26 Aug 2009

Black Caps batsmen must step up in Colombo

8:15 am on 26 August 2009

The New Zealand cricket coach says his batsmen need to stop fixating on Sri Lanka's spin bowlers if they're to have any chance of beating the home side in the second Test in Colombo.

The Black Caps batsmen struggled to find any form in the first Test, eventually slumping to a 202-run loss in Galle.

Coach Andy Moles says the onus is on his batsmen to score more runs by concentrating for longer periods of time against all of Sri Lanka's bowlers.

The New Zealand coach says he expects the pitch for the second Test against Sri Lanka will favour spinners and break up considerably as the match progresses.

Moles says his team are preparing themselves to play on a typical Sri Lankan wicket.