India v. New Zealand: A Completely Biased Review

I am a Kiwi, and an optimist (hey, let's face it, you need to be an optimist to be a New Zealand cricket fan), and I make no apologies for it.  

Too often the media jump on the back of poor performances, or expect too much from our sporting teams.  It defines us as a country.  We punch above our weight in almost everything we do, for example, we are World Champions in Rugby League (a traditionally Australian sport) and the All Blacks are the most respected rugby side in the world.  

More to the point, our cricket team has just performed admirably against a country with over a billion people to choose from (population of New Zealand = 4.5 million). So think it is fair to keep that in mind when we review the series against India.

T20 is a hit and miss format, it entertains the crowds and pays a few bills but we can't read much more in to it than that.  Some may see it as a breeding ground for future One Day International players, and if that's true, then Ian Butler and Nathan McCullum certainly put their hands up.

The One Dayers were ruined by rain, I know the Duckworth-Lewis system was devised to produce as accurate result as possible, but no one should really take D/L results seriously.  

The 3rd ODI in Christchurch produced over 700 runs, and although the Black Caps lost by 58 runs, it is too easily overlooked that they scored 334, no mean feat in itself. Jesse Ryder and Brendon McCullum again stamped their mark as one of the world's most formidable opening partnerships.

The 5th ODI saw Jesse Ryder snare three wickets, and announce himself as a serious bowling option, while Martin Guptill again scored runs. He has cemented himself the number three spot, and the ODI team has finally got a settled top order.

So while runs aren't a problem in the One Dayers, the Test team is seriously lacking in that department. The top six batsmen are very inexperienced, and that will only be cured with time and persistence. Daniel Flynn is a good option at number 3, although he didn't produce many runs he needs a vote of confidence from the selectors, as does Tim Southee with the ball.

Ross Taylor is clearly our top test batsman, and his average of 64.4 for the Tests reinforces that. Ryder surprised many with his ability to switch from limited overs to the five-day format, and he fished us out of many a sticky situation with his bat. His magnificent 205 was clearly the standout performance of the series.

So there is plenty to smile about for the Kiwis. We continue to perform strongly in limited overs cricket, although Tests remain our Achilles heel. It has been said that any team that takes us seriously will beat us, and the West Indies (whom we beat) and India proved that this season.