Cricket: Black Caps might drop a batsman

Coach John Wright. Photo / Greg Bowker

New Zealand will consider playing four seamers as well as Daniel Vettori in cricket tests more often after their famous win over Australia in Hobart this week.

The Black Caps went into the Hobart test with a four-pronged pace attack only after Vettori withdrew in the minutes before the match because of a hamstring strain. It proved a fortuitous move as Chris Martin, Tim Southee, Doug Bracewell and Trent Boult ripped through Australia twice to win by seven runs.

Coach John Wright said it might be an approach they utilise more often, particularly if the top six fail to score regular runs, with Vettori moving up the order. New Zealand play Zimbabwe in a one-off test next month before hosting South Africa in three tests later in the summer.

"Playing four seamers helped and that's something we might look at in the future because, if you can't get results together, you have to be strong in the bowling department,'' Wright said. "Quite by accident, with Dan pulling out on the morning of that test, we went in with four seamers and that made a difference, particularly in that first innings.''

Bracewell picked up nine wickets in the match, including six for 40 in the second innings, but was well supported by Martin (four wickets), Boult (four) and Southee (three). Aside from Martin, who is 37, it's a young place attack and Otago's Neil Wagner will hope to fight his way into the lineup when he become eligible for New Zealand in April.

Remarkably, the Black Caps won without scoring 300 runs in an innings - a rarity in test cricket - and none of the top six batsmen came close to scoring a hundred.

Dean Brownlie topped the averages with 196 runs at 65.33 but the other five averaged between 11 (Guptill) and 19 (Taylor). Vettori has shown over the past four years he can contend with being as high as No 6 and scored 96 in the first test at the Gabba.

Admittedly both pitches used in the series were two of the liveliest in the country and Australia's top order fared little better but the selectors and cricketing public won't accept repeated failures.

Wright is convinced they have identified the best batsmen in the country but might look at tinkering with the order. Jesse Ryder shifted to No 3 to protect the inexperienced Kane Williamson but Williamson has the game and mentality to cement his spot there and Ryder is better suited down the order.

Brownlie is another contender to be elevated after his fighting knocks at No 6 but one batsman would have to be sacrificed if New Zealand played four seamers and Vettori.

"If you're not getting runs, your position becomes an area of speculation,'' Wright said. "You can't not perform and expect to make the team every time. The expectation is that, if you're in the top six, you need to get runs.

"I'm fairly confident we had the best players over there, which was indicated in first-class cricket over here before we went and indicated again when we played Australia A. We just didn't handle the conditions [in the tests] particularly well but we will learn.

"They actually really tried to be a bit more disciplined [in the second test]. It's a very different game these days because of Twenty20 and one-day cricket. We haven't played a lot of test cricket and I think that probably shows. We showed some application and need to show some more. That's an area we need to improve on.

"Let's hope we can show some of the fighting qualities we saw [against Australia]. Winning and losing happens in sport but if the cricketing public feel they are watching a fighting cricketing side, then that can go a long way.''