KEY POINTS:
Among a handful of decisions looming for New Zealand's selectors ahead of the first test against England this week two stand out - who bats at No 3 and the bowling mix.
There are three contenders for the pivotal role behind the openers, but only two realistic options.
Stephen Fleming is the team's best batsman, and Mathew Sinclair's test average is better in that position than lower down. His big innings have all been in that spot.
Ross Taylor has his fans, but considering he's going to start only his third test and has much work to do to secure a place in the longest form of the game, that holds little appeal.
Fleming, coming in behind openers Matthew Bell and Jamie How, offers a more secure look against the England new ball swing men, Matthew Hoggard and, if fit, Ryan Sidebottom. Then there's the school of thought that the team's top batsman should be at No 4. An interesting debate looms on that point.
Sinclair's test career in recent years has been spent sitting on a sharp fence. His has tended to be the first name out of the hat when changes are mooted. "The yo-yo continues," he quipped yesterday. You get his point, although in fairness to the panel, Sinclair has simply held his place from the Bangladesh series, despite a wretched 47 in the second test in Wellington when the Bangladeshis seemed to enter a non-aggression pact with the Central Districts batsman, dropping three catches in less time than it takes to listen to Hey Jude.
And selectorial concern over New Zealand's batting won't hurt Grant Elliott's chances of a test debut on Wednesday.
The South African-born Elliott, 28, is the surprise pick in the squad of 13. The panel view him as a batting allrounder, with a good technique and the ability to swing the ball.
His first-class batting average is an average 27.3 and he has taken 53 wickets in 35 games, but talk among the players has him rated better than those figures suggest.
Any initial thoughts that Elliott and offspinner Jeetan Patel were the logical pair to be jettisoned before the start might be premature.
National selector Dion Nash said last night Elliott deserved his chance for the simple reason that "his name kept popping up" at selection meetings over a period of time, indicating a consistent level of performance.
"We think he's a very mature cricketer," Nash said. "He's got a very good head and that's one of his upsides. He offers balance, his batting technique against England [in Dunedin last week] was one of the better ones and with his bowling, being able to swing it provides a lot of options."
Nash said the final choice was left to coach John Bracewell and captain Daniel Vettori, but the panel wanted to have all bases covered. The prospect of Elliott and Jacob Oram providing third and fourth seamer backup, and Elliott coming in round No 7 or No 8, considerably strengthens the batting depth.
One man who would almost certainly have been making his debut at Seddon Park is Jesse Ryder. He was on a roll and the selectors would have had few misgivings about throwing him in after his stirring ODI form, which firmly buried any notions that he lacked the talent for the big time.
His finger injury on his early-morning escapade in Christchurch nine days ago, and the circumstances surrounding it, put paid to that.
"He offers so much. His four-day record reads better than his one-day. But he wasn't an option and he'll be kicking himself over that," Nash added.
* New Zealand will send an A team to India in September for a tri-series as an early buildup towards the 2011 World Cup. New Zealand A will join their hosts and Australia A for the series, which will be the start of longterm planning for the cup, which will be jointly hosted by Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
The series is likely to clash with the Champions Trophy, to be in Pakistan, which means the New Zealand squad is expected to be a genuine A team rather than a mix of senior and A players. The groupings for the eight-team Champions Trophy will be revealed on March 12, with New Zealand set to be third seeds behind Australia and South Africa.
* TEST SQUAD
New Zealand first test squad:
Daniel Vettori (c), Jamie How, Matthew Bell, Stephen Fleming, Mathew Sinclair, Ross Taylor, Jacob Oram, Brendon McCullum, Grant Elliott, Kyle Mills, Iain O'Brien, Jeetan Patel, Chris Martin.
