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Rain threat to Kiwis' tour opener

"It is a great challenge to play in India, we will be looking forward to our maiden success in the Test series," said New Zealand manager Jeff Crowe on the team's arrival in Pune today.

The Kiwis, who will open their tour with a three-day match against the India 'A' team, received a wet welcome as heavy rains continued to lash the city for the third successive day. The wet spell has infact rendered the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium totally waterlogged and the Maharashtra Cricket Association is making every possible effort to get the ground ready for play tomorrow morning. Though the wicket is well covered, the outfield is soggy and denied the rival teams any chance for practice.

"It's going to be very tough in these conditions," observed Crowe, who is on his first assignment as the manager. A member of the New Zealand World Cup squad in 1987, Crowe said it is always "very enjoyable" playing in India.

"Our batting was not very good in England. But we have to bat very well against the Indian spinners, on slow turning tracks, who certainly could pose problems. I feel this New Zealand team is well organised and expected to deliver the goods," he said, adding that it will definitely be a good series. "We are looking forward to it."

Kiwi skipper Stephen Fleming did not meet the press; Crowe did all the talking.

Crowe said: "The team got together only a week ago at home after taking a break of three weeks at the end of a tough four month grind in England. We could not practice outside due to weather conditions but had a short indoor camp at Christchurch before embarking on the tour.

He said Chris Cairns, who was nursing a knee injury, has recovered and is fully fit as are the other members of the team. "Cairns is a key player and match-winner," declared Crowe, adding "every member of the team would be pulling their weight and our's would be a total team effort."

He, however, admitted that the team will miss the services of injured pace bowlers Simon Doull and Geoff Allot and expressed confidence that seamer Andrew Penn and left arm spinner Daniel Vettori will perform well on Indian wickets.

The India 'A' team, which will be led by Amol Muzumdar, is also short of practice. The team assembled in Pune yesterday but could not have nets because of the heavy rain.

Rohan Gavaskar, who opted out of the match due to a back injury, has been replaced by Maharashtra allrounder Inderjeet Kamtekar, according to the national selection committee chairman Chandu Borde. The final eleven of both the teams will be decided before the match.

With conditions still overcast, the possibility of play tomorrow remains bleak.

The teams:
New Zealand: Stephen Fleming (capt), Dion Nash (vice-capt), Nathan Astle, Mathew Bell, Chris Cairns, Chris Drum, Chris Haris, Mathew Horne, Craig MacMillan, Steve O'Connor, Adam Parore (wk), Andrew Penn, Craig Spearman, Daniel Vettori, Paul Wiseman. Coach: David Trist; Manager: Jeff Crowe.

India 'A': Amol Muzumdar (capt), Debang Gandhi, Wasim Jaffer, Abhijit Kale, Manoj Mudgal, J Sriram, Murali Karthik, Amit Bhandari, Iqbal Siddique, Satpathi, Sachin Nair, Jotinder Singh, C Williams, Inderjeet Kamtekar.

UNI