Towering display in Napier puts the Kiwi allrounder foremost in the selectors' minds
When Scott Styris roared his "take that you Aussie chaps" blast at the moment of triumph in this week's opening ODI in Napier, it doesn't take a huge leap to think he might have had others in mind.
After all, drums have been beating for a while urging his recall
to the national ODI and Twenty20 teams. He would have thought he should have been there, too.
His bristling unbeaten 49 off 34 balls ensured one of the great nights for New Zealand. It lifted to five their successive ODI wins over Australia at home.
The past couple of years have been a curious time for Styris. He played in Bangladesh in October 2008, but 22 ODIs passed before he was back to play Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates last November.
For a time it seemed he had been discarded for good. After the UAE, Bangladesh came calling last month. Again, no Styris.
He had signed on for the Deccan Chargers in the Indian Premier League in 2008. It seemed his focus had shifted - or been shifted for him.
His domestic form this season had been good, if not earth-shattering. In the national one-day competition, he helped Auckland make the final with 220 runs at 31.42 from seven innings.
Yet those numbers were 21st on aggregates - and outside the top 30 on averages - although that included several inflated numbers of players having one or two innings, and not-outs to boost their numbers.
The argument in Styris' favour was simply his record. As an old head, the 34-year-old would add value, particularly against Australia, not to mention a cussed attitude which wouldn't hurt either. That came through in spades in Napier, too. The national selectors, coach Mark Greatbatch, Glenn Turner and captain Dan Vettori, deemed his form had lacked consistency. They told him he was still in the picture and not to give up.
He got his chance when he was named in the 13-man squad for the first two ODIs, but Styris wouldn't even have played had Vettori not pulled out with a strained neck just before the start on Wednesday. Vettori's misfortune was Styris' chance.
"I'd have to say it rates pretty highly, because any time you can be the guy at the end and win a game you've obviously got to be happy," Styris said.
"When you couple that with the fact that it's Australia, the No 1 team in the world, it's even better."
But even after his heady night, Styris sounded unsure of what the short-term future held.
"I guess a foot in the door is what it is," the 34-year-old said. "All I've heard from the selectors is to keep having faith in them and keep trying to do well for Auckland. It's nice to do well when I have got that chance."
Styris retired from tests after the 2007-08 season. He averaged 36.04, hit five hundreds including one on debut in the West Indies in 2002, over 29 tests.
He wanted to prolong his career, felt his body would not stand the stresses of playing all three versions and the long game had become the one he enjoyed the least.
He averages 32.41 over 161 ODIs, but until Wednesday, his last notable contribution had been a double of 69 and 87 not out in consecutive wins over England in June 2008. Seven innings since had produced just 58 runs.
Styris indicated his innings didn't necessarily bring any extra feeling of permanency. Before the game, he'd talked of not being under special pressure to perform. The important people knew his capabilities. That was before he was named in the side.
He continued the theme after the match. "I'd like to keep playing until the end of the next World Cup [early next year] so to stay in this team is about performing consistently," he said.
"So just because some good things happened today it doesn't mean I'm there for the foreseeable future. I have to keep backing it up."
If Vettori had been fit, Styris would not have been there. What of tomorrow at Eden Park? Would he have got a run then?
Now he'll be among the first names on the team sheet for Eden Park - and batting somewhere higher than No 7, you'd imagine.
"It's not where I want to be batting, that's for sure. But you take No 10 or 11 if it means you get to play. I don't know the selectors' thoughts and whether this is, or was, my last chance. Only they can answer that."
