Mark Richardson: Batsmen lacking mindset

Jesse Ryder is about our best at the moment. Photo / Alan Gibson

The test match mentality, that's what's missing from our batsmen. It comes and goes but, for consistent performance, the Black Caps top six must get their heads around how to accumulate runs in a test innings.

It is something that will vary but, in recent years, most have failed to regularly find their best method - and again it was missing in the first innings of the test in Hamilton.

Jesse Ryder is about our best at the moment. He keeps it simple. He is solid in defence and basic in attack. He waits for the ball he wants then plays the shot required. His attacking options are numerous enough to keep runs coming at a good enough rate to stop pressure mounting on him.

It was a shame his innings ended on Friday so unluckily but he may want to address how he backs up when a straight driver is at the other end.

I have hope for Brendon McCullum because I feel he has begun to realise he can simply be reactive as a test opener - and have a game that is less flamboyant than in the short forms; but still expansive enough to sit well with his opportunistic approach.

He'll know he got it wrong when he holed out in the deep at a point when, as they say, he had the bowlers on toast.

But as a whole, this group appears to find themselves betwixt and between attack and all out defence the minute they change the colour of their shirts from black to white.

Because they couldn't get it right in the first innings of this series, they failed to take advantage of a charitable decision by Misbah Ul-Huq when he asked them to bat in good conditions and failed to take control from the outset.

Speaking of control, or rather the lack of it, the ICC have over Indian cricket, we have this ridiculous situation of not having the Decision Review System (DRS) this series. Until Indian cricket get on board, the ICC are unlikely to attract a global sponsor to pay for the technology. As a result, the ICC are hanging their umpires out to dry; at the mercy of commentators and viewers who have the technology at their disposal. It's unfair on umpires and players who may or may not be dismissed or denied wickets unfairly, depending on the series they are playing in.

So, if a poor decision is made in this series, I for one am going to jump and say, 'not good enough'. If that upsets the umpires, too bad. If they don't like it, then add to the pressure that needs to be placed on the ICC to standardise DRS use.

Why should players have to tolerate human error when it need not affect a game and yet is allowed to depending on where you are playing?