The great unwashed, as well as former internationals, has made relevant depositions on why he and captain Brendon McCullum should or should not tweak in what is fast becoming a hung jury.
You somehow get the impression the 11 who will start tomorrow know who they are, so masking disappointment or impending elation must require a modicum of the stuff Hollywood legends are made of.
Getting veteran Daniel Vettori to put a spin on it during training, not surprisingly, did not shed much light on the matter.
"The fact is most of the guys won't have played for a week anyway so everyone's in that situation where they're ready for some game time," he said yesterday, after the media scrum artfully resorted to reverse psychology to acknowledge his stellar test and one-day contribution before getting down to the crux of the matter.
"Whichever way Mike and Brendon go, the whole (squad) is ready for it."
Were they ever?
Everyone was batting and bowling with an urgency that suggested even the "sub fielders" of Kyle Mills, Nathan McCullum, Mitchell McClenaghan and Tom Latham in the squad of 15 were going to get a look in.
Hesson conducted court with a rusty Martin Guptill as well as Latham before further proceedings today from 2pm.
Afghanistan arrived in the wee hours of yesterday morning, from a mauling at the hands of the Aussies in Perth, before flagging their scheduled training session.
Vettori said the tourists, who beat Scotland for their historic first cup victory, had been "quite impressive".
"They have a balanced line up and ... a really good team."
Frankly, the effects of David Warner, Glenn Maxwell and Mitchell Johnson would have left some serious mental scarring on the "associate nation".
"We ran into a freight train today," Afghanistan coach Andy Moles was quoted as saying after the flogging.
Enough said, and should Brendon McCullum get into the groove tomorrow with his trusty willow then the hit will most certainly feel like bird strike with a jolly jumbo jet, not that the catchers in orange T-shirts at McLean Park will be grumbling with the prospect of a slice of the million-dollar pie.
Tim Southee on Thursday made it abundantly clear the Black Caps were preoccupied with what they could milk from the game and not where their sympathies lie with underdogs Afghanistan.
Ruthless but sincerely a fair assessment when compared with Warner's call to keep the Afghans in the equation so players like him can carve up world records with consummate ease.
Nevertheless, Vettori has endorsed the mindset of the Black Caps who are in the hunt for their maiden world title after what should be five wins from as many games tomorrow.
"Frontline bowling will be difficult and they have some very good batters so I think there is a bit of desperation (for the New Zealanders) to get out there and play again. It's been a long time between games and it's something that we are not used to. We play every couple of days so once a week is a little bit of a challenge."
In some respects, McCullum's bullish starts have been a liability to New Zealand because his knocks have provided platforms for pedestrian run chases with the middle-lower order failing to find ample crease time.
Ross Taylor, Grant Elliott and Luke Ronchi come to mind, although opener Martin Guptill has not done anything to dispel pundits' fears of assuming the mantle of weak link. The smart money is on Taylor to find traction when urgency creeps in but why break into a sweat when McCullum is doing that?
Resting left-armer Trent Boult tomorrow and injecting McClenaghan seems pragmatic, as does Latham in for McCullum.
Mills may come in for speed merchant Adam Milne although the veteran seamer's view of Phil Stoyanoff's pitch is well documented.
"I've been looking for assistance from this pitch for 12 years and I'm struggling to find it," he said two Christmases ago.
