Cricket: Indians face the unknown

India enter tonight's Super Max international at Christchurch's Jade Stadium having never played the hybrid version of the one-day cricket game.

The Indian players were to get a crash course in the two-innings, 10-overs-a-side spectacle today from former New Zealand captain Martin Crowe, who designed the game.

The object of scoring more runs than an opponent is straightforward, but whether the Indians can tailor their game to striking in the productive Max zones straight down the ground is the question.

India are not short of dashing batsmen. Their line-up has a galaxy of stars, including Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman and Sachin Tendulkar. However, coach John Wright indicated a number of leading players would be spelled from the tour opener.

India's next match, against Central Districts, starting on Friday, is their only first-class outing before the first test in Wellington next week and the visitors will field a likely shadow test team.

One player certainly out of tonight's match is spin bowling wizard Harbhajan Singh, who is sidelined with a virus.

"We will just go out to enjoy ourselves," Wright said.

The team trained at the ground yesterday but restricted themselves to fitness work and declining use of a net.

The Max Blacks, assembled only yesterday, have the substantial advantage of some experience in the crash-bash game, although none this season because the provincial tournament was a casualty of the players' strike.

New Zealand coach Denis Aberhart said the match was an opportunity for many of the Black Caps to have an early season hitout.

"It's our first time together since Sri Lanka in September and it will be good to get the cobwebs out," Aberhart said.

Although there was nothing hanging on the game, New Zealand still wanted to win, he said.

"It's good for morale to be successful and kick-start our season."

While the New Zealanders were more familiar with the abbreviated limited-overs game, India's quality batsmen would be a handful, Aberhart said.

The Max Blacks are full of big-hitting allrounders capable of pounding the boundaries, led by Chris Cairns.

Wicketkeeper-batsmen Brendon McCullum and Chris Nevin will each keep for a 10-over innings.

Craig McMillan was yesterday declared fully fit after a wrist scan following a fall while bowling in Canterbury's State Championship match last weekend against Otago in Dunedin.

Meanwhile, Nathan Astle will step out on to home turf for the first time since his astonishing 222 against England and another Cantabrian, Shane Bond, wears national colours for the first time in his home town.

New Zealand Cricket's chief executive, Martin Snedden, said the match was designed to start the international summer on a festival note.

"We are still looking at a shortened version of the one-day game which can fit within 3 1/2 hours," he said.

New Zealand Cricket research had shown that while the older generation resisted the hit-and-giggle game, younger audiences warmed to it for the instant action with something happening every ball.

"I think the game still has credibility," Snedden said.

The Indian board, meanwhile, failed to name a preliminary World Cup squad yesterday, the last date set by the International Cricket Council, as the dispute over players' contracts continued.

Of the 14 nations competing at the World Cup only India missed the deadline to announce a 30-man preliminary squad.

Since India's one-day series against New Zealand ends on January 14, there was speculation that the selectors may also not name the final 15-man team by the December 31 date set by the ICC.

"We will cross the bridge when we get there," the Indian board media manager, Amrit Mathur, said.

The row over players contracts for the World Cup has escalated, with the cricketers and the tournament's official sponsors refusing to concede an inch.

The dispute erupted before the ICC Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka, in September, when India's star players refused to sign contracts preventing them from endorsing non-official sponsors for 30 days before and after the tournament.

The ICC watered down the contracts to ensure the Indians took part and promised to review the controversial clauses before the World Cup.

India cricket chief Jagohan Dalmiya discussed the contracts with senior players at Calcutta airport as the team left for New Zealand.

The players refused to sign the present contracts and Dalmiya emerged from the meeting saying "a solution was still a long way off".

Teams:

New Zealand: Chris Cairns (capt), Nathan Astle, Chris Nevin, Brendon McCullum, Craig McMillan, Scott Styris, Jacob Oram, Andre Adams, Tama Canning, Shane Bond, Paul Hitchcock. Specialist fielder: Chris Harris.

India: Sourav Ganguly (capt), Virender Sehwag, Sanjay Bangar, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Parthiv Patel, Agit Agarkar, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Murali Kartik, Mohammad Kaif, Shiv Sundar Das, Ajay Ratra, Tinu Yohannan.

- NZPA