da spicy bet： After Craig McMillan and Nathan Astle helped New Zealand salvage a draw in the first Test at Ahmedabad, coach Ashley Ross sounded confident about his team’s ability to succeed under any conditions
Wisden Cricinfo staff22-Jun-2005quoteAfter Craig McMillan and Nathan Astle helped New Zealand salvage a draw inthe first Test at Ahmedabad, coach Ashley Ross sounded confident about his team’s ability to succeed under any conditions.”I am pleased with the players and their ability to adapt to differentconditions. We are fully prepared for the challenge ahead,” Ross said.He also mentioned that the team might make changes to the final XI for thesecond Test after considering the conditions at Mohali. “There is everychance that we may choose a different eleven for this Test match. We willdecide later,” he said.On the Mohali wicket, Ross said: “We played here four years back and we aremindful of its reputation. We are excited by the challenge. It’s aninteresting wicket. I have seen the wicket yesterday and today. There aresome cracks.” But Ross did warn that India’s penchant for preparing slowdustbowls would let them down abroad. “India may face problems when they goabroad if they continue with such slow wickets. To play well in Australiaor New Zealand, you need to have the experience of playing on fast wickets.”New Zealand’s batsmen handled the spinners better than expected, albeit ona slow track, and Ross drew confidence from that performance ahead of theMohali Test. “It is great for the New Zealand players to face such greatspinners in Indian conditions. Facing them is a great challenge,” he said.When asked whether New Zealand were contemplating a victory at any stage oftheir second innings, Ross said “We were playing for a win throughout. Butgiven the conditions on last day and with some quick wickets falling, wesettled for a draw. It wasn’t a win, but it wasn’t a loss either,” he said.Ross did however caution against complacency and hinted that there wasstill much room for improvement. “There are still a lot of areas where wecan improve. With every match you have to improve. What is important is toadapt to a given set of conditions,” he said.Underlining New Zealand’s emphasis on planning well in advance, Ross said:”It helps us enormously. We prepare for all the eventualities. We work hardto be successful in unfamiliar environment.”When questioned about why Nathan Astle was playing at Mohali despitecarrying a knee injury, Ross said that the medical panel felt it wasunlikely that he would aggravate the injury further by playing.