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Tons of trouble from Dravid

The New Zealanders are expecting a turning track at the Green Park Stadium in Kanpur for the second Test. The recent history of Test matches there indicates that the flat tracks of old have been more helpful to spin bowling lately, even if there have been only 6 results and eleven draws in the 17 Tests there.

The problem for New Zealand is that the confidence engendered by the new-found fightback to save the first Test might be dissipated a little by the lame second innings effort in the tour match against Karnataka. Conversely, the Indian spinners will have enhanced their prospects by the impressive figures obtained by the trio of Joshi, Kumble and Bharadwaj.

The balance has swung back to India but this will not concern the Kiwis. They started the series at well below odds and surprised many by their showing at Mohali. The topsy-turvy nature of that game drew new-found praise from back home, where many felt that while the Kiwis should have pressed home their first innings advantage, they did superbly to save the match.

It would seem that support back here is growing rapidly for these maturing Black Caps and also an appreciation of how hard it is to win in India. We have managed this exalted state only twice so the present team deserves every credit for saving the first Test.

However, the weaknesses in the Kiwi’s side were all too obvious after the tour match loss. The opening batting problem centres on Bell, a young player who needs time to establish himself in this challenging position. He needs two or three years of first-class experience to be able to cope, but now that he has been thrown in at the deep end perhaps the New Zealand selectors will stick with him. Their explanation is that there are precious few candidates to replace him.

I believe Craig Spearman should move up, and this will allow Wiseman to add more spin variety to the bowling attack. There is a case for Chris Drum to replace O'Connor, for the latter looked less convincing at Mohali and Drum was effective against Karnataka with 5 for 24 in the match. He is a fast-medium, whippy kind of bowler who looks quite like Richard Hadlee and can sometimes bowl quite like him.

The Kiwi batsmen need to look to their captain Fleming for guidance on how to bat against this burgeoning Indian attack. The key is to clear the mind of extraneous matters and to concentrate on playing one delivery at a time. The focus must be on the ball leaving the hand, then the rotation in flight and finally how it turns from the pitch. The batsmen must take a strong forward position from a solid and forward-poised stance so they are not bound to the crease line.

Dravid is the Indian batsman who excels at this technique. He is the key to New Zealand's chances. I would attack him wide of off-stump, perhaps six to eight inches wide, because he plays everything straight with such balance that he will always score freely. He is one player who must be made to chase the ball. Getting him early will obviously help, but once Dravid is out the Kiwis have a better chance to then work on making Tendulkar jump about. For everything I love and admire about Dravid, I now want for New Zealand’s sake to see the back of him. He has scored three centuries in his last four Test innings against us.

The tour and the series are developing in intensity, with a forecast of possible showers in the northern city of Kanpur adding another dimension. The toss may well be as important as at Mohali.

Gameplan

Martin Crowe