Cricket: Mere mortals

You can tell a lot about the strength of a touring team by who doesn't arrive at the check-in desk.

For example, not collecting boarding passes for one reason or another for the five one-day internationals in New Zealand are: Matthew Elliott (more than 1100 test runs), Justin Langer (21 test centuries), Michael Bevan (53.5 average in ODIs), Greg Blewett (more than 2500 test runs), Martin Love (unbeaten century in last test innings), Stuart Law (more than 1200 ODI runs), Ian Harvey (85 ODI wickets), Shane Watson (injured), Andy Bichel (78 ODI wickets), Shane Warne (566 test and 291 ODI wickets) and Stuart MacGill (160 test wickets).

Not a bad team, you would have to say.

Try repeating that exercise in New Zealand and you would have to start digging pretty deep - perhaps a tunnel all the way to Oz.

People have used this extraordinary depth to paint a picture of futility for whoever comes up against Australia but this is a cop-out.

Australia might have the most international-class players in the world but they can only play 11 at any one time.

At the moment, in ODI cricket at least, it might just be that they have more players showing signs of a downward spiral than at any time in the past 10 years.

Take out Michael Clarke, 23, and newcomer James Hopes and there is a noticeable lack of young talent in this team.

An Australian downward spiral is still rude health in most people's terms, but there are cracks - and if the Black Caps can wedge a piton in those cracks, they've got something to cling to.

There is uncertainty at the top of the order with Matthew Hayden's loss of form. Adam Gilchrist is a phenomenon but he might find his pads aren't held so sacred here.

Simon Katich, and the dumped Darren Lehmann, weren't giving Australia the Michael Bevan presence they were seeking in the middle order and Andrew Symonds - their master blaster - scored an unimpressive five ducks in six innings this season.

Australia aren't likely to set unattainable targets if they bat first but they don't often need to.

Teams are too afraid to go after Australia which is strange because, outside of Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie, their attack looks hittable, including Brett Lee.

It is hard to imagine an in-form Stephen Fleming and Nathan Astle allowing the likes of Symonds and the eminently sloggable Brad Hogg to work into a rhythm.

Of course, this is all a moot point until the Black Caps prey on these 'weaknesses'. No one else has been able to - since 1999, Australia has played 196 ODIs and lost just 38.

* NEW ZEALAND players might not feature too highly on various cricket ratings but we are leading the field in one aspect.

Brent Bowden has emerged this summer as the No 1 decision-maker in the game.

At the moment Bowden would be streets ahead of the rest, with only Simon Taufel (who was Simon Awful when New Zealand toured England last year), Darrell Hair (as long as he's not umpiring Australia) and Rudi Koertzen within cooee.

Not that he's got much competition if you believe Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer's stats of 29-5 the decisions that went against his team on their tour of Australia.

Not me, I had a brilliant series, would be a fair paraphrasal of Bowden's self-assessment.

He's right though. And so is Woolmer.

Australia does receive favours it doesn't need and it's not because umpires are swayed by crowds or appealing, as he believes.

It's because from the moment an umpire arrives in Australia he reads about how great the Australians are; and he hears how great they are; he sees how great they are.

Subliminally they begin to take that belief out on to the field. It takes a special umpire, like Bowden, to block that out.

- Herald on Sunday