New Zealand coach Mike Hesson heaps praise on Ross Taylor
New Zealand coach Mike Hesson isn't getting carried away by their 2-0 series win over New Zealand but admits his side are on their way to being one of the best Test teams. Hesson spoke about the diverse challenges faced in away series and admitted Ross Taylor is in an "excellent space".
One of the main reasons for New Zealand's victory in the second Test was the acceleration they showed and the man leading the charge was Taylor. Speaking about him, Hesson said: "He is in an excellent space. A very calm space and technically, he is playing nicely. He is training very well and is just making good decision after good decision."
The 2-0 victory over Zimbabwe means that the Kiwis have only lost two of their last seven away Test series but the coach isn't getting carried away.
"We know we will only be judged a decent team once we start to do well away from home," he said. "We won in West Indies and Sri Lanka, and we are getting better. We were challenged here in Zimbabwe with both bat and ball and India are going to challenge us in a few months' time.”
After playing against Sri Lanka and Australia at home earlier in the year, New Zealand will next face South Africa in South Africa before travelling to India. Speaking about the challenge of away tours, captain Kane Williamson said: "Any time you tour away from home, the conditions are so diverse that the challenge is not just playing a different nation, it's having to make big adjustments to your game and your approach as a team.”
"Those are challenges that are unique to the international game and something every side finds difficult. It's a leveler as well because everyone is most used to their home conditions. So when you go away you have to adapt as quickly as you can and it's not an easy thing," he added.
Yet the Kiwis have found a way to tackle away tours better than most countries and the coach attributed that to the players at his disposal.
"We've got enough experience in the group that players can talk about it," Hesson said. "When we train, we train with a purpose. We've got a group of players that share ideas and learn from each other.”
New Zealand's best bowler was arguably Neil Wagner, who used the short ball expertly along with some reverse swing with the old ball. Hesson also explained the reason behind the omission of Doug Bracewell.
"Doug is competing with Neil Wagner. With Neil's ability to reverse the ball, that's a role we wanted. We thought Neil was the right one to go with and he had a very good first Test, so he got a second," he explained.
Having never won a Test series in South Africa, the Black Caps will be hoping to make history and continue their impressive away record.