SPORTS

No revenge match-up: Fleming

September 22, 2003

New Zealand are ready to silence the crowds on their tour of India, captain Stephen Fleming said on Monday.

"The greatest challenge in India is to try and keep the crowd quiet," Fleming told reporters. "If we do that we know we are doing well."

The 14-player New Zealand squad arrived in Madras late on Sunday to play Tests in Ahmedabad (October 8-12) and Mohali (October 16-20) and a one-day triangular series also featuring Australia.

Fleming said he expects turning tracks for the Tests, but is confident his team could rise to the challenge after a strong showing during the drawn Test series in Sri Lanka in April-May.

"We have developed since then and [coach] Ashley Ross and the management staff have come up with some good pre-tour procedures," he said.

Ross simulated the noisy conditions of Indian stadiums during the team's preparatory camps and arrived early to watch India's top players in the domestic Irani Trophy match.

The tour has been dubbed a 'revenge series' in the Indian media after the hosts suffered a defeat in New Zealand when they toured last year.

India's batting, led by Sachin Tendulkar, struggled on underprepared pitches as they lost both their Tests inside three days and a subsequent one-day series 5-2.

"It was a pretty humbling experience for a lot of quality batsmen, for some of the best in world cricket," Fleming said.

But he insisted that the upcoming series should not be seen as a tussle between him and his counterpart Sourav Ganguly.

"It is not a confrontation between the two captains. I respect Sourav's ability as a captain, as a leader and as a player.

"It is not a revenge match-up between the two captains.

"We come to India with our expectations high, but we are also realistic about what it is going to take to win the series here," Fleming said.

India have an imposing home record and have lost just one Test series, to South Africa in 2000, in nearly 17 years.

The Kiwis begin their tour on Friday with a three-day match against an Indian Board President's XI in Visakhapatnam.

Source: REUTERS
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