NZ media blasts Indian players.

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McMillan has lacked his normal sparkle
New Zealand have dropped Craig McMillan for the fifth one-day international against India in Wellington.
He managed only 31 runs in the first four games and the selectors hoping a return to domestic cricket will enable him to regain form ahead of the World Cup.

“Craig has struggling for form with the bat and has some technical issues to address,” said chief selector Sir Richard Hadlee.

“We would like him to concentrate on rectifying thse and we think it would be easier for him to do this at a domestic level, where there is less pressure.”

Kiwis boast all-round qualities
The Kiwis, who already hold a winning 4-0 lead in the seven-match series, will be boosted by the return of strike bowler Shane Bond.

He missed the last three games with a side injury but suffered no reaction in a run-out for Canterbury on Sunday.

**Scorn for tourists

India, meanwhile, have come in for savage criticism from the New Zealand media following a series of poor perfromances.

Jonathan Milmow, writing for the Dominion Post, said the tourists were “spineless and directionless”.

He added: “Their batsmen’s inability to play the seaming ball not only makes a mockery of their reputation, but brings one to the conclusion that they are hopelessly short in the courage stakes.”

Richard Boock of the New Zealand Herald singled out Indian captain Sourav Ganguly.

He said Ganguly had “been missing in action so often on this tour, that it would hardly be a major blow if he sat out the Wellington match, if only to give his teammates a break.”

But India’s coach John Wright, a former New Zealand Test batsman, was quick to defend his skipper.

“It’s a difficult time for a captain when things are not working for you. I think he’ll be back leading from the front. With the return of (Sachin) Tendulkar we can turn things around in the next few days.” **

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sad but bitter truth..not only NZ media the commentators and indian media are very harsh on them..
they do deserve it..I can understand unfamiliarity in first few games..
but sorry not after the tests and midway into the ODI series..
frankly speaking they seem to have forgotten how to play out fifty overs..

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Re: NZ media blasts Indian players.

What has not being able to play the seaming ball got to do with courage? Is this guy a paid ‘expert’?

Ganguly has always been a fine player IMO. By all means pour scorn on India’s crap performances (especially abroad) but making senseless statements like above just make one wonder what motivates these people. Playing against a seaming ball is about skill and having a good eye and not many players do it that well.

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I saw a couple of these matches on TV and Ganguly does indeed look spineless as a captain. It is about more than just his current batting form - it is the pathetic fielding placements, managing bowlers poorly (i.e. watching a bowler get smacked around in 100-run chase and bringing them back to bowl 4 more overs before making a change), not bringing in a regular wicket keeper when Dravid was giving up 20 runs and more due to missed balls, sending Dravid to open when he (Ganguly) was too afraid to face the new ball, etc. etc.

This is why the Aussies are so good. They don't hesitate in kicking someone's ass if he is not performing, no matter how senior or experienced the guy is or how many records he has. It is all about winning, not politics.

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http://uk.cricinfo.com/link_to_database/ARCHIVE/CRICKET_NEWS/2003/JAN/118083_REUTERS_06JAN2003.html

Struggling India urged to show England’s spirit
Reuters - 6 January 2003

India’s cricketers, reeling from a string of defeats on their New Zealand tour, should emulate the fight shown by England to win the final Ashes Test, according to former Test all-rounder Chandu Borde.

“I like England, the way they have fought back,” former chief selector Borde told Reuters. “I want our boys also to show the same attitude.”

The Indians have dropped from heroes to zeroes in the eyes of millions of their passionate fans because of indifferent batting which has left them without a win on a tour billed as the final build-up for the World Cup starting next month.

They were routed in a two-Test series, losing both matches inside three days, and New Zealand enjoy an unassailable 4-0 lead in the seven-match one-day series where India continue to struggle to raise a decent total.

Captain Saurav Ganguly has become the prime target for critics for failing to revive his side and for his continued poor form, scoring only 49 runs from eight Test and one-day innings.

Former captains such as Sunil Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri have rounded on the batsmen for not showing the application needed to survive on seaming tracks in New Zealand.

Leading batsman Sachin Tendulkar has missed the one-day games so far because of an ankle injury and only opener Virender Sehwag, with a century, and Rahul Dravid have to some extent shown their willingness to adapt.

Borde said Ganguly was repeating the kind of mistakes which took him 28 innings to hit a test century as captain.

“He is repeating the mistakes he used to make in the past,” Borde said. “In between he had changed and that showed.”

Former all-rounder Kapil Dev, who led India to its only World Cup victory in 1983, described India’s poor run in New Zealand as among the worst in the country’s cricketing history.

“In one year we have seen the best phase and lowest phase in Indian cricket history,” he told reporters on Monday.

Kapil smilingly said he would like to see how the media rated the team’s World Cup chances on bouncy South African pitches.

“They are facing reality now,” he said. “Till last month they were doing well because the ball was coming straight.”

“Suddenly the ball starts moving a bit and they struggle.”

India had enjoyed a good run during 2002, chasing 325 to win a tri-series final against hosts England and then sharing the Champions Trophy with hosts Sri Lanka among the highlights.

Ganguly also rallied his side to a 1-1 draw in a four-Test series in England and 2-0 home series win over West Indies.

Former Test batsman Dilip Vengsarkar said he felt the Indian batsmen were over-rated because they were judged by their one-day efforts.

“Without a doubt, it is the most popular form of cricket, but it does not test the skill and, more so, the temperament of a batsman,” he wrote in his column.

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In my opinion, Ganguly has failed as a captain. When the team is on a high - winning matches and tournaments, and on friendly pitches, all he needs is to keep applying the same winning formula, but leadership and management comes into picture when you are faced with the most challenging circumstances.

IMO these are few things which went wrong:-

  1. Lack of proper game plan to tackle the seam.

  2. If the current batting order is failing, then there is no point in continuing it - some changes need to be done. It might help if Ganguly does not open the innings.

  3. Field placements are not to the bowlers line and length (or else bowlers are not bowling to their plan).

Other personal traits missing are:-

  1. Courage - I find only Dravid and Tendulkar the most courageous to face seam. They have the guts to face the toughest of the tough and every failure makes them more determined. It is very rare to see tendulkar fail successively for 3 innings.

I think with tendulkar coming back in the team, it might boost the batting a bit - but that might not be enough. I would suggest Tendulkar and Dravid open the innings instead of shaky sehwag and uncertain Ganguly.