Cricket: Get Lee off your minds, Bracewell says to batsmen

Chris Cairns in action during New Zealand's one-day international drubbing by Australia at Eden Park on Saturday. Picture / Getty Images

John Bracewell is pleading for his besieged batsmen to concentrate on their own games rather than the blistering pace of Aussie fast-bowler Brett Lee.

But that might be easier said than done.

The shell-shocked New Zealand side arrived in Wellington yesterday following their drubbing at Eden Park on Saturday, with most of the top-order batsmen ready to faint at a mere glimpse of Lee.

The Australian fast-bowler laid waste to New Zealand's hopes at home last summer, and was back to his most destructive on Saturday, taking three for five off six overs of express bowling, and conceding just one scoring shot.

So dominant was the fair-headed tearaway that Hamish Marshall was defeated before he could move his feet, twin brother James was virtually vaporised as soon as he arrived at the wicket, and Craig McMillan perished while playing at width.

"Our batters have recognised that they let us down," Bracewell said yesterday.

"Our top five didn't fire, there's no hiding from that and it's something we've got to turn round and get right. But it won't be for the want of trying, it won't be for the work."

Bracewell acknowledged the fine bowling performance from Lee, but said New Zealand had been forced to adjust to extreme pace bowling in the past and believed his players could do it again this week.

New Zealand batsmen have traditionally struggled against genuine fast bowling, mainly because of the dearth of speedsters playing in their domestic competitions, and also because the local pitches tend to offer helpful conditions.

In the late 1970s they were fending off Bob Willis, in the 1980s it was Thomson, Lillee, Holding and Marshall, and later on it was the quicksilver Waqar Younis and Wasim Akram, and South African Allan Donald.

More latterly, the problems have been confined to Lee, England's Steve Harmison, and the Pakistan duo of Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Sami.

"This is about us, not Brett Lee," said Bracewell. "We've struck this many times before. Lee's not the first fast bowler to hit this country and not the first fast bowler we've had to overcome.

"We had to deal with Akhtar and Sami, who were a two-pronged pace attack two years ago. We've obviously had issues with Donald, and we've carried issues with Sami over a home-and-away period."

In fact, the records suggest that New Zealand batsmen might have attempted to adjust to the pressure of extreme pace in previous years, but were usually unsuccessful against anyone of note.

Akhtar's overall record is 192 wickets at 23.44, much less impressive than his figures against New Zealand (32 at 19.81), and it's a similar story with his team-mate Sami (102 at 28.00 compared with 25 at 23.52).

But Bracewell also appeared on the point of suggesting his batsmen were intimidated by Lee, reasoning that most of them perished because they failed to get in behind the line.

"When you've got played-ons and caught behinds with the face opening up, it's because you're not in behind the ball. That's not necessarily a technique, but it might be a mental technique."

New Zealand will stick with the same squad for the second ODI in Wellington, with Shane Bond sidelined until at least the final match at Christchurch on Saturday, and Chris Martin retained as his replacement.

Fears over Jacob Oram's fitness were laid to rest yesterday when it was revealed he'd suffered nothing more serious than cramping when batting.