There’s no excuses coming from the BLACKCAPS as they take stock of their Test series shut out by India.
The visitors were soundly beaten in all three Test matches and coach Mike Hesson says they must own the result.
“The group’s very disappointed,” he said.
“We were exposed by a very good side in tough conditions. We weren’t good enough and we’ve got to take that on the chin.
“You can’t fault the attitude. The players have been working hard at training, they’re trying different things, they’re talking, they’re looking at video and they’re trying to identify ways of improving their game, but it doesn’t happen overnight. You need to have more experiences over here to keep learning.”
For the majority of the squad it was their first taste of Test cricket in India.
“We didn’t adapt enough with the bat in particular. I thought we were pretty good with the ball. I thought Trent Boult was outstanding throughout the series and I’m really pleased with his return to form. Although his wickets wouldn’t suggest it, the areas that he bowled and effort he put in was where we wanted it.”
Hesson hinted at moves to get more New Zealand players exposed to playing in India at an earlier age going forward.
“Ideally you want players who have experience in the conditions to be able to pick from. The challenge we have is that the current international players are on tour most of the time so you don’t have those blocks, but with our next group of players you do. It’s very different to Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and the UAE, where the turn is not as sharp, so it’s quite a different task.”
The 321 run loss in the final Test was particularly stinging for the team. Hesson felt the problems lay more in the skill and execution than the temperament.
“It hurt for sure, but I felt the attitude and mentality throughout has been very good. There was a few soft dismissals in that final innings, but most of them come from having four guys around the bat - so you make half a mistake and you’re out. You’re also being exposed by Ashwin and Jadeja, who in these conditions are as good as you get, so if you are slightly off the mark from a technical point of view, you do get exposed.”
The side has been on the road for 12 of the last 13 weeks, but Hesson wasn’t about to blame that for the team’s poor performance.
“It’s a challenge for all international cricketers and you won’t find that as an excuse from anybody here. It’s tough at times no doubt but we’re here to do a job and we were exposed in these conditions and there’s no hiding from that.”
“The group’s really disappointed. But I do think it’s important that they don’t get too down. You reflect on the disappointment, but you also don’t dwell on it. It’s important that we learn from what’s happened, but we also have to move on pretty quickly and the majority of the squad has a One Day series coming up.
“It’s an important series for us. Our last time with the white ball we won the Chappell-Hadlee and the last time over here we were in the semi finals of the World T20, so from a white ball perspective we’re traveling nicely and we can’t let a poor run with the red ball affect that.”
The first 50 over assignment is in Dharamasala on Sunday (1.30pm local time, 9pm NZT - live on SKY Sports).
