a result of months of frustration. "The comments were born from the frustration of that. We all want to go home, but it does not stop the commitment we all put in on a daily basis," he said. Pietersen reiterated that being separated from his wife, singer Jessica Taylor, was painful for him but insisted that he remained committed to playing for England. "The second part of the frustration was I hadn't seen my wife since January 21. It's the longest period of time I've been away from her," he said. "I've never said I want to miss a tour and there's no way I will ever miss a tour. I love touring. But there's no way I'll be without my wife for 11 weeks again," Pietersen added. "I am absolutely 100 per cent passionate about playing for England. I absolutely never take it for granted about wearing the three lions on my chest," he asserted. Pietersen said he is not disappointed at not being granted the request to go home to be with his wife. "We decided it probably wouldn't be a good idea for the team going forward. There were no arguments, no nonsense, no disappointment on my behalf," Pietersen said. "I have been totally supportive of everything that has happened on this tour." PTI
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Force India close to maiden F1 points: Mallya
New Delhi, April 1 Mallya said reliability was his main concern coming into the 2009 session but the Australian Grand Prix dispelled all fears and aerodynamic development is all the VJM02 needed to break the duck. "Now that the reliability question is out of the way, we're going to focus entirely on aerodynamic development and set-up to make the cars more competitive. Both drivers say that the car is more than a significant improvement over last year, and that the mechanical platform is good and the car has a lot of promise. "Now it's just a question of the refinements that make the ultimate difference," said Mallya, who is also the team principal. The Australian Grand Prix saw Brawn GP bagging a one-two finish in its debut race and like Force India, the newest kid on the F1 block was also running on a Mercedes engine.
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Solitary-goal win for Viva Kerala
Gurgaon, April 1 The Shillong-based side could have opened their account in the first half through James Giblee but his late reaction on the ball deprived his team to go one up in 41st min. After a barren first half, both the teams paced up their game in search of the opener. Viva Kerala star striker Babatunde spoiled an opportunity early in the second session but it was Sirjauddeen who scored the only goal of the match in the 60th min. After trailing by one goal Lajong F.C played their heart out in the last 15 minutes of the match and came close to score the equalizer, but in vain. |
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Frustration mounting since India debacle: KP
London, April 1 "The first half of the winter was a shambles under my leadership. We didn't come close to winning a game in India and we didn't come close to winning a game here before we won on Sunday - except for the mathematical error on the West Indies' part in Guyana," Pietersen told 'BBC'. England lost the Tests 0-1 to West Indies and are level 2-2 in the one-day series, the final match of which is due to be played on Friday. Pietersen had requested to be allowed to go home for two days last week claiming he was at the end of his tether in the "soul destroying" tour. Pietersen said the comments were a result of months of frustration. "The comments were born from the frustration of that. We all want to go home, but it does not stop the commitment we all put in on a daily basis," he said. Pietersen reiterated that being separated from his wife, singer Jessica Taylor, was painful for him but insisted that he remained committed to playing for England. |
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CSK can do better this time: Badrinath
New Delhi, April 1 In the capital for a promotional event today, Badrinath said having a talismanic captain in Dhoni and the latest addition of England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff in the ranks, CSK definitely stood a better chance this time. "Things are never easy in any Twenty20 tournament for its sheer unpredictability. But we have quality players in the ranks and the team looks balance. Besides, we have Dhoni as the captain, which means a lot," said the right-hander. "Besides, someone like Flintoff add lot of values to the team and no opposition can afford to take him lightly," he said. With the second edition of IPL shifted to South Africa, Badrinath reckoned it would not be an easy ball game and adapting to conditions there would make a lot of difference. "Lot would depend on how the teams adapt to the conditions there. I'm not sure if we'll get to see too many high-scoring matches.
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Undaunted by the traditionally seam-friendly Basin Reserve track, India coach Gary Kirsten today said his side will have no trouble adjusting to it in the third and final Test against New Zealand starting here on Friday.
Kirsten said he did not see any reason to be hassled about the wicket or the cold, windy conditions here. India has not won a Test in the city for the past 34 years.
Explosive New Zealand batsman Brendon McCullum is hoping that the cold and blustery conditions prevailing here would work to the home side's advantage and help them to a
series-levelling victory in the third Test against India starting April 3. "If we find it cold here, no doubt they will be freezing. I am sure from their point of view they will be hoping that the wind dies down and the sun comes out.
New Delhi: