Moles wants bowlers to 'implement plans'

New Zealand must win the remaining one-day internationals to avoid a series defeat but their bowling attack has been unable to contain a powerful Indian batting line-up so far in the series. Andy Moles, the New Zealand coach, said that the bowlers had "practised and prepared" but it was imperative that they execute the plans during the game.

India's batsmen scored 273 in 38 overs in the first ODI in Napier, 188 in 28.4 overs before the washout in Wellington, before hammering 392 - the highest total in New Zealand - in Christchurch.

"We have got plans for all the Indian batsmen. But any plan is just worth the paper it is written on, unless you bowl to it," Moles said. "So it is very important that we implement the plans that we have in place. The bowlers need to step and make sure that they are on top of the game.

"They [India] have played on small grounds and good wickets. They are world class players. Everything is in their favour. We feel we are making things a lot easier for the Indians than it should be. We will try to get it right in the rest of the games."

Moles said that his bowlers "did a lot of work" on Mahendra Singh Dhoni and had succeeded in nullifying him but were unable to restrict a succession of explosive batsmen. However, Moles felt his team would do better in Hamilton, the venue of the fourth ODI, where New Zealand have won ten out of 12 matches.

"We go to Hamilton which is a place where we play good cricket," Moles said. "We have won there before. We feel that we have a winning knowledge of the ground. All we need to do is to get our act together."

New Zealand have made changes to their squad for the fourth ODI on March 11. They've left out the injured Ian Butler and Tim Southee, who went for 105 in his ten overs in Christchurch. Moles, however, backed him. "When you are playing on small grounds and flat wickets, it is difficult to contain batsmen when they get going," Moles said. "He [Southee] is a young lad, 20 years of age. Even the best bowlers in the world have had bad days."

Moles was also upbeat about Jacob Oram's progress since he made a comeback from injury. "Jacob is very close to bowling at his best. He bowled eight overs last night [in Christchurch]. We would have liked to have brought him back, but we have a long-term plan for him. He bowled quite beautifully last night and took pace off the ball. By the end of the series he should be fully fit and we can bowl him as and when we want."