Beaten hollow in the first cricket Test by the rampaging Indians, a dejected New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori ON Saturday said his "inexperienced" side will stand no chance even in the second match if the batting does not improve drastically.
"We were outplayed in all three facets of the game. If we look back to the start and the situation we put ourselves in at 60 for 6, we recovered moderately from there. In every aspect India just showed us how to do it in this Test match," Vettori said after India went 1-0 up in the three-match series after today's win.
"Even our fielding, which is something we normally pride ourselves was disappointing. Dropped catches always hurt and our ground fielding was poor as well. So we need to quickly improve on a lot of aspects if we are going to have a chance at Napier," Vettori said.
Vettori said he desperately wanted his batsmen to last longer at the wicket.
"It is the longevity with ball and bat. Obviously, we have to bat longer. Eighty overs in both innings is just not acceptable. We need to bat at least 120 overs", he said.
"With the ball we just got to be consistent in putting the ball in the right areas. At times we built pressure for up to six to ten balls and then we let it slip and bowled the boundary balls. We need to put 30-35 balls in the right areas in a row to create pressure and give ourselves the opportunity to win," Vettori said.
The left-arm spinner said his batsmen failed to capitalise on the friendly conditions.
"It was a chance for one or two guys to step up and make a name for themselves. It was good batting conditions. It was a true test of your character and what you are as a batsman," he said.
"But we just had two 50-run partnerships in the whole innings. Compare it to the way India batted. There were at least five or six partnerships in the first innings. We never created the momentum and never gave ourselves the opportunity," the 30-year-old captain rued.
Asked if the move to send Kyle Mills towards the end of yesterday misfired, Vettori said: "We accepted Kyle to be able to do a job. It is unfortunate that he got out to the last ball of the day. But there is still an opportunity for us to bat better as Brendon (McCullum) showed in this innings and I showed in the first."
Talking about the lack of experience in the batting line-up, Vettori said fighting spirit can make up for it.
"If you look at the records of our top six, it is pretty good. All those guys can bat. We just needed someone to fight pretty hard for us today. Unfortunately, we never had it. Daniel Flynn was probably the only one who stood up and Brendon later on, but it was a bit too late," Vettori said.
"You need 100s and 50s. You need guys to bat the whole day or day and a half. We never had that in either innings," he said.
Vettori said New Zealand failed to grab their chances in the game.
"There were small pockets of opportunities for us throughout the game to dismiss India for about 350, which we were never able to do. And we put ourselves in a position of 60 for six which means it is tough to get back from there. India is a quality side and they showed it throughout this Test match," he said.
Vettori said New Zealand has never been a great Test side but the hard work of the past one year has helped the team shed that tag to some extent.
"In the past we have struggled as a Test side as there were elements to it. We hadn't played as many Test matches as possibly we would have liked to. But in the last year or so, we have turned that around and played a lot of cricket," he said.
"There is still a lot of inexperience within the group. But in the end Test matches are the ultimate test of your skill and your ability to play for long periods of time", he added.
"That probably has been our downfall. Our own inability to bat for long periods of time and be consistent with the ball for long periods of time. Until we rectify that we deserve our place in that order," Vettori said.
Vettori said he wants to have big-hitting all-rounder Jacob Oram back in the side for the second Test if he is fit to play.
"Jacob brings so much to the table. He has got five Test centuries. There is nobody else who could say that going around domestic cricket at the moment. He is also a very good bowler. So we miss him a bit, but he is probably not quite ready. It will be interesting to see how he goes in the four-day game which started today. I am sure the selectors will be watching closely," he said.
"If he has got batting form under his belt, then it would be good enough for me to have him bowl just 10-12 overs. With Jesse (Ryder) also being able to do that for us, the two of them could come together quite nicely as fourth or fifth seamers," he added.
Despite the ten-wicket loss on his home turf, Vettori said it was a good Test wicket to play on.
"If you bowled in the right areas you always got something out of it. The ball obviously dominated the bat on the first morning. From then on it was still tricky.
"There was an occasional ball which was tough to keep out. We were always looking for a wicket which had some pace in it, but this is a really good Test wicket," he signed off.