Former all-rounder Chris Cairns feels New Zealand must remain hostile to the touring Indian cricket team by preparing seaming tracks for the coming Test series but has backed the off-field support that the Kiwi Board has offered to the BCCI in a controversial ICC revamp plan.
In his column for a sports website here, Cairns said the Black Caps have astonished one and all by thrashing Indian 4-0 in the recently-concluded five-match ODI series.
"Predicting a four-nil result against an Indian team that was ranked one in the world when they hit our shores in January would have been seen by some as grounds for declaring you certifiably insane," Cairns wrote in a column published on 'stuff.Co.Nz'.
"So to have achieved this, the New Zealand cricket team has shown me not what I thought would occur just yet, but what I thought they were capable of all along. Results previously were not aligned to their talent," he said.
"This group of men are learning and performing at a remarkable rate."
Cairns said New Zealand can build on the positives of the ODI series by taking the home advantage in the two Tests, starting February 6 in Auckland.
"Two test matches are what we now turn our attention to. The players have shown their desire and courage on the field during the ODI series and it's now time for New Zealand Cricket to show the players they are on the same page by producing wickets that will seam," he said.
"It is not about producing the pitches of 2002/03, they were too green bordering on the ridiculous, but they must place the Indian batsmen under pressure and give our team the advantage," he added.
However, Cairns did caution that a seaming track would be also liked by the Indian pace attack which will be led by veteran Zaheer Khan.
