Morne Morkel Tells India's Test Stars to Train in Front of a Fan to Beat Wellington Wind

India's bowling coach Morne Morkel has handed the team's Test specialists an unusual but pointed piece of homework ahead of their two-match series in New Zealand: practise standing in front of a powerful fan. With the first Test scheduled to begin at Wellington's Basin Reserve on November 18, the touring party is already bracing for the fierce, direction-shifting winds that have long tormented visiting sides at the venue.

The India squad is currently in Wellington — the New Zealand capital affectionately nicknamed "Windy Wellington" — for the white-ball leg of the tour, with wind speeds touching 120 kmph on Monday. Even as the third T20 International against the Black Caps looms on Tuesday, Morkel and head coach Gautam Gambhir are looking well beyond the short format.

A fan as a makeshift wind tunnel

Morkel revealed that he has already spoken to some of the Test-bound players still in India, urging them to simulate the conditions they will face at the Basin Reserve. "We've spoken about Wellington, especially before the start of the tour, and we've planted those seeds," Morkel said ahead of India's third T20 International. "I spoke to some of the boys who were back in India last night, and they asked what the conditions are like. I said, 'Make sure you get a very strong fan at home. When you walk into the fan that is going to be your preparation.'"

The advice is a practical response to a venue where the wind can swing direction without warning, unsettling bowlers, batters and fielders alike. Morkel, a former South Africa fast bowler, admitted that the conditions in the capital had even taken him aback this week.

"This wind is a different beast. I was in the hotel this morning and the whole building was sort of shaking," he said. "So I think it's going to be a new sort of thing that we add to our books for the guys to get used to and accustomed to with a quick turnaround."

'Take it head-on and don't make excuses'

Morkel stressed that India must confront the challenge without looking for alibis, warning that the wind can disturb a batter's stance, position at the crease and much else. "For us, it is looking forward to that challenge and taking it head-on and not really making excuses. This wind can impact a lot of things, it can impact batting, your stance, your crease, it can impact many factors," he said.

Drawing on his own playing days, when he toured New Zealand with South Africa, Morkel said no amount of preparation can fully replicate the conditions in the few days available before the Test. "When I toured here with South Africa, we had certain ways that we went about trying to get used to it. I don't think you can ever get used to it in the space of two, three, or four days. So it comes down to how you're going to frame the whole situation: you're either going to see it as a challenge, or you're going to see it as a negative and let it down," he said.

"Hopefully, we can get those guys in a mental space where they look forward to that challenge. At the end of the day, you need somebody to put their hand up and bowl into the wind, because we can't have four guys bowling off the wind."

Bracewell: the wind is part of the challenge

New Zealand all-rounder Michael Bracewell is equally aware of the difficulties the conditions create for visiting teams — and the hosts intend to capitalise on any discomfort. He noted that wind behaves very differently at enclosed stadiums, swirling and changing direction, compared with the more open Basin Reserve.

"It is interesting. At closed stadiums, it swirls around a bit, so it's probably not as consistent as it is when you play in a slightly more open field like the Basin. We had one game here where the cameras got turned off from one end because it was so windy," Bracewell said.

Yet the all-rounder framed the challenge as part and parcel of the international game. "So that's the joy of playing here is you get faced with different conditions, and that's the great thing about international cricket. You go all around the world and have to deal with different things," he said. "So it swirls a bit in the stadium, so it's not necessarily that there's going to be one end that perhaps if we're playing in an open sort of stadium that you could target."

India play a two-match Test series against New Zealand following the ongoing T20I and ODI series, with the opening Test set for the Basin Reserve from November 18.

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