Tim Southee seeks to learn quick lessons after series loss to Sri Lanka ahead of their daunting trip to India.
Tim Southee hopes that his side has learnt from a chastening series that saw them lose the 2-test series against Sri Lanka.
Even though New Zealand lost both Test matches—the second by an innings and 154 runs, to be exact—a closer examination of how the matches played out probably paints a picture that is not as awful as initially thought.
They ran Sri Lanka closer than most in the opening Test, but they lost by 68 runs in the chase. Additionally, they frequently had Sri Lanka under control there, both at bat and with the ball. But they were unable to press forward.
“We had our moments,” reflected captain Tim Southee after the series. “Looking back at the first innings of the first Test, if we were able to push on there and gain a bit more of a lead then things may have been different in the series.
“And I think the second match we were on the wrong side of the toss. It was tough to make those early breakthroughs and, yeah, it’s tough to come back from that.”
Obviously losing the toss impacted New Zealand’s chances, but maybe not as much as all the opportunities they missed on the first day of the second Test. There were several failed catches as well as a stumping opportunity. Southee said that they had not become accustomed to this side of themselves.
“Yeah, disappointing. No one means to drop catches. I felt like the energy and the ground fielding wasn’t too bad. But obviously, a couple of chances went down and it can hurt you in this part of the world.
“But no one means to drop them, and the guys are working hard on it. It’s something that us as a Kiwi side, we pride ourselves on. So we’ll be looking to improve in that area as well.”