After suffering an ignominious defeat in the first Test in Brisbane by 208 runs, Brendon McCullum and his team must learn something about winning Test matches, rather than sticking to their aggressive, one-day style of play.
Test cricket, especially in the last half a decade, has been dominated by teams who find ways to stay in the contest.
Several instances can be drawn from history to show what the faults in the Kiwis’ brand of cricket in the first Test.
In 2012, Alastair Cook’s England toured India for a four-Test encounter. After suffering a humiliating loss in Chennai, where Ravi Ashwin picked up six wickets, many felt it would be a whitewash.
The next encounter involved a rank turner, to England’s woes. However throughout the first day, where Cheteshwar Pujara scored a century, England simply kept the pressure through Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar, before the pitch broke in the afternoon and India eventually were bowled out in the 300s.
England’s response was noteworthy – simply block and defend cricket – as Cook and Nick Compton took 32 overs off the old bowl and the pitch grew soft. That meant when Kevin Peitersen came to bat, he had the luxury of playing spin with a new ball and plundered a 233-ball 186.
India batted abysmally next innings, handing England the win.
The third Test at Eden Gardens had an ordinary spin, slow surface (not a rank turner) and England crafted their way into the series, eventually winning it 2-1.
So the Kiwis can still win this series. But they need to be mindful of five things.
1. Be methodical
Brendon McCullum’s captaincy was attacking throughout, and that has not been productive.
Sometimes, having specific plans in place and doing something out of the box can also prove decisive. The abject leakage of runs on the first day could have been avoided had the plan been better and the captaincy slightly defensive. The pitch is a batters’ paradise and the David Warner-Usman Khwaja show was coming.
McCullum needs to mix defence and attack, and wait for the right moments to get his team in the match.
2. Learn how to grind out games
After batting poorly in the first innings, which can happen in the first match of a series, the Kiwis played the same arrogant, offensive style, allowing Joe Burns and Warner to pile more misery upon them.
Though Tim Southee did not bowl, New Zealand definitely should have taken a cautious approach and utilised their spinners more.
3. The Gabba is an Aussie stronghold
The difference between the best Test teams and good Test teams is that the latter do not analyse the exact details of the situation; a South African (for they can really be termed ‘best’) team would not playing fiery cricket if they know the first game is at the Gabba, where Australia are unbeaten since the 1980s.
There is a methodology in the approach that the Kiwis lacked, and that hurt them. Now they face an uphill task of winning the next two Tests to win the series.
4. Salvaging a draw can be a worthwhile outcome
When a team is at 3-142 at the start of Day 5, knowing well that they do not have any chance of sealing the win, what is the use of playing with fire?
New Zealand had McCullum, Ross Taylor, Jimmy Nesham and the calm head of BJ Watling, who could have easily ground out a draw. Had they got away with one, the Aussies would’ve been kicking themselves for letting them off the hook.
5. Sort the batting order
This does not come in the way of methodical strategy, it is more about behaving cautiously when danger lies ahead.
If the situation demands a draw, drop Tom Latham down and promote McCullum to open. Bradley Watling deserves a higher batting number than Neesham, while experimenting with Mark Craig (who can be a handy batter) might throw the opposition off.
Australia did not dominate and outplay New Zealand, the Black Caps simply dug a hole for themselves.
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