KEY POINTS:
One of two fast-medium bowlers will be left with a frown this morning when New Zealand's XI for the second test against the West Indies is confirmed.
Captain Dan Vettori can be exceedingly decisive at times. While others were mulling the merits of playing a second spinner on
the concrete-like McLean Park strip, Vettori confirmed he expects offspinner Jeetan Patel to join him in a double spin attack on the West Indian batsmen.
"We played here last year and he bowled really well against England," Vettori said yesterday.
"I think this pitch is often misrepresented. It is not as bouncy as people say. All the games here that I have played it has been a good flat wicket."
Vettori bagged six for 56 against the West Indies in the first test at Dunedin and he hopes he and offspinner Patel can again pose difficulties for the tourists'.
"I think anyone is vulnerable to good spin bowling and [if] Jeetan and myself can bowl well we see it as really good option for us."
With batsman Ross Taylor being confirmed fit after dislocating a finger last week, and allrounder James Franklin proving his fitness after taking a nasty blow in the ribs at Dunedin and offering the left-armer's variety, Vettori made it clear the choice of 12th man lies between Mark Gillespie and Kyle Mills.
Iain O'Brien, the fourth seamer in the squad, will play. He's proved an asset and Vettori likes what he brings, both in terms of his confidence and commitment, plus his work with the ball.
Whichever of the two is left out, they'll have some reason to feel a shade aggrieved.
Gillespie, sharper in pace than the others, was brought back in for the series after being unwanted for the previous eight tests, but bowled poorly in Dunedin, 21 wicketless overs for 102.
Mills was called in at 24 hours' warning for the same test to replace the injured Jacob Oram, and was tidy, getting three for 64. Vettori admitted a feeling of wanting to be fair to the original selection (Gillespie) and that while he had been ordinary in Dunedin, it was tough to judge him on one performance.
But he dropped a hint that Mills might be favoured in that particular head-to-head. "Our plans are about building pressure on a flat wicket and that is what Kyle did in the last game," Vettori said.
"I was particularly pleased with the way he bowled."
Of the six tests played here since 1979, four have been drawn and two lost, hefty defeats, too: to Sri Lanka in 1995 by 241 runs, and to England last season by 121 runs.
Both teams had periods where they might have felt they'd gained some momentum in Dunedin but in the end finished about all square in that rain-marred contest.
The New Zealand bowlers had it reinforced that West Indian captain Chris Gayle can seriously damage any attack in a hurry, and that Shivnarine Chanderpaul, the International Cricket Council's player of the year, remains an awkward opponent to shift.
The tourists might make one change, bringing in left-arm spinner Suylieman Benn for his third test, most likely for Lionel Baker, who made history as Montserrat's first test player at Dunedin.
If they don't have the spin option, the West Indies will be leaving themselves looking decidedly one-paced. Benn is 2m tall. If he can't get bounce on McLean Park he won't get it anywhere.
