KEY POINTS:
Hard-hitting left-hander Daniel Flynn is the latest young player to get his chance in the national side after being called into the team for tonight's Twenty20 international against England.
Flynn, 22, replaces key allrounder Jacob Oram who withdrew yesterday with a twinged left hamstring.
And Flynn displayed perfect
timing to press his case by clubbing an unbeaten 149 off just 141 balls with six sixes and 12 fours for Northern Districts against Canterbury in Christchurch yesterday.
He is averaging 52.5 in the first-class State Championship this season, and 43.4 in the one-day domestic competition.
It took several hours for the national selectors to announce their choice, suggesting Flynn's performance had thrust him suddenly on to their radar rather than being a player they'd had in mind for some time.
"His innings today indicated he is an explosive player," national selection panel manager Sir Richard Hadlee said last night.
"This is a great opportunity to introduce another exciting young player into the squad."
And Hadlee made it clear Flynn will play tonight in adding that "as a left-hander he will fit beautifully into our middle order at No 6 or 7".
Batting let New Zealand down in the opening Twenty20 match at Eden Park on Tuesday night.
By choosing a specialist batsman to replace Oram, the only batsman to stand tall against the English with his thunderous 61 in 40 balls in an otherwise distinctly ordinary effort, the selectors are trying to ensure the batting tail is not lengthened.
It is a punt but not an outrageous one. It is a one-off situation, will give another young player a taste of the action, and if it does come off, offers another candidate to work into the frame alongside other new faces Tim Southee and Jesse Ryder.
Oram picked up his injury during a tidy bowling display in the 32-run loss at Eden Park. He might have been able to play as a batsman, but in the greater scheme of things, missing a three-hour thrash to ensure the quickest possible recovery is a smart move.
The priorities are the ODIs and tests to come. That said, Oram appreciates the importance of arriving at the start of the ODIs in Wellington on Saturday in a positive state of mind, and on even terms.
How much should be read into one Twenty20 game is debatable. However, there is no question England grabbed the initiative in Auckland; New Zealand were slow out of the blocks and need to get cracking.
"It's hellishly important," Oram said yesterday.
"I know we have a couple of new young guys in the team but it's not an experimental thing. We can say we're developing and trying to get experience but at the end of the day if you're losing these games there is no point.
"We're not going to become a world-class side if we keep losing."
Those with a dim view of Twenty20 cricket will reckon it's appropriate tonight's game will be played at a ground half of which has been reduced to rubble.
It's three years away, but is another reminder that the rugby World Cup is on its way. The eastern stand at the AMI Stadium has gone, significantly reducing tonight's capacity.
The popular pre-tour thinking was that New Zealand's best chance of beating England lay in limited-overs matches; England would be tougher to roll in the three tests next month.
But another win for England tonight will give them a healthy dose of momentum and throw some heat on New Zealand.
"We put in a lot of hard work in Christchurch (where they spent last week) and the boys are looking in confident form," England captain Paul Collingwood said. "Every aspect of our game was pretty good."
Which could not be said for New Zealand.
NEW ZEALAND v ENGLAND
AMI Stadium, 7 tonight
New Zealand Brendon McCullum (c), Jesse Ryder, Jamie How, Ross Taylor, Scott Styris, Peter Fulton, Kyle Mills, Tim Southee, Paul Hitchcock, Jeetan Patel, Chris Martin, one name to be added.
England (from) Paul Collingwood (c), Phil Mustard, Luke Wright, Alastair Cook, Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, Owais Shah, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Ravi Bopara, Graeme Swann, James Tredwell, Ryan Sidebottom, Stuart Broad, James Anderson, Chris Tremlett, Tim Ambrose.
