After enduring another second-innings slump that could have resulted in an embarrassing loss, Stephen Fleming has conceded that his side is just not batting smart enough.
New Zealand sparked a previously soporific first test into life on the final day against Sri Lanka with the sort of batting collapse that
has plagued them for the past two years.
Only a disputed catch and a glaring error by umpire Steve 'Slow Death' Bucknor, allied to a gutsy 41 from the injured and out-of-form Fleming, batting at No 9 after retiring hurt, saved the side from having to defend a gettable fourth-innings target.
"Our batsmanship's just not smart enough," a disappointed Fleming admitted after the test which was played on one of the flattest wickets seen in this country.
"The options and execution, there may be some issues there, but in general our batsmanship is just not smart enough to manipulate the game.
"We do it for periods of time, just not long enough - and that's why we leave ourselves open to the possibility of losing a test. There was a lot of anxiety in that third innings which we can get rid of by learning the game better."
The Black Caps looked trapped in a no-man's land between ultra defence and calculated attack yesterday but Fleming said that in the situation, batsmen have to learn a method which best suits them when batting out time: "It's tough because you don't want to blanket them and say 'look, let's just defend and get through'.
"Each player needs to come up with a method that best suits."
Against Sri Lanka, and in particular the unorthodox Lisath Malinga, Fleming said the batsmen erred on the side of over-caution.
"We got defensive and paid the price," he said.
"We had to buckle down and get through that second session, which could have been disastrous for us if we'd ended up losing some wickets."
Hours have been spent trying to analyse why New Zealand has folded late in games but unless it's rectified in Wellington, the Black Caps face four months' wait until they get another chance to show they're not just a three-day test side.
- HERALD ON SUNDAY
