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Fleming out to ruffle Aussie feathers Wisden CricInfo staff - November 21, 2001
HOBART, Australia (Reuters) "We're a pretty cocky bunch," Fleming told a news conference in Hobart in the island state of Tasmania on Wednesday. "If we can ruffle feathers, which I think we've done a little bit, our development will improve a lot quicker. "I saw Steve Waugh under pressure and I loved it. The only thing that nags with me is we don't want to do it through declarations, we want to do it through playing well." The Kiwis fell 10 runs short of their 284-run victory target with four wickets in hand in the first Test in Brisbane earlier this month in a rain-interrupted match which featured three declarations. Australia, though, had been in control until the declarations gave New Zealand another chance to win the game. The three-match series resumes on Thursday with both captains adopting positive approaches. Waugh said Australia were given a "wake-up call" after almost losing a Test they had dominated. New Zealand were forced to select a new-look bowling attack following injuries to seamers Dion Nash (stomach) and Shayne O'Connor (knee). Daryl Tuffey and the uncapped Shane Bond were included in the New Zealand team to partner paceman Chris Cairns and left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori in an attack which may struggle to take 20 wickets on a pitch traditionally yielding big scores. Australia selected a side unchanged from the first Test, with fast bowler Andrew Bichel likely to be 12th man again. Waugh said New Zealand would still be able to provide a Test-quality attack despite the injuries. "They'll have four front-line bowlers out there capable of taking Test-match wickets, so I don't think it weakens their side too much, the loss of Nash and O'Connor," Waugh told a news conference. "I'm not going to fall for that underdog sort of tag. They've sort of played on that for years. We know they're a good cricket side and we're not going to underestimate them."
Teams: New Zealand 1 Mark Richardson, 2 Matthew Bell, 3 Mathew Sinclair, 4 Stephen Fleming (capt), 5 Nathan Astle, 6 Craig McMillan, 7 Chris Cairns, 8 Adam Parore (wk), 9 Daniel Vettori, 10 Daryl Tuffey, 11 Shane Bond.
© Wisden CricInfo Ltd |
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