Former New Zealand wicketkeeper Ian Smith has lashed out at the Kane Williamson-led side for the ordinary performances of the Black Caps spinners against India in the ongoing first Test at Green Park in Kanpur.
New Zealand has been heavily dependent on their pace attack, and they were once again staring with the ball against India, as Tim Southee (8) and Kyle Jamieson (6) snared 14 wickets together out of the 17 wickets that fell in both innings of the ongoing Test in Kanpur.
The tourists played three spinners, but Ajaz Pate (3) could only manage to outsmart the Indian batters while Rachin Ravindra and Will Somerville remained wicketless in the ongoing first Test of the two-match Test series against Team India in Kanpur.
Analyzing New Zealand spinners' performance against India, Smith slammed the Kiwis for their over-reliance on pace and asked them to "stop hiding in the grass" and develop spin bowling and learn a few spin tricks to compete more efficiently and effectively on sub-continental pitches.
Smith said on Mornings with Ian Smith on SENZ: “Surviving today is temporarily sealing the cracks. We have to get more revolutions on the ball and stop hiding in the grass. It's so lopsided in their favor it's not funny. Just as it is for the quicks when we host teams here. Unfortunately, though for us, that is now coming to our detriment in the subcontinent, and we'll always do so unless we learn to play it better.”
The cricketer-turned-broadcaster also said that the Kane Williamson-led New Zealand team must be thankful for pacers Time Southee and Kyle Jamieson while mentioning that a total of 14 out of 16 wickets have been taken by the Indian spinners so far in Kanpur.
He further added, “It's a hell of a compliment to Tim Southee and Kyle Jamieson that we're actually still playing this Test match. Our three spinners bowled 102 overs. For India, 10 out of the 11(at the time of writing) scalps they've got so far are to spin.”
Mentioning New Zealand’s World Test Championship final victory over India in England in June 2021 on the back of their all-pace attack, Smith said the side must improve their spin department.
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He further explained, “The greatest of the tweakers, Shane Warne, marveled at our success in winning the World Test Championship final but without having [or] using a spinner. He did say it was somewhat disappointing and a poor reflection. He's a tad bias to spin, we know that, but we need to shift ours a little bit more in that direction.”
He signed off by saying, “We have to learn to bowl it better, and when we do, we'll learn how to play it better. It might be time to invest in some full-time overseas coaching or maybe discover a Devon Conway type who can turn it square."
