NZ coach Greatbatch lashes out at players for bad performance

WELLINGTON - New Zealand cricket coach Mark Greatbatch lashed out at his players Thursday for their dismal 0-4 loss against minnows Bangladesh and asked them to pull up their socks for the tough series against India.

Greatbatch questioned the selection process and said some of the players are not good enough to make the cut.

“When you play badly like that you have got to front up,” Greatbatch told NZ radio station Livesport.

New Zealand will now play three Tests and five One-day internationals against India with the first Test starting Nov 4 in Ahmedabad.

“It is very devastating. I suppose there is one positive thing, we have got a chance next week (against India) to actually put it right,” he said.

The coach said his batsmen need to mix caution and aggression during their stay at the crease, if they are to tackle the Indian bowling attack.

“What it requires is actually sorting out the cricket smarts and weighing up the situation that you are playing in and we have got some work to do in all those areas,” he said.

Greatbatch said some players in the team are not good enough at this level and that is why they failed to fire against the lower-ranked Bangladesh.

“I think some are not good enough, I think some think they are better than they are,” he said, refusing to name the players he was referring to.