31 Mar 2009

Vettori bemoans pitch as too good for batting

6:30 am on 31 March 2009

The New Zealand cricket captain Daniel Vettori says the Black Caps were frustrated in their push for victory in the second test against India by a pitch which was simply too good for batting.

India still lead the 3-match series 1-nil after the second test ended in a draw an hour before the scheduled finish yesterday with India 476 for 4 in their second innings, after trailing by 314 runs on the first innings.

Vettori says ideally you want batting to become more difficult as a test match goes on, but you could have batted on the McLean Park strip for another five or six days if you'd wanted to.

India's stand-in captain Virender Sehwag had no complaints about the pitch, saying they've played on even flatter wickets in India and overseas.

After spending the last three days in the field in Napier, the Black Caps have three days to recover and prepare for the deciding test starting at the Basin Rerserve in Wellington on Friday.