New Zealand must adapt quickly to avoid ‘harsh lessons’, warns Mike Hesson

Photo: AFP

Wellington: New Zealand coach Mike Hesson has sent out a clear warning to his team ahead of its tour of India -- either adapt quickly to the conditions or get taught a harsh lesson by the world No.1 side.

"Look, their record at home has been phenomenal in the last two or three years," said Hesson before leaving for India for a limited-overs series comprising three ODIs and three T20Is starting October 22.

"You know going over there that you have to perform, otherwise you get taught a pretty harsh lesson. It is important for us to adapt really quickly."

India recently beat Australia 4-1 in a five-match ODI series to cement their number one spot in the ICC rankings.

Nine squad members departed for India today while the remaining six will be picked from the A side touring India at the moment.

"The beauty of an A tour means we have already got people in India, adapting to conditions, so when they come in they should be as familiar as they are going to be," he said

The coach said senior players, including captain Kane Williamson, will have to rise to the challenge.

"Obviously there is the dew factor, the conditions are all very different depending on the grounds you go to. We are going to rely a lot of the experience of our senior players," he felt.

Hesson further said the opening combination of Martin Guptill and Tom Latham has not produced the desired results and hinted at the southpaw moving down the order.

"It would be fair to say Martin and Tom, although they have had some really good performances individually, haven't really clicked at the top and certainly haven't generated a strike-rate as a pair that we would like," he added.