Cricket: It's all there for little battler

It might be a long way from Johannesburg to Christchurch, but the pressure feels much the same to test greenhorn Hamish Marshall.

The surprise package of the New Zealand one-day side, Marshall yesterday began his third test since making his debut against South Africa at the Wanderers in 2000, when the test team was in a similar state of disarray.

On that occasion, the little Northern Districts right-hander was rushed in to open the innings against the N-power duo of Mfuneko Ngam and Makhaya Ntini, following the 11th-hour defection of incumbent opener Craig Spearman.

Having initially survived then prospered on a wicked green-top, Marshall was unbeaten on 40 when rain washed out the match, but was left on the shelf for four years before being recalled for last year's tours to Bangladesh and Australia.

Even then, the plan for Marshall didn't proceed smoothly as he played only one of the two tests against Bangladesh (scoring 69) and was dropped for both tests against Australia, on the first occasion for replacement batsman Craig McMillan.

It might have tested the patience of a lesser hopeful, but Marshall said he never gave up hope of receiving a full recall and was particularly excited about the prospect of facing such a quality side as Australia on home soil.

"The South African experience was a big challenge for me at the time and Bangladesh was another taste, but to have another chance at home - and against Australia - is a big opportunity and I've been looking forward to it immensely."

"This last one-day series has been tough for us; it's been a character-building time for a lot of the guys, but we've stuck together and will still back ourselves. There's not a single member of the side who's not loving the experience."

Marshall, who started yesterday's test with an average of 109, said he had developed a batting formula that was starting to pay dividends in the shorter game and he doubted there would be many adjustments for the five-day affairs.

Regarded as a skilled collector of runs, who backs his ability to find the gaps and pierce the field over his boundary-hitting potential, Marshall said he possibly had a slight advantage of some of his team-mates in that his style was much the same for ODIs and tests.

"In the one-dayers I'm a bit of a noodler and nudger who tries to keep it ticking over, and I don't think I'd change much in terms of adjusting to the longer game."