NZ cricketers call up psycholgist

New Zealand cricketers, struggling to stay alive in a tri-series against Australia and India on the subcontinent, have called up their psychologist to sort out their mental approach.

New Zealand cricketers, struggling to stay alive in a tri-series against Australia and India on the subcontinent, have called up their psychologist to sort out their mental approach.

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Gilbert Enoka is due to arrive Tuesday in Hyderabad where the Black Caps are preparing for a do-or-die encounter with India on the weekend.

"It's a key time for him to come over," sombre skipper Stephen Fleming told reporters in India.

Enoka was primarily joining the team to discuss the upcoming tour of Pakistan, but with New Zealand needing to win on Saturday to make the final of this series, his agenda has been extended.

"Different players will approach it in different ways, but certainly if you're struggling mentally he's the one to talk to," Fleming said.

The New Zealand captain, disappointed with the way his side squandered a strong start against Australia on Monday to lose by 44 runs, said the situation was not at crisis point yet but problems needed to be addressed.

"We're not far away, but far enough to be frustrated," he said.

"You can talk about it and identify it, but it's all about the pressure. There were some run outs and soft dismissals -- the errors that make us a good side. We can't quite click on."

Enoka's original intention in going to India was to speak to the players about Pakistan after New Zealand cricket authorities gave them the option of bailing out of the one-day series there later in the month.

The Black Caps are returning to complete a series abandoned last year when a suicide bomber killed 14 people outside their hotel in Karachi.

Memories of the blast are still fresh among the players, but Fleming confirmed he was available for the tour.