Kiwis prepare for big home summer after India debacle
wellington — New Zealand coach Mike Hesson has criticised his players’ decision-making in India after the one-day side were thrashed in the final match of the tour.
New Zealand were swept 3-0 in the Test series and lost the following one-day tournament 3-2 in demoralising fashion, belted by 190 runs in the decider in Visakhapatnam on Saturday after their batsmen were skittled for 79.
Hesson’s side now turn their attention to a big home summer, which starts with two Tests against Pakistan, followed by further Test series against an improving Bangladesh and South Africa.
The Black Caps will also play one-day series against Bangladesh, Australia and South Africa.
“We won two of our last three games, which suggests we did get better, but Saturday night was very, very frustrating,” Hesson told New Zealand’s Radio Sport Breakfast.
The reality is, every team struggles in India whether they are from the subcontinent or not. They are incredibly difficult to beat at home Mike Hesson, New Zealand coach
“We have spent time dwelling on it, making sure that sort of thing doesn’t happen again.
“When things went bad we made some very, very poor decisions. We expect more of the new players as well as the experienced players in those situations.
“But the reality is, every team struggles in India whether they are from the subcontinent or not. They are incredibly difficult to beat at home.”
New Zealand reached the final of the one-day World Cup in Australia last year under former captain Brendon McCullum but are in the throes of transition under new skipper Kane Williamson.
Hesson said opener Tom Latham and all-rounder Mitchell Santner had shown they were “good enough” in Indian conditions but he expected to make a number of changes during the home summer’s one-day tournaments.
“We lost over 1,000 matches (in experience) from our World Cup squad,” he said. “We have got 36 ODIs coming up and we will try some different players.
“It will be similar to the last World Cup (cycle) where we will look at a lot of different players then pull them all together towards the end.
“We need to replace five or six key players and have been able to blood some new ones.”
New Zealand play the first Test against Pakistan in Christchurch from Nov. 17. —