Hesson has high praise for team

Mike Hesson says it’s not up to him or his players to judge if they haven’t got enough credit yet this summer.

But he was quick to point out a few things to everyone else worth considering.

New Zealand will enter the fourth of five one-day international cricket matches against Pakistan in Hamilton on Tuesday seeking an 11th consecutive win across all formats.

The Black Caps have proved far too good for first the West Indies and now the new visitors – so much so that there’s been equal focus on how woeful the opposition has been this home summer as there has on how well NZ have played.

Hesson wouldn’t be drawn on that, but felt the side’s long-term record could speak for itself.

‘‘That’s up for others to judge. In the last five years, every side has travelled here. And our record at home is pretty good,’’ Hesson said.

‘‘We know we play pretty good cricket here, we know we challenge teams away from home as well, but we’re still trying to get better.’’

The coach did have high praise for his troops after they destroyed Pakistan by 183 runs in Dunedin on Saturday to clinch the ODI series win.

‘‘Last game was pretty close to perfect on a tricky surface,’’ said Hesson, who felt he’d never seen his regular opening bowling attack of Trent Boult and Tim Southee play better. ‘‘I think the first 10 overs, that’s the best I’ve ever seen.

‘‘In terms of when you have to bowl into the wind – Tim’s five overs into a howling gale, he never missed the strings, kept hitting the top of the bat ... he was exceptional and obviously Trent was relentless from the other end.’’

Rather than contentment, Hesson said there was a sense of ‘‘satisfaction with the way we’re playing’’.

‘‘We’re improving and I think we’re playing some smart cricket, particularly on a variety of surfaces, so that’s very pleasing.

‘‘We were very smart on surfaces that perhaps haven’t allowed us to play how we’ve wanted to play. We often want to play with a bit of flair and be aggressive with everything we do with the bat and sometimes conditions don’t allow that.

‘‘I think perhaps in the past we might have just kept going and reflected on it at the end of the day. But especially in the game the other day, I thought Kane [Williamson] and Martin [Guptill] were exceptional in how they assessed the conditions. I thought Ross [Taylor] and Tom [Latham] certainly added a bit of punch to that order.’’

Despite the praise, Hesson is adamant the side won’t lose concentration.

‘‘Nothing changes for us. We’re very clear how we operate pre-game – I think one of the keys is we’re very consistent about how we operate, whether we’ve come off a win or a string of losses.