Andy Moles
The BLACKCAPS coach talks to the media at the end of day four in Napier.
On todays performance…
“Its been a tough day. Obviously its been a great day to bat, with good weather and excellent wicket. I think we stuck to our task very well during the day. There’s still only one team turning up tomorrow that can win the Test match and its not often we’ve been in that position. India have played well and shown good disciplines. I think we’ve also showed exceptional discipline with our bowling attack, no chances in the field but we hope tomorrow there’ll be luck going our way and we can get the opportunity to push for the win that I think we deserve.”
On if a win is realistic on the current pitch…
“I’d say a draw will be the favourite (outcome) but it only takes a couple of good catches and a special spell by somebody. It is an exceptionally good batting wicket and they’ve got some exceptional players who have played well on it. We’ll still turn up tomorrow and if we can get our intensity right and hit the right areas all we’re looking for is two or three mistakes. As we saw in the first innings there was a bit of a tail there in this Indian team and they’ve got magnificent front five or six and after that as we saw in the first day if we bowl well and things go our way we can get quick wickets.”
On if the pitch is too good for Test cricket...
“I think everyone would admit it’s an exceptional batting wicket. It’s very hard, so therefore its difficult to see any real wear and tear on the surface over the five days. I dare say if we started today we could play another 5 days on it and it would still be an exceptional surface. You’re looking for mistakes from the batters really as opposed to the ball misbehaving on the last day as you’d normally like to see on a really good test wicket. Phil knows what he’s doing, he prepares wickets that are known to have a bit of bounce in them and good to bat on and it hasn’t let the batters down here that’s for certain.”
On the fitness of the bowlers...
“They are sore but there are no injuries. Obviously they’re a little bit tired. When you make teams follow on you obviously do get a bit tired. Good teams do spend a lot of time in the field so the message to our team is we’ve got to get used to it if we want to become a good Test side. It’s about getting big scores and then when you can make teams follow on. They are in good spirits. Obviously they would have like to have got a few more successes in the day but as I say on an exceptional batting surface with some really good players the batters won over the ball today, but tomorrows another day.”
On his thoughts on how the Bowlers have performed so far…
“I couldn’t ask any more they’ve come in, they’ve hit the wicket hard in the areas and they’ve bowled well in good areas for long periods of time. The Indians scored 210 today or somewhere in that manner for 90 overs. They’re still behind us and tomorrow could be our day. We will certainly turn up tomorrow with the intention of a couple of early wickets and as I said earlier they have got a bit of a tail without Dhoni playing and we shall be looking forward to.”
On if today went according to plan…
“It didn’t go according to plan for us. We’d like to have had four or five wickets obviously so far for the Indian team they’re just batting for time they’re not worried about runs. From our point of view we bowled consistently enough so they didn’t get away from us, they are still 60 or 70 behind us again if we turn up tomorrow fresh day and get balls in the right area, a couple of mistakes and we still have a chance of winning the game. The Indians can’t be faulted in the way they’ve played today, they’re looking to save a test match. So far they’ve done half a job they still need to come and do it again tomorrow.”
On the importance of the new ball...
“You would like to have a brand new one tomorrow. The boys will be fresh again tomorrow the batters will have to get themselves back in again so it’ll be a good challenge for both sides, I think the first hour will be crucial and if we can get a couple of wickets then we believe we still have a chance to win the game. They’ve got some good players, a good surface and we’re probably looking for one or two mistakes that weren’t around today but tomorrow will be our day we hope.”
On how the players feel about being in the field so long...
“Good sides are in the field all the time. That’s the mark of us being a good side. Lets hope we get used to it. That’s the consequence of playing good cricket, from 23 for three to score 600 plus, to bowling the opposition out for 300. They batted really well today but there’s still a day to go. We’ll manage the players in between the two test matches but we’re looking to hopefully enjoy a good day tomorrow and then we’ll worry about the preparations for the next game. Any good side are in the field for a long time because you’ve got to take 20 wickets and on a wicket like this to take 20 wickets you have to bowl a serious amount of overs, so that comes with the territory.”
On if they lose this Test...
“Five or six days ago we were the underdogs and playing against a side where we were out of our depth. That was the theme of the questions I was being asked by the media, but here I am having us batted for over 600 having bowled India out for 300. They’ve had a good day today but tomorrow we will have to play an exceptional Indian team that can win. I think we’ve had an excellent Test match, there’s a lot of confidence in our dressing room and if things don’t go well tomorrow it’s a game drawn and the Indians will know that come next week were a better side than when we came to Napier. I think the way the Indians have played today shows a little more respect for New Zealand. Up until today there’s been some loose cricket and today we saw some very good batting from some very good players and perhaps a little more application than in other times of the Test series. Its good for us, we’ve noted that the opposition realise they’re not just turning up to win a game of cricket.”
On their overall performance during this Test...
“We feel that all around up until the today we’ve won most of the sessions of this Test and that we were exceptional in the field. In Hamilton we dropped four catches, so we’ve done a lot of work in the field in preparation for this game and the fielding has been excellent as has the batting and the bowling. Our dressing room is really positive about where we are right now, hopefully well go to Wellington with a win under our belt, if we don’t, we know we can score runs and bowl India out which we didn’t know up in Hamilton. We’re moving to the next Test match full of confidence but we still have a match to win tomorrow so we need to take the chances and opportunity as it arises.”
