The batsmen need to achieve the confidence to play their game - Wright Indian coach John Wright won't be attempting to stifle his players' batsmanship as they go out to bat in the second Test against New Zealand starting in Hamilton on Thursday. Despite India being twice dismissed in less than 100 overs in total in the first Test, Wright said it would be dangerous for him to be telling his batsmen how best to do their job. "Coaching is more of a process. Obviously you can hope for the outcome but you don't necessarily control that," he said, adding, "It's very important that you may give a message to players of what you want to achieve, it's very dangerous when you start telling them how to do it. I really don't think that Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid and [VVS] Laxman and [Sourav] Ganguly have achieved what they have in the game by playing a certain way. They have to express themselves. Obviously there are guidelines about how to play in the conditions, and they have to work that out for themselves. The biggest thing they need to achieve is the self-belief and confidence to go out and play their game."

Ganguly sets his sights on Hamilton decider Sideways movement is likely to be a factor yet again at Hamilton and it is little wonder that Sourav Ganguly has been hoping he can get his coin-calling right at the toss. He, like his rival captain Stephen Fleming, would bowl first, and there was enough poor batting from the New Zealand middle-order to encourage him in the view that putting the hosts in would go a long way towards having his bowlers secure the 20 wickets they need to win the match. In his pre-match press conference, the Indian captain recalled that when India last played at Hamilton in the summer of 1998/99, the wicket was a good one, adding that all he asked of a pitch was that there was something in it for the bowlers on the first morning, good conditions for batsmen on days two, three and four, and then a chance for the spinners to get involved on the last day. "If it (the pitch) is green it is green. If it is bouncy it is bouncy. We just have to adapt. Let's not worry about the wicket. Let's play Test match cricket on it and we'll see how it goes," Ganguly observed. India are going to name their side at the last possible moment but there is every sign that Tinu Yohannan will come into the side for his third Test match, probably in place of Ajit Agarkar. New Zealand, meanwhile, are expected to play an unchanged team as Fleming would not be tempted to bolster his attack by dropping left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori for a fast-medium bowler.

India's batsmen need to prove their class - Fleming New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming has challenged India's batsmen to live up to their much-vaunted reputation in the second Test between the two sides starting on Thursday. "We hear a lot of talk about India's batting and how they are the best players in the world," Fleming told reporters. "But, if you can't play on all surfaces, then you are not the best players in the world. They can be great players, but to adapt to different surfaces would make them even greater. "When we go to India, we have to adjust to slower, turning wickets and that's just as big a challenge - more so in some instances - than playing on a good, bouncy wicket," he added.

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