Hesson banks on quick rebound

AGENCIES, WELLINGTON: Australia’s Test-match losing streak may be making headlines, but their neighbours across the Tasman Sea have not fared much better this year. Of nine Tests played in 2016, New Zealand has lost six, winning only the two matches against Zimbabwe. Their four most-recent results have all been losses.
Unlike for Australia, however, the losing streak has come overseas, against formidable opposition: the first loss came against South Africa, and the next three in India, where many teams have suffered in the last three years.
Now back at home, with a grassy pitch before them and a long summer ahead, coach Mike Hesson has said his team will not dwell on the overseas failures. They will instead aim to fall back on memories of their unbeaten stretch at home between 2013 and 2015.
“I think we’ve won seven out of our 11 Tests at home in the last three years, with a couple of draws and a couple of losses,” Hesson said. “You do that because conditions are familiar to you, and you adapt quicker than other sides.
“We’ve been stressing the fact that we need to prepare for conditions that we’re more familiar with. We’ve got some experience to draw on over the last three or four years. It’s a matter of going through that rather than reliving India. Conditions over there were significantly different to what we’re going to face over here.”
New Zealand’s batsmen had had a particularly torrid tour of India, where no one managed a century across three Tests. Their main destroyers on that tour had been spinners R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, who shared 41 scalps between them. Hesson said his batsmen had rebounded mentally since that series, which ended a month ago.

Hesson banks on quick rebound

AGENCIES, WELLINGTON: Australias Test-match losing streak may be making headlines, but their neighbours across the Tasman Sea have not fared much better this year. Of nine Tests played in 2016, New Zealand has lost six, winning only the two matches against Zimbabwe. Their four most-recent results have all been losses. Unlike for Australia, however, the losing streak has come overseas, against formidable opposition: the first loss came against South Africa, and the next three in India, where many teams have suffered in the last three years. Now back at home, with a grassy pitch before them and a long summer ahead, coach Mike Hesson has said his team will not dwell on the overseas failures. They will instead aim to fall back on memories of their unbeaten stretch at home between 2013 and 2015. I think weve won seven out of our 11 Tests at home in the last three years, with a couple of draws and a couple of losses, Hesson said. You do that because conditions are familiar to you, and you adapt quicker than other sides. Weve been stressing the fact that we need to prepare for conditions that were more familiar with. Weve got some experience to draw on over the last three or four years. Its a matter of going through that rather than reliving India. Conditions over there were significantly different to what were going to face over here. New Zealands batsmen had had a particularly torrid tour of India, where no one managed a century across three Tests. Their main destroyers on that tour had been spinners R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, who shared 41 scalps between them. Hesson said his batsmen had rebounded mentally since that series, which ended a month ago.