Cricket: Mills decision shows batting is in disarray

Kyle Mills' shock promotion from No 10 to No 3 is set to remain the abiding memory of New Zealand's crushing 128-run defeat in the first test against South Africa.

Resuming last night at 98 for seven, with the winning target some distance away at 249, the tourists were put out of their misery in the space of just six overs, losing Hamish Marshall, Daniel Vettori and Chris Martin in quick succession.

Marshall's brave resistance ended when he was caught at the wicket off man-of-the-match Makhaya Ntini for 25, Vettori went the same way four balls later against Dale Steyn, and Martin survived three deliveries before having his middle stump uprooted by the same bowler.

Bowled out for an inept 120, after at one stage slumping to 28 for six, New Zealand will now repair to the Western Cape to lick their wounds and prepare for the second test at Newlands starting on Thursday - with doubt hanging over pacemen Shane Bond and James Franklin.

Bond, who missed the first test with a knee complaint, remains an unknown quantity, and Franklin is the latest addition to the injury list after pulling up after last night's game with a leg complaint.

For all that, the scarcely-believable promotion of Mills on the fourth morning of the test remains the most glaring indictment of the batting line-up chosen, and throws further doubt over the selection processes.

The New Zealand paceman, who celebrated career-best figures on the opening day, threw his wicket away in the first innings and as a reward was shunted up to first drop for the next, surviving just one delivery before being caught at first-slip.

Skipper Stephen Fleming last night took full responsibility for the move, reasoning that Mills was wasted down in the tail, that he'd been capable of fulfilling a role up the order, and that - if he came off - he could have created a winning chance for New Zealand.

"That was my decision," said Fleming. "It was such a bizarre game and Kyle's such a defensively sound player that we thought we had nothing to lose by pushing him up the order.

"He's wasted at 10, and we felt that if he could help us get through what was the most difficult stage - it could create better opportunities for the guys who followed."

However, probably the most telling statement on the shift came from vice-captain Vettori, who said the team had faith in Mills' batting abilities, and that his promotion allowed all the remaining players to fall back into their more natural positions.

That, in a nutshell, appeared to be a frank admission that the New Zealand top-order remains in complete disarray, that most players have been batting out of position, and that the selectors got it all wrong before and during the tour.

"We made the call purely from the point of view that we felt the toughest time would be against the new ball," Vettori said. "Most of our batsmen are middle-order batsman and putting Kyle in at No 3 had the effect of pushing everyone back into their normal positions."

The experiment has added more fuel to the suggestion the selectors made a monstrous error last month in axing the versatile Lou Vincent, and that they still haven't settled on an ideal combination in his absence.

To make matters worse, the decision to overlook the credentials of specialist openers Jamie How and Michael Papps for this test is now looming like another talking point, and one that is likely to be reversed before the start of next week's test at Cape Town.

Fleming refused to blame the SuperSport Park pitch for the result, pointing to the numerous opportunities that his team failed to capitalise on during the the test.

"We had the chances, there were plenty of opportunities during the match but we couldn't take them, and because of that we just couldn't get across the line," he said. "On the other hand, they grabbed the key moments with both hands and came up with the right result."