Martin Guptill averages 29.59 for his test career, a disappointing number given his ability. Ryan Wilkisky/Photosport.nz
Martin Guptill averages 29.59 for his test career, a disappointing number given his ability. Ryan Wilkisky/Photosport.nz
Mike Hesson, it's time for you to make the call: drop Martin Guptill from the test line-up.
It should be a straight-forward decision but it's one that Black Caps coach Hesson, an incredibly loyal coach, continues to put off.
A duck and 15 in New Zealand's warm-up match going intoa three match series have added to the almost deafening calls from the public for Guptill to go. Luke Ronchi's century as a makeshift opener hasn't helped either.
Guptill is a limited overs superstar, highlighted by his unbeaten 237 in the quarter-final of the 2015 World Cup. However his test record is much like Shia LaBeouf's acting career: rife with disappointment despite obvious talent.
That undisputable ability only buys so much time. An average of a tick under 30 isn't representative of his potential.
The 30 average is also misleading. It doesn't take into account the quality of opposition.
You can split test nations into two categories; tier one has Australia, England, India, Pakistan and South Africa, while tier two has Sri Lanka, West Indies, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.
What tier New Zealand belongs to is disputable, but that's an argument for another day. Against tier two nations, Guptill averages just under 53 with three centuries and just one duck in 24 innings. His numbers against tier one teams are terrible.
In 59 innings against high-quality opposition, the seven-toed Aucklander averages 20.51 with no centuries, nine fifties and eight ducks. Not pretty reading.
Only his tier two record of three tons, seven half-centuries and an average of nearly 52.91 props up his record to where it sits currently.
Given those stats, it's a wonder he has stayed in the test side for so long.
With the likes of Ronchi and the impressive Jeet Raval, who was inexplicably dropped for the India tour, waiting in the wings, it's the right time to go in another direction.
That's not to say he can't work his way back into the test line-up. But that would take a change in mentality.
That change could come if he chooses to replicate an Australian player New Zealanders love to hate.
Australia's David Warner is a shining example of what Martin Guptill could be if he changes his approach. Graham Morris/Photosport.nz
David Warner burst on to the international scene in the high octane arena of T20 but struggled to consolidate his spot opening the batting in whites.
Now he has adapted to the test stage, batting with controlled aggression.
If you compare his stats to Guptill against tier one and two nations, the difference is very clear.
Subbing New Zealand for Australia in tier one, just for argument's sake, Warner performs better against higher quality opposition.
His tier one stats line: 13 centuries, 15 half-centuries, and an average of just under 52 in 75 innings. Compare that with his tier two stats of just one ton, eight 50sand an average of 38.75.
If Guptill wants to get anywhere near this kind of record he needs to bat the way he does in shorter formats, aggressive yet calculated.
To accomplish this though, he needs to be dropped and spend a year playing domestic cricket in New Zealand and get in a full county season in England.
But unless he commits to a change in approach, Guptill will be banished to the wasteland of failed Black Caps test openers with Jamie How, Peter Fulton and Tim McIntosh, a fate that someone of his talent level shouldn't be subject to.
