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Former New Zealand cricket coach Steve Rixon believes his old team has stagnated, and this month's Chappell-Hadlee one-day series against Australia will be "no contest".
Daniel Vettori's side arrive in Perth today from South Africa, where they lost two tests, and dropped the one-day series 2-1.
Rixon believes the Black Caps are a far cry from the outfit that beat Australia - without Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist and Brett Lee - 3-0 in New Zealand in February.
That was the start of a nine-match winning streak that took the Kiwis all the way to the World Cup semifinals.
But Rixon believes New Zealand cricket has stagnated since then.
"What I saw in the test matches was very, very poor this year, which saddened me," Rixon said.
"I know it's not the same game but there's always a reflection from one to the other. I saw them not backing themselves, and I saw fear of failure in every facet of their game.
"I just don't see that same sort of contentment. I don't see blokes poking their chests out at the moment. Their confidence looked shot. I've always been a very strong supporter of the Kiwis, and I'm a bit disappointed with what I see now.
"Given the injuries to blokes like Shane Bond and the fact that Australia have got a lot of new boys on the block that are raring to go, I just think it's not going to be a contest.
"I hope it is, but I think Australia are going to be far too good."
Rixon agreed with former NZ captain Martin Crowe that after four years it was time for coach John Bracewell to move on.
"I've been a supporter of Bracewell, but I think you need to be moving forward at all costs, and not stagnating.
"I think stagnation has hit New Zealand cricket and the Black Caps are now playing cricket that is reflecting that.
"As a coach you should be able to mark your own card, and if you haven't moved the team or the individuals forward, maybe you're not doing the job as well as you should."
New Zealand play a Twenty20 international against Australia in Perth on December 11, then the Chappell-Hadlee one-day series in Adelaide (Dec 14), Sydney (Dec 16) and Hobart (Dec 20).
- AAP
