Not as welcoming as you'd think

[EnterTheVoid]

Now that the Indian cricket tour is nearing the end, it's time to ask: Why have we been so nice to them? In past tours here, India have never won a series. This year, it has looked a lordly procession never in doubt, well, not until the Black Caps' heroics of Napier anyway. Talent, you might say. They have more of it. You'd be right. Watching Sachin Tendulkar's magnificent 160 in the one-day series was a privilege; one of the best of its kind ever, anywhere. It was no muscular or mindless slog but a master batsman at work, blending eye, hands, feet and body movement in a way that made even good bowling look inferior. Jesse Ryder excellent, Sachin Tendulkar sublime. If you go man-for-man through the two teams, there are few areas where the Black Caps match up. So an Indian win would be the correct result, right? Well, not necessarily. You see, there's this thing called a pitch. The home side prepares it. If you have a team full of spinners, you can produce a dust bowl so your bowlers have an advantage. India do it all the time. If you have medium-fast bowlers who can seam the ball, you prepare a green-top, where the grass allows movement - and even the Tendulkars of this world find that much harder going. We've done it before. Successive Indian teams here have found unsympathetic pitches and New Zealand's battery of medium-fast bowlers snorting and pawing the ground, knowing the ball would fizz about and make batting uncomfortable. That's why India hadn't won a series here - not because we were a better side. It was because people like Richard Hadlee (admittedly world-class), Richard Collinge, Danny Morrison, Daryl Tuffey and many more got some help from groundsmen. Plus the Indians had to face New Zealand umpires. Of course, some visiting teams cry foul but you'd think India wouldn't complain - over the years, they have produced spin-friendly tracks and home umpires when hosting teams. In the days before they began to produce fast bowlers, they rolled the ball along the ground returning it to the bowler to scuff it up so the spinners could use it as quickly as possible. Yet, for this tour of New Zealand, we have produced good batting tracks, like that billiard table in Napier. Hmmm, now let me see. India, one of - if not the - best batting line-up in the world, New Zealand, not... In our bowling attack, we had Kyle Mills who, introduced to the plundering of Indian batsmen not required to worry about what the ball might do, was reduced to a haunted man. Mills, unquestionably one of our better bowlers in recent times, ran in to bowl like a man forced to run into the path of a bus while carrying his wife and kids. He would have been a much more dangerous customer with a bit of help from the right pitch. Such is the superiority of this Indian side, they might have won the series anyway. Quite so - so why not produce some green-tops and have their batsmen wondering about things other than how many centuries they will score and whether it will be Goanese fish curry for lunch? The answer, of course, is money. New Zealand Cricket, like every other cricket board in the world, is terrified of India because they are the new powerbrokers; the Keepers Of The Cash. Their money has cascaded through the game like acid rain, eroding the old order. Cricket boards and players alike have been seduced by the bounty. If we'd offended them by producing a green-top and running through them like a prune and licorice vindaloo, well, India might not return and might use their power to squeeze New Zealand out of lucrative events and tours. So, like everyone else, NZC has adopted a head-in-the-sand approach but have left their posterior sticking out so the Indians have somewhere to park their bicycles. The International Cricket Council? Who are they? The Board of Control for Cricket in India - that's who runs world cricket. Note the word 'control'. So far on this tour, New Zealand has kowtowed to the Indian request to play world-class batsmen like Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman into form by placing them with New Zealand provincial sides in return for the Indians playing an extra test here. The controlling hand even attempted to reach into the commentary box and choke off Craig McMillan's nascent broadcasting career because - shock, horror - Macca was a 'rebel' Twenty20 cricketer who went to the ICL rather than the Indian-sanctioned IPL. Shane Bond, who might have made a difference, can't play for New Zealand because he too is ICL. Gosh. It's not just Kiwis. Test umpire Steve Bucknor retired this month after 128 tests but not before charging that India had succeeded in having him sacked re the infamous Harbhajan Singh "monkey" test in Perth because of their financial might. It's also not just umpires. Many players have chosen to truncate test careers to hoover up Indian lolly. Herald on Sunday columnist Mark Richardson has been almost a lone voice wondering if New Zealand's lack of commitment to test matches is because it earns the players the least of the three forms of the game. Jacob Oram bowled 25 overs in State Championship cricket but apparently wasn't fit enough for test cricket. How's that again? It needs more than a frightened NZC to stand up, of course, but they remind me of that immortal line from Blackadder when World War I Blackadder is asked by his idiot subaltern George what to do if he steps on a mine. "Normal practice, George, is to leap 200 feet in the air and scatter oneself over a wide area." Obviously what NZC think would happen if they dared to stand up to India. Here's hoping for a nasty green one at the Basin Reserve. Link: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/cricket/news/article.cfm?c_id=29&objectid=10564072&pnum=0 ************************************************************************************ Another sour grape. Good thing this one was kept away from the commentary box

[EnterTheVoid]

Is it so hard to swallow your pride and just admit you've been outplayed by a better side? So many excuses.

