Given it’s the time of year for messages to the North Pole under the heading “Dear Santa”, maybe the Black Caps’ list should start with the urgent need for an off-field boss.

With the 32-run win over Pakistan, the first in more than a year, the team are on the cusp of returning to a semblance of success on the stage all good sides are measured - test matches.

The return of Shane Bond’s venom, the wilyness of Chris Martin, the crisp strokes of Ross Taylor and the all-round cunning of Daniel Vettori mean the team have incumbent talent. Vettori was delighted with the victory and with good reason.

But, even though the win was a good one, with character and doggedness, let’s wait before we give ourselves totally over to the illusion of a rosy future.

There are severe deficiencies, particularly in the batting. Can Daniel Flynn make it as a No3, averaging 21.50 in the position since his promising start of 95 against the West Indies a year ago?

Will New Zealand be able to return to an era where Flynn doesn’t have to think about striding out to bat when the ball is still brand new - having only touched the pitch, the stumps or the edge of a bat and a member of the slip cordon’s hands - due to a lapse in an opener’s concentration? Is Jesse Ryder, a man blessed with sensational hand-eye co-ordination, capable of a prolonged career or will a lack of fitness or discipline get the better of him?

There was enough in the dismissals of batsmen like Flynn, Grant Elliott, Peter Fulton, and even Taylor and Vettori himself to suggest that more help would not go amiss.

In Vettori’s era as skipper, with coaches John Bracewell and Andy Moles, there have been 22 tests with five wins - three against Bangladesh, one against England and yesterday’s Read more…

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There has been some furious debate about the wretched performances of the New Zealand team in Sri Lanka this week - we really were dreadful with the bat against Sri Lanka and India. Flat. Woeful. Inept.

The usual “sack them all”, “bring the young blokes in”, “unprofessional”, “Moles is crap”, “overpaid”, “no ticker”, “Kane Williamson for president” calls have been made by observers this week, but the reality is that the best players are probably there.

However, we have now lost 7 of our last 8 ODIs to Australia, India and Sri Lanka so the side should not be beyond reproach. Given the top order batting on display this week, some confident swinging of the willow from Son of Rodney Redmond could have been a worthwhile inclusion for the looming Champions Trophy. I am a genuine Maccaphiliac so I would have Craig McMillan straight back in there if he could be swayed. The records of Michael Papps, Jamie How, Scott Styris and Peter Fulton are also within cooee of the players that are in the team at present.

Of course, the Trophy squad is already named and none of the blokes above is there. Of the limited options that are on the table, I think Gareth Hopkins, Mr Grittiness, is due a start. Jacob Oram continues to wrestle with some batting demons that he will surely shake sometime soon. Brendon McCullum’s had one ton and 15 half-centuries in his career but the average of 28.07 lags How, Chris Cairns and even Mathew Sinclair at the moment. He’d be back down the Read more…

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