Cricket: McMillan facing ultimatum

By Mark Geenty of NZPA

Craig McMillan might well be drinking at the Last Chance Saloon in the coming days as he fights for his test career and to keep his New Zealand cricket team in the series against Australia.

The belligerent Canterbury batsmen went into his 55th test at the Basin Reserve today under familiar pressure from recent seasons to retain a place that was his without question at the turn of the century.

While McMillan's test average of 38.70 is only just short of captain Stephen Fleming's 39.03, and just ahead of Nathan Astle's 37.75, his struggles in the first test in Christchurch suggested a player unsure of his role and ideal batting approach.

In the second innings, Shane Warne full tosses he would have normally swatted over the boundary were padded away, and he perished for five to a soft bat pad catch as New Zealand were skittled for 131 on the way to a nine-wicket loss.

With fringe players James Marshall, Peter Fulton and Ross Taylor knocking on the door in recent weeks, it seems the old McMillan is desperately needed at the Basin Reserve to stop inevitable changes for the third test in Auckland.

With two April tests against Sri Lanka to follow in Napier and Wellington, it would seem an ideal time for fresh faces if the incumbents are struggling.

"He's in a situation where if he's over aggressive it's frowned upon, and if he's too defensive it's frowned upon. He's trying to find a middle ground where it suits him and the team," Fleming said of McMillan's inner battles.

"There's a fine line between aggression and recklessness, and Craig's working hard on the right options. He's got to have a good defensive technique first, get in, then only he can be the judge of what's risky and what's not."

McMillan's test career looked set to be put on ice after the Brisbane test in November when he charged at Shane Warne and was caught behind and stumped at the same time, then trapped leg before wicket in the second innings after a heated exchange with Adam Gilchrist.

But he was recalled for last week's first test after showing some of his old class and averaging a useful 34.60 in the one-day series, including 63 in a hopeless cause in Napier.

The man himself was having nothing of talk his place was under threat.

"I'm 28 so I don't think the next five years of my career is going to stand on the next month. I think I've still got a lot of cricket in me," he said yesterday.

"I look back three knocks ago I scored 60 against them in Napier. For a lot of people that seems to be a long time ago. For Craig McMillan it's three bats ago."

But the cold facts are, since his 82 in the second test win against South Africa in Auckland a year ago, McMillan's test scores have been 6, 0, 0 and 30 against England and 23, 9, 13 and 5 against Australia.

A half-century to add to his 19 previous 50s -- along with six centuries -- at test level would seem the bare minimum required here to stave off the axe.

- NZPA