Hamish Marshall has spent all winter working on his confidence in the friendly environs of Gloucestershire County Cricket Club. After rattling up century upon century on the first-class scene, the last thing he needs is a reminder of his one-day shortcomings.
But they are stark.
The Champions Trophy starting this
week in India would be a fitting stage for the revival of Marshall's one-day international (ODI) career. Up to now, Marshall's ODI career can be neatly divided into two parts: pre- and post-Champions Trophy.
Before the last Champions Trophy in 2004 in England, Marshall's star was in the ascendancy, scoring 740 runs in his first 20 innings at 46.25. Since then he has scored just 570 runs at 21.1 in 31 innings.
That in itself is not quirky but some of the statistics surrounding that apparent decline are.
Marshall's most profitable spots in the order are Nos 5 and 6, yet he has batted in those two slots just 10 times, averaging 38.6 at No 5 and 59.5 at No 6. He is most often batted at No 3 and 4, where his numbers struggle to stack up for the prime two spots in the order, averaging 28.7 at No 3 and 29 at No 4.
Marshall's stats are vastly superior when he is chasing totals. Batting second he averages 41.38 but batting first he averages just 20.05.
The 27-year-old talks a lot about tempo. He spent the New Zealand winter plying his trade in county cricket, learning how to bat in an even register, believing it is where he had come undone in the past.
Once he was in and feeling good, he started thinking "I was invincible" and tried too much, too early. It was only once he played for New Zealand that he learned how to make centuries, something he took to a new level with Gloucestershire.
Marshall scored five centuries and seven half centuries in 21 first-class innings for the county, averaging more than 60.
"It benefitted my cricket a lot. The standard was good and you can only learn from playing cricket day-in and day-out," Marshall said. "Basically you get on to good wickets and you get opportunities. It just seemed to work for me. I tried to keep to a tempo, not try too much and I got a nice little flow-on. It was a combination of things and it allowed me to play with form and confidence."
If one-day cricket isn't a world away from the first-class and test games, it is at least a couple of suburbs removed.
Why Marshall, whose all-action style in the field and swiftness between wickets should make him an ideal one-day player, hasn't had the impact on the short game he has on the long, is one of New Zealand cricket's great mysteries. (Even in England, his one-day form was less impressive than his four-day.)
That he's never been settled into a position in the line-up might be one reason, having bounced from opening to No 8 in his 55-match career.
"I enjoy the middle order but, honestly, it's one of those things in one-day cricket nowadays where everybody would like to nail down a position but being flexible is also an area that is valuable.
"But if I had a choice, the middle order and that period when the spinners come on is the one I enjoy."
Marshall knows that the pressure will ratchet up a few notches from county cricket.
"I'm going to try to do the same things I did in England and hope it works. I want to keep it nice and simple. It's the same scenario: The ball's bowled at you and you've just got to hit it and hopefully score runs."
Hamish Marshall has spent all winter working on his confidence in the friendly environs of Gloucestershire County Cricket Club. After rattling up century upon century on the first-class scene, the last thing he needs is a reminder of his one-day shortcomings.
But they are stark.
The Champions Trophy starting this
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