Guptill determined to improve Test stats

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New Zealand opener Martin Guptill is aware that his Test statistics do not reflect well on his abilities, but is determined to improve them rather than switching focus to the shorter formats.

Guptill averages under 30 in Tests, which is very low for an opener, and on the recent tour to southern Africa he recorded a string of poor scores, including three single figures against the Proteas.

But the batsman is confident he has what it takes to stay in the red ball side, telling Sunday Sport: “Test cricket is the pinnacle and it means everything to me to play.

“I’ve had a bit of a survival mode about the way I play Test cricket but the intent needs to be there about scoring runs so I just need to go out there and have the intent to score runs in my batting.

“I love playing Test cricket and I want to keep playing it, it is so much fun, it’s completely different to the short forms of the game, but there are different challenges that we all enjoy.

“I’ve been through times before and come out the other side of it, it’s all about staying positive and making sure I keep training hard and doing all the work I can off the field so that I can go out and perform with the bat.”

He added of what he needs to do ahead of the upcoming tour to India: “It’s just a little mental shift that needs to be made and I’m putting some processes in place to make that shift as quickly as possible.”

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