[Shane]

The NZ comm team might seem to disagree with this, they've gone ga-ga over the Indian team this summer, however i hope the ICL issue is resolved sooner rather than later, coz players like Bond, Kemp should be out there for their respective countries, rather than being sidelined

[Centrino]

Looks like someone's random thoughts rather than a newspaper article.

[Show_stopper]

OTT article..Mills bowled absolute rubbish.Fully deserved to be spanked that one.

[EnterTheVoid]

The NZ comm team might seem to disagree with this' date=' they've gone ga-ga over the Indian team this summer[/quote'] How can you be sure they're sincere in what they're saying? Richardson has been writing absolute tripe in the articles for the local newspapers but when it comes to his on screen commentary, there is no end to his superficial politeness, gestures and praises.

[DomainK]

BS. The journalist who wrote it is a bull and should consult seeing a vet for indigestion.

[Shane]

How can you be sure they're sincere in what they're saying? Richardson has been writing absolute tripe in the articles for the local newspapers but when it comes to his on screen commentary, there is no end to his superficial politeness, gestures and praises.

Difficult to say that bout the rest thou, ne links to those MR articles ?

[Guest gaurav_indian]

Enough of this BS.First they were saying BCCI bought Sri Lanka Cricket when india won against them and now this.They wont appreciate india's performance.They never will.Yeah just give green top in the next match lets see how NZ batters play against indian bowlers.May be after first test they changed the idea and prepared a flat wicket for Kiwis so that they can survive.:hysterical:

[EnterTheVoid]

India's financial clout is a perfect diversion to the poor performances in the ODI's I've just been informed that Ishant and Zak have been bowling bags of money on a good length just outside the off stump, something the Kiwi batsman are finding it difficult to shoulder arms to @Shane: I'll try and find some for you

[cochise]

Richardson is just a smartar*se with an agenda taking potshots at the current set up with NZC and passing snide comments on Indian's to do it...mix that in with envy and looking for excuses for NZ performance and you have his writing.

[Ram]

How do such people get to write for newspapers?

[cochise]

How do such people get to write for newspapers?

You know...sensationalism...playing to the lowest common denominator...creating a controversy...causing a stir...all this sells papers...

[Ram]

You know...sensationalism...playing to the lowest common denominator...creating a controversy...causing a stir...all this sells papers...

But shouldnt 'common sense' first the first lowest common denominator? The author talks about the pitch as though the only thing NZ should have done to win the series was to prepare seaming tracks. How can he completely ignore the fact that there is something individual player talent and capability. This is a really good team, which has the talent to perform will in most conditions.

[cowboysfan]

green tops will actually help us.i hope we see one in wellington.

[Anakin]

FFS, please prepare a green top. I'd love to see this Kiwi lineup fold sub 150 in both innings. India trounced the English on their tracks, humiliated OZs in Perth. These guys except couple are well capable of handling pace and movement. We'll see how well the Kiwis do it.

[cochise]

But shouldnt 'common sense' first the first lowest common denominator? The author talks about the pitch as though the only thing NZ should have done to win the series was to prepare seaming tracks. How can he completely ignore the fact that there is something individual player talent and capability. This is a really good team, which has the talent to perform will in most conditions.

What he is appealing to in the article is bias...so he presses all the right buttons there so as to create the impression that the NZ team is playing at a disadvantage...this prepares the grounds for a convenient excuse for any poor performance as well as OTT hype if they do well. This is then consumed well by the local population of readers. Not all, but a percentage of them will have one-eyed bias and this writing plays right into that. So it's nothing to get unduly concerned about...think of it as "tabloid" sports journalism.

[Shehezaada]

If we draw this test match, then there will be a greentop. That's their only chance. Don't think we'll stuff up again on another road.

[Sachinism]

What a whiner, is the author related to an ICF member? NZ batsmen were clueless when there was a bit of movement, so I don't think green tops would have benefited them at all

[Mamu]

Why have we been so nice to India? What's interesting is that -- he has hinted Jacob Oram is not playing cuz of BCCI ?