Is that out of being under awe or is it just out of frustration Mr Richardson ? The text in red is in very bad taste.
In cricket terms what New Zealand really need to achieve from this tour is a sense of goodwill towards New Zealand cricket from Indian cricket once the tour is over. That does not mean rolling over and dying, because fans of New Zealand cricket also like to win. However, this could be the last time New Zealand fans see these great batting names of Indian cricket on our shores, and both nations may feel cheated if seaming wickets nullify the Indian batting machine. “
I don’t think that’s needed. We have many Kiwi players in ICL, many in IPL (McCullum, Ryder, Vettori, Oram, Taylor etc). Nobody asked for the behavior out of NZ the way you portray Mr Richardson.
Wind and a bit of chill also leads to old, and even young, bones getting a little stiff. It can take a bit of extra time to get the body loosened up and moving early in an innings or bowling spell. For those used to starting warm and loose, special attention needs to be taken to ensure stiffness does not result in sloppiness.
New Zealand is not that dissimilar to England, but it is most certainly not the subcontinent, and thus takes a bit of getting used to as far as the Indians are concerned. However, the only advantage in terms of assistance the New Zealand bowlers may get this time round against a touring Indian side may simply be an initial psychological one, based on the mental scarring from the last time the Indian players toured, and stories of horror told to the new guys in the squad.
We do have windy conditions in India too, not extreme though. We are very good travelers. We have never complained about the crowd, the pollution or whatsoever conditions prevalent in touring country. We go about playing our cricket, winning fans and hearts even after losing. Its just few years since we have started winning cricket matches abroad too besides the hearts. So doing that isn’t an offence and it doesn’t warrant an article like this coming up. We have played in windy conditions in England and have emerged victorious in 2007, drew in 2002. For that matter we are yet to lose an English test series since 1996 home and away. We almost got the hold of Aussie series 2 times in row but for Bucknor. And for that one mad go slow session in Cape town against Lord Harris, we almost beat SA in SA too. We have won in Australia, England, West Indies, Pakistan, South Africa and Sri Lanka. No matter last two countries we haven’t won a Test series but we would do that soon. We haven’t said a word about how good we are or how good we would be. We already have sold our hearts to you guys by posing ourselves as underdogs. Your coach and your premier batsman say India is the best. We haven’t said anything of that sort. This blogger still believes Australia are the best side with India and South Africa joint 2nd. We have got the work ethic in the team. And that’s precisely the reason you see that the only defeat we have suffered in last 5 months is in an ODI to SL (SL fans happy cheeeeeeeeeez). We have won against Aus and Eng in Tests. Against Eng, SL in ODIs. That’s not a meek opposition. Gotta have a strong work ethic to beat Aussies 2-0 their weakness notwithstanding. We have always respected Kiwis side for being fighters and being supreme fit. We have always compared our cricketers with yours and have found our cricketers lacking in the heart and stamina to fight. But that was past. Present is different. Unfortunately NZ has no Fleming and no Bond. No Tuffy and No Adams. With due respect to Martin, Southee we don’t see the bowling attack as threatening that was in 2002 (if it was). We have Ishant Sharma and Zaheer Khan who have proved themselves in dead subcontinental pitches. So if they get a juicy pitch with bounce and carry till shin, then who would complaint ?
