Kiwis in need of a leader

NEW DELHI: There is an unmistakable spirit in the way New Zealand have traditionally played their cricket. The abject surrender in the Test series and the first One-day International in Dharamshala, however, has cast doubts on their strongest virtue.
At the outset, things look starkly different from the time they first arrived in India. The Kiwi team management didn't go up to the pitch neither it spoke to the groundstaff about it.It was Trent Boult who kept the team pepping during the usual, but vigorous, fielding drills. You can easily miss their captain Kane Williamson, a soft-spoken and generally unexpressive, amidst the training drills.
It's been barely a month when this lot was here at the Ferozeshah Kotla preparing vibrantly for the Test series. In comparison, the nets session on Wednesday was less interactive than how they went about their sessions preparing for the warm-up match last month. The side, known for its fight and spirit, needs a leader to stand up. This is when the absence of Brendon McCullum, the former captain, kicks in. "Brendon led the team both with his bat and captaincy. No one can do it as well as he did it. He set his own tone," Boult, forthright and candid, said on the eve of their second ODI. "Kane is a classy player and has been ranked as a top batsman for a reason. In a way , he has had a pretty tough time walking into the role of captaincy to be honest."
The tour and the test thrown at them by the Indian seem to be taking its toll. “What the likes of Ashwin and Jadeja have done in the Test series totally different ball game from what used to in our home conditions,“ concedes the left-arm seamer. The capitulation in the last innings of the third Test followed by another one in the last ODI illustrates the sense of resignation within the camp. The senior batsmen, including Williamson, have struggled to make a contribution. “We are stacked up with lot of quality players in the side and we need all of them to stand up and put in good performance,“ Boult's analysis provides further insight into the mindset of the Kiwi camp. To say the least, they are in a dire need of leader to stand up.
Boult, like a quintessential Kiwi, is not ready to give in. “Things have not gone as we would have liked. But there is the obvious luxury of a five-match series. You have four matches up for grabs and that many opportunities to right a few wrongs."
The centre pitch sports almost the same amount of green as it did during their World T20 semifinal against England earlier this year. It is bound to entice a seamer from overseas. Whether he gets a go on Thursday, he says, is up to Williamson and coach Mike Hesson.