Cricket: Poor batting sticks NZ in tight spot

New Zealand will travel north to Mohali hoping that the cooler climate and cleaner air will go some way to reconfiguring the synapses that went so badly crooked in Mumbai overnight Friday.

The Black Caps face a must-win situation against Pakistan in the Champions Trophy, having earned the luxury of being allowed one bad performance by blitzing South Africa in their opening match.

Nobody could have predicted just how poor that performance could be. It was the worst possible batting display on a pitch that New Zealand fooled themselves into thinking was going to act like the devil when it was almost cherubic instead.

International Cricket Council pitch doctor Andy Atkins was flown in to oversee preparations on the ailing block at Mumbai's Brabourne Stadium. He diagnosed a lack of cohesiveness and prescribed glue.

"There was some movement early on but it settled down pretty quickly and held together well till the end. So I guess in terms of the experiment with the glue it worked," New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming said.

It worked wonders for the wicket but did nothing for New Zealand's top-order batsmen who played like their feet were rooted to the spot with industrial adhesive.

Following the 195 in their opener, and discounting successful run chases, it is the first time since May 2003, 68 ODIs ago, New Zealand have posted consecutive sub-200 scores.

"We were probably 80 to 100 runs short of where we needed to be," Fleming said. "There was a bit of sideways movement early on with the glue in the pitch, but certainly not enough to suggest that we should've been bowled out for 160.

"We didn't get the partnerships we needed, and our top score came from [Dan] Vettori low down in the order, and that's not good enough."

Fleming perished early to a 50-50 lbw decision and Lou Vincent looked like an accident waiting to happen in getting through to 13 off 41 balls before an ugly heave cost him his wicket. Scott Styris, returning from injury, Jacob Oram and Brendon McCullum gobbled up 64 balls between them for a sum total of 18 runs. But once again the spotlight will shine harshest on Hamish Marshall.

The diminutive right-hander slashed one through the vacant slips for four but went two balls later slapping a short wide delivery from Lasith Malinga straight to backward point.

He has now failed to reach 20 on 16 of the past 20 occasions he has gone to the crease, the sort of statistics Bracewell must be finding increasingly difficult to ignore.

Central Districts tyro Ross Taylor has been flown over as cover for Styris but those who criticised his omission from the start would not be second-guessing that judgement.

Vettori's battling 46 not out gave the bowlers something to defend... just. As it was, Sri Lanka closed it out from the start making no race of it.

New Zealand now have to hope that when they meet the mercurial Pakistanis it is the cold version rather than the hot that turns up.