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Murali clone was useful in Kiwi preparations - NZ Manager |
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Aug 17, 2009 at 12:00 AM |
New Zealand seem to be leaving nothing to chance on their tour of Sri Lanka and leading up to the first Test match at Galle on Tuesday, the Kiwis have done everything possible as far as preparation goes.
First, former Pakistan spinner Saqlain Mushtaq was flown into Colombo to provide the Kiwis useful tips on spin bowling and then little heard of teenage spinner Maurice Holmes, who bowls like Muttiah Muralitharan was flown in from England to help their preparations.
The Kiwis had first come across Holmes, a 19-year-old Kent spinner, during the T-20 World Cup in England where he was a net bowler and the New Zealand players had convinced the board that the youngster’s presence in Colombo could help the team in countering the huge threat posed by Muralitharan.
"Maurice was a net bowler in England during the T-20 World Cup. He bowls a number of balls that Murali bowls and as we don’t have a lot of experience in playing spin bowling, we thought of bringing him over ahead of the Test series," New Zealand Manager David Currie told ‘The Island’ yesterday.
"He was very useful in our preparations, but how useful that will be, we’ll find out when the Test begins," Currie added.
Muralitharan has created plenty of problems for the Kiwis over the years and the last time the sides met he picked up a match bag of 10 wickets, becoming the first spinner to claim 10 wickets in a Test at the Basin Reserve in Wellington which had hosted Test cricket for over 75 years.
"We are very serious about competing and doing well. Hopefully, whatever the preparations we have done will be beneficial. Furthermore, this is a young side that hasn’t played in Sri Lanka or India, so we were keen on having the best preparations we could have," Currie added.
Muralitharan, the world’s highest wicket taker, missed the series against Pakistan due to a knee injury and later announced he will retire from Test cricket in 2010.
Apart from playing two warm up games in Colombo leading up to the first Test, the New Zealanders also had the services of Saqlain Mushtaq, the inventor of the ‘doosra’ for eight days in Colombo, getting useful tips from him on playing spin bowling.
"Apart from speaking to our spin bowlers, Saqlain also spoke on some of the stategies we can adopt while playing spin," Currie added.
The New Zealanders did well in their last series in Sri Lanka, which they drew 0-0. The highlight in the series was Stephen Fleming’s unbeaten 274 in the first Test at P. Sara Stadium.
Fleming is retired and New Zealand have a very inexperienced side. Of the batsmen, vice-captain Brendon McCullum is the most experienced with 44 Tests to his name.
by Rex Clementine
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