Kiwi coach wants to pepper India with aggressive bowling

Napier, Jan 17 (IANS) New Zealand coach Mike Hesson said the Blackcaps will welcome the Indian batsmen with a barrage of aggressive fast bowling as the five-match ODI series starts here on Sunday with the first ODI.

Hesson said New Zealand would unleash new pace sensation Adam Milne on India, who are short of match practice and are coming from a tough tour of South Africa.

The Kiwis enjoy the home advantage as the McLean Park pitch will offer enough pace for its fired-up pace attack. Hesson expected little to change at McLean Park in Napier when the two sides face-off for the first ODI.

“Quick, bouncy, a good wicket, a high scoring game, that’s the pattern we get there and it’s been pretty consistent,” Hesson was quoted as saying by Stuff.co.nz.

Though the New Zealand pacers conceded 363/4 in the fifth ODI against the West Indies in Hamilton, Hesson feels against India his pacemen will step-up the accelerator.

“If you just try and deny there comes a time in the game with only four fielders out where it’s extremely hard to defend. If you’re able to keep taking wickets at the top you can control those middle overs. That’s a pattern that’s worked well for us and one we’d certainly look to continue,” Hesson said.

“It’s aggression in terms of where you bowl the ball, the pace you bowl and the areas you bowl. You’re not just running up and putting it there and hoping good things will happen, you’re actually trying to make things happen. We’ve got a few guys who do that naturally so we’ll certainly be encouraging that,” he said.