Cricket: Support for Bond likely to seal Styris' spot

Scott Styris may have Shane Bond to thank for a likely return to tests in Harare tomorrow.

The Auckland top-order batsman has not played a test since November last year because of a knee injury and under normal circumstances would be facing an uphill battle to reclaim his spot from other worthy contenders.

But it's Styris' capability with the ball rather than the bat that will almost certainly seal his return in the series opener against Zimbabwe, and particularly as the selectors are also likely to usher back Bond into the fray.

Out of international action for the best part of two years after back surgery, Bond impressed during the warm-up games in Namibia and probably booked his place in the test team after another solid outing against a District XI yesterday.

If he is selected, it will mean coach John Bracewell will require plenty of options in the attack to ensure the paceman is not over-bowled, or allowed to risk an aggravation to an already suspect frame.

The case for including Styris' multi-talented game becomes even more compelling when it's considered that New Zealand's top allrounder, Jacob Oram, is still unable to bowl in a test situation and will only be considered as a specialist batsman.

In Oram's absence, Styris appeals as comfortably the next best allrounder, especially after demonstrating good form at the bowling crease in England county cricket before departing for Africa.

Bracewell said yesterday that the loss of Oram last season had made a huge difference to the balance of the New Zealand team, and it was already starting to make an impact in this series as well.

"It's important that we have an allrounder who can play a role with the ball and, if Shane Bond is picked, there's even more need to make sure that we have all the options covered," he said.

"Scotty has been bowing extremely well in England and will definitely come into the equation in terms of the balance he can provide."

Probably the biggest task facing Bracewell is deciding on his batting line-up, considering Styris' return will create a log-jam in the middle-order and will force a change from the combination that posted 561 against Sri Lanka in their last outing.

In the firing line are three well-performed test batsmen: Nathan Astle (who scored a century in his second-to-last test), Hamish Marshall (batsman of the year), and Lou Vincent, who scored 52 and 224 in his two most recent outings.

The only way Bracewell can avoid leaving one of them out for Styris is if he opts to shift Stephen Fleming back to the top of the innings in a short-term move, to create some room down the order.

Bracewell was to meet Fleming and vice-captain Daniel Vettori last night to discuss the different permutations, and confirmed that the batting line-up was sure to demand most of the attention.

"I'd like to persevere with Fleming at No 4 in the long-term, but there is a real bottleneck in the middle-order and that's probably going to be the main topic of discussion at the meeting," Bracewell said.

As long as Bond recovers from last night's practice match without any concerns, he seems likely to take his place in the line-up after delighting Bracewell with his rapidly improving form.

The Canterbury fast-bowler is on track to join fellow pacemen Chris Martin and James Franklin, and spinner Vettori in a much more potent-looking attack, supported by Styris' wily medium-pace.

"Bond has continued to show good form and has probably been the pick of the bowlers," Bracewell said.

"We're aware of the element he gives to the team in terms of confidence, but we're also realistic about his situation and realise that we have to manage him carefully to avoid any type of aggravation.

"He's emotionally stronger than he's ever been, he's really pushed himself forward for the test, but he can only bowl a certain number of overs at full pace and that's why, if he's picked, we'll probably also need a part-timer like Styris."

The teams

Zimbabwe: Tatenda Taibu (captain), Heath Streak, Andy Blignaut, Stuart Carlisle, Graeme Cremer, Keith Dabengwa, Dion Ebrahim, Neil Ferreira, Anthony Ireland, Blessing Mahwire, Hamilton Masakadza, Chris Mpofu, Brendan Taylor, Craig Wishart.

New Zealand (from): Stephen Fleming (captain), James Marshall, Craig Cumming, Hamish Marshall, Nathan Astle, Lou Vincent, Scott Styris, Jacob Oram, Brendon McCullum, Daniel Vettori, Kyle Mills, James Franklin, Shane Bond, Chris Martin, Paul Wiseman.