Cricket: We need to bore pants off them

By RICHARD BOOCK


If it's true that desperate times call for desperate measures, then the New Zealand cricketers have come up with a dandy for this month's test series against Australia.

Overwhelming underdogs for the two tests against the world champions, New Zealand have been given about as much chance as a sight-impaired mouse at a cat convention, and especially after details of their bowling attack were made public this week.

Without Shane Bond or Daryl Tuffey, the New Zealand side look ridiculously short on firepower and would probably struggle to make a mark in the Australian first-class competition, let alone in the test arena.

In fact, if the strengths of the two teams were to be compared on paper, it would be hard to escape the conclusion that New Zealand are about to receive the same treatment that Bangladesh have been copping for the past, well ... five years.

But if Stephen Fleming's side have learned anything from their transtasman battles over the years, it's that Australia are easily seduced by the hype of their own success, and can sometimes develop a noticeable superiority complex.

And it's that point that will lead Fleming to his only viable option for the upcoming tests: try to bore the socks off the Aussies, kill the games as contests, and hang on grimly for dear life.

That's how desperate it's become.

The suggestion is that, because of the high expectation on Australia to dominate, their players will take more risks than usual to obtain an advantage, even if it means leaving an opening for their opponents.

With that in mind, there is a belief - especially in the New Zealand camp - that Australia have become so used to the sprint that they've tired of the distance race, and are subsequently more vulnerable the longer a test proceeds.

New Zealand employed the same tactics during their previous visit in 2000-01, when they would have scored one of the biggest series upsets in modern history but for a couple of dreadful blunders from Zimbabwean umpire Ian Robinson.

Working on the theory that Australia had become so accustomed to annihilating their opposition within the first three days they were unfamiliar with proceedings on the fourth and fifth, New Zealand surprised everyone by drawing all three tests.

They almost won the first at Brisbane after Steve Waugh allowed them back into the game with an overly-generous declaration.

Then they were struggling at Hobart before the weather intervened and they would have won at Perth had it not been for Robinson's contribution.

It was still a remarkable effort.

At that stage, no touring side had played two or more tests in Australia without defeat since Kapil Dev's 1985-86 Indians.

The plan to frustrate could be seen in the way New Zealand approached their batting on that tour, and in the manner they neutralised Australia's two great bowlers, Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne.

Warne had taken 407 wickets before the series started, but captured only six for 430 in five innings, while McGrath, who started with 358, took five for 327.

The New Zealand batsmen refused to be tempted by McGrath's habit of bowling just wide of off-stump, and Warne was never allowed to settle.

Warne eventually making more of an impact with the bat.

Things might have changed in the past four years, but it's unlikely that New Zealand will waver much from what proved so successful on their previous visit, particularly given their lack of options in the field.

It could even be that Fleming and coach John Bracewell decide to stack the side with as many batsmen as possible at Brisbane to create some on-going difficulty for the Australian bowlers, and to draw the test match out for as long as possible.

That would mean playing a specialist batsman such as Hamish Marshall at No 6 and going into the test with a bowling attack comprising just two front-line pace bowlers, spinner Daniel Vettori and all-rounder Jacob Oram - as well as Scott Styris' part-time mediums.

The only genuine problem with playing the waiting game is that Australia should be ready for it after their experiences in 2000-01, and under usual circumstances could be expected to have a counter strategy.

Then again, after taking a look at the New Zealand squad announced this week, maybe they haven't bothered.

NZ in Australia

* Nov 11-14: v NSW, Sydney Cricket Ground

* Nov 18-22: First test, Brisbane

* Nov 26-30: Second test, Adelaide

* Dec 5: First ODI, Melbourne Cricket Ground

* Dec 8: Second ODI, Sydney Cricket Ground

* Dec 10: Third ODI, Brisbane