Tim
Cricketer Of The Year
New Zealand's batsmen were no longer worried by ace spinner Muttiah Muralitharan's tweakers, skipper Stephen Fleming said on Saturday ahead of the second and final test against Sri Lanka.
"We've seen almost everything he can bowl, he's no more a threat than he was a week ago," said Fleming. Fleming posted 174 not out and 69 not out in the two New Zealand innings of the first test, where Muralitharan met with little success by his lofty standards.
Muralitharan claimed three wickets in the first innings and two in the second, but New Zealand had virtually insured against a defeat by that time.
The New Zealand batsmen adopted the safety-first approach against Muralitharan that kept the pad ahead of the bat and helped smother Muralitharan's prodigious spin.
"If you show the right technique, you can handle him with ease," Fleming said.
"Considering the amount of spin he produces, he's relatively easy to play.
"The more he turns the ball, the easier it becomes for a batsmen to play him."
Fleming acknowledged Muralitharan can turn the ball on any surface, so the batsmen always needed to be watchful.
"Murali can turn it on anything, we've all seen that," he said.
"But it isn't easy to hit the stumps with such sharp spin."
Before the start of the series, Fleming had termed Sri Lanka a "one-man team" with Muralitharan the biggest threat to any side visiting the island nation.
Having overcome the fear of Sri Lanka's four-pronged spin attack, Fleming's team was looking to an improved show in the second test.
But coming back to his home ground in Kandy where he claimed a career-best nine for 51 in one innings against Zimbabwe, Muralitharan remained a major threat.
"It's not that he's become predictable, but the guys have spent a lot of time on how to play Murali ... I think that's worked out," Fleming said.
Source: AAP
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This is a bold statement for Fleming to make, and if NZ can prove it against Murali in the 2nd test then maybe they have worked out how to play him.
"We've seen almost everything he can bowl, he's no more a threat than he was a week ago," said Fleming. Fleming posted 174 not out and 69 not out in the two New Zealand innings of the first test, where Muralitharan met with little success by his lofty standards.
Muralitharan claimed three wickets in the first innings and two in the second, but New Zealand had virtually insured against a defeat by that time.
The New Zealand batsmen adopted the safety-first approach against Muralitharan that kept the pad ahead of the bat and helped smother Muralitharan's prodigious spin.
"If you show the right technique, you can handle him with ease," Fleming said.
"Considering the amount of spin he produces, he's relatively easy to play.
"The more he turns the ball, the easier it becomes for a batsmen to play him."
Fleming acknowledged Muralitharan can turn the ball on any surface, so the batsmen always needed to be watchful.
"Murali can turn it on anything, we've all seen that," he said.
"But it isn't easy to hit the stumps with such sharp spin."
Before the start of the series, Fleming had termed Sri Lanka a "one-man team" with Muralitharan the biggest threat to any side visiting the island nation.
Having overcome the fear of Sri Lanka's four-pronged spin attack, Fleming's team was looking to an improved show in the second test.
But coming back to his home ground in Kandy where he claimed a career-best nine for 51 in one innings against Zimbabwe, Muralitharan remained a major threat.
"It's not that he's become predictable, but the guys have spent a lot of time on how to play Murali ... I think that's worked out," Fleming said.
Source: AAP
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This is a bold statement for Fleming to make, and if NZ can prove it against Murali in the 2nd test then maybe they have worked out how to play him.
