KEY POINTS:
Over the next few days, New Zealand team officials will be putting ticks, crosses and question marks alongside names as they assess the events of the West Indies cricket tour.
Their minds will be focused on the forthcoming Chappell Hadlee series in Australia.
When they go through the
rain-marred ODI series, a few names will be jostling at the top of the list.
Kyle Mills and captain Daniel Vettori were the pick of the New Zealand bowlers.
Mills gave a cutting edge with the new ball, earning plaudits from free-hitting West Indian captain Chris Gayle. Vettori was parsimonious and penetrative until Shivnarine Chanderpaul, furiously reverse-sweeping, carved him up in his last two overs of New Zealand's series-clinching win at Napier on Tuesday.
Auckland's Martin Guptill was the find among the batsmen, his 122 not out and 43 only a start to his international career, but a hugely encouraging one for all that.
But the batsman who drew the rosiest reports from coach Andy Moles and Vettori was Ross Taylor, who produced three crucial innings in four turns at bat.
His 51 not out off 50 balls carried New Zealand to a seven-wicket win in the third ODI in Wellington; his 75 in 87 balls at Eden Park set up a formidable score three days later before the rain came; and his more measured 48 not out, and his calm head in a tight finish with the Duckworth Lewis rain regulations in the back of the mind, steered New Zealand to their 11-run win, and the rubber.
He averaged 93.5, second only to Guptill's 165 on either side.
"His maturity is starting to show," Moles said. "We're seeing somebody we can bat around.
"Players improve in gradients then stand still for a while. Ross at the moment is on one of those upward curves in his career and the next 18 months will see him really grow as a player."
Taylor, 24, has long been regarded as New Zealand's most gifted batsman-in-waiting, but rushes of blood and an ability to get himself out in maddening ways, have been the riders attached to his name. Even so, he's averaging 39.57 from 53 ODIs, with a strong strike rate of 83 runs every 100 balls.
He hit his first two test centuries last year, fine ones against England in Hamilton and Old Trafford, and his work over the last fortnight suggests a sense of seniority is settling well on his shoulders.
He pointed to the inexperience of Daniel Flynn, Jesse Ryder, Martin Guptill and Neil Broom, all of whom are in their first few months, or weeks, in the national side.
"With the amount of games I've played it leads to extra responsibility.
"They've only played a handful of games between them. Myself, with over 50, and Brendon McCullum [143 ODIS] probably have a bit more responsibility. In saying that, I'm excited by the challenge and it's something I'm relishing at the moment."
And the runs don't do the self-belief any harm either.
"I've been working very hard on my game and once you're putting in the hours and get a bit of a result, your confidence goes up."
Taylor, aware of critics who point to his tendency to head to the on side for the big shots, has relished being able to show he can still score briskly by utilising the gaps on the offside.
Moles wants more consistency from his batsmen. Acknowledging the stop-start nature of the one-day series didn't help either side gain any momentum, Moles liked some of what he saw, but not all of it: "We played some good cricket, but we've got to be more consistent in most areas.
"Back to the tests, it's been an on-and-off six weeks and tough for the batters to get match rhythm. We have had certain individuals do well but we're looking to Australia to get more consistency in the batting."
Several players returned to State Shield action yesterday - McCullum and Broom for Otago, Guptill for Auckland - and the rest, with the possible exception of Mills, who may rest a sore knee, are expected to play in Saturday's eighth round of games.
The New Zealand squad to go to Australia is expected to be named about next Thursday.
