``The Indians decided they were going to take on spinners Shane Warne and Gavin Robertson. They just belted them out of the attack. We got to do the same thing with plenty of authority from ball one,'' said New Zealand's Australian-born coach Steve Rixon.
``If we do that, obviously, it is going to make it difficult for the oppposition. We realised once we got on top of Sri Lanka in New Zealand, we can perform like everyone else and do it very well,'' said Rixon. On that occasion New Zealand outplayed Sri Lanka with back-to-back wins to take the short series 2-0.
New Zealand have come to Sri Lanka well prepared to counter the spin of Muthiah Muralitharan and Company. Knowing that off-spin is Sri Lanka's bowling strength, the Kiwis held a 3-day camp at their Cricket Academy in Christchurch where all the best bowlers from around the country came together. The batsmen in particular had a look at how best to play the sort of bowling they will encounter in Sri Lanka and, according to Rixon, each of them have worked out their own match plans how they will attack the bowling.
``Muralitharan is not a Shane Warne or a Lance Gibbs. He is a good bowler and we respect him. But at the end of the day he is not a world beater. We will take him on. If he is better than us, then good luck to him. If he is not, he will get plenty,'' said Rixon.
``My advice to the players is 'don't let the bowler dictate to you'. If you got an average bowler, you sit back and you wait. If you got a good bowler, you must show some authority towards him. Certainly respect him, but at the same time you've got to take some forward movement to take him on''.
``That's the difference between the Indians playing against Warne and probably the rest of the world. They decided to take him on and they did it very well. That is going to be our philosophy from day one. I told my players go out and play shots, but be selective,'' said Rixon.
Starting from the captain, Stephen Fleming, the Kiwis have the batsmen to that. Nathan Astle, Lance Cairns and Craig McMillan, all like to hit the ball and get on with the game.
``If we are going to win the Test series, I think the batting will be the dominant factor. It might be a defensive game or we be going out there to play attacking cricket, whatever, we have the batsmen to do it,'' said Rixon.
``If we score between 325 and 375 in the first innings, we are going to be in with a chance of winning,'' he said confidently.
The first of three Tests commence at the R. Premadasa Stadium on May 27.
Comparing the strengths of the two sides, Rixon said: ``We are well and truly equal''.
``We probably got the strength in the fast bowling department. The spin bowling department is very even. Daniel Vettori is coming along nicely, Paul Wiseman and Mark Priest are part of our weaponry. They are good bowlers but are young as far as international cricket goes, not in age,'' said Rixon.
``Sri Lanka have a very strong batting base with the likes of Sanath Jayasuriya, Aravinda de Silva and Arjuna Ranatunga in the top six. At this point of time Sri Lanka have the edge. But given that Matt Horne, Astle, Bryan Young and Fleming in particular do their job, our batting goes a lot deeper than Sri Lanka's. If there is to be one advantage for the Sri Lankans, it would probably be the conditions will suit them,'' he said.
The former Australian Test wicket-keeper doesn't believe that acclimatising to the oppressive heat and humid conditions of Sri Lanka would be a drawback.
``That's all in the mind. Whether it be Sri Lanka, India, Sharjah or Pakistan it is the subcontinent. The conditions are more or less the same. We played quite a bit in these countries in the past 18 months, more than most countries, so we should be learning quickly and adapting to it very fast,'' he said.
New Zealand who arrived in the early hours of Saturday, open their seven-match tour which comprise the first leg, with a 3-day game against a Sri Lanka Board President's XI at the Saravanamuttu Stadium today. The second leg will see them compete in the three-nation Independence Cup tournament with Sri Lanka and India from June 19.
All-rounder Chris Cairns will lead the side in the absence of Fleming who is attending the International Cricket Council (ICC) captain's meeting in London. He is due on Tuesday along with Sri Lanka captain Arjuna Ranatunga and likely to play in the second 3-day game beginning at Kandy on Friday.
New Zealand have not appointed a vice-captain for the tour and according to Rixon, they have done away with that role for some time now because ``we decided to play the vice-captain's role by ear''.
He said the two lead-up games to the Test series would be absolutely invaluable with a lot of players battling for berths like Craig Spearman and Young in the batting, and Simon Doull and Shane O'Connor in the bowling.
The teams: BOARD PRESIDENT'S XI (probable batting order): Avishka Gunawardena, Upekha Fernando, Sanjeeva Ranatunga, Naveed Nawaz, Mahela Jayawardene (captain), Manoj Mendis, Prasanna Jayawardena, Tilan Samaraweera, Niroshan Bandaratilake, Mario Villavarayen, Ruchira Perera.
NEW ZEALANDERS (probable batting order): Bryan Young, Craig Spearman, Nathan Astle, Craig McMillan, Adam Parore, Chris Cairns (captain), Chris Harris, Dion Nash, Daniel Vettori, Paul Wiseman, Simon Doull.