Former coach John Wright reckons tracks for the India vs NZ series won't be as bad as 2003

The last time India toured New Zealand, it had a local man as their national coach. For John Wright, it was not an easy time. Fast wickets were prepared for his Sourav Ganguly-led outfit to cause just the result New Zealand cricket bosses wanted to see.

Coach and Master! John Wright with Sachin Tendulkar at the Queenstown Event Centre in New Zealand during the 2003 series

Wright wasn't impressed and did not hold back from calling it an unfair advantage as his team lost the Test series 0-2 and 2-5 in their one-day campaign. India has not won a Test series in New Zealand since 1967-68.

Wright told MiD DAY from Christchurch that he reckons the Indians have all the ammunition to break the jinx, but adjusting to the conditions will be the key.

The former captain is now New Zealand Cricket's High Performance manager.

Excerpts from an interview:

New Zealand are always hard to beat at home. But considering India's form in all varieties of the game, do you think they stand a reasonable chance to have a victorious time for the first time in 41 years?
I think they are very well balanced. They have had successes in hard campaigns in Australia and England. We are anticipating that they will be optimistic of their chances.

We are hoping that we get good weather and the wickets will not be as big a factor as they were last time. I think we will have to play well. It's a great opportunity for us. We have had a lot of changes in our side. Everyone understands here that India will be very formidable.

Do you see the wickets being bowler-friendly just like the last India vs NZ series in NZ?
NZ Cricket and the public want to see good cricket. I haven't seen anything in my last three years here that goes anything near what we saw in 2003. We had good wickets against England and the West Indies this year. There have been big scores and everyone is mindful of that situation.