New Zealand v Australia - 5th ODI
Westpac Stadium, Wellington, 2pm
Which is performing poorer right now, New Zealand's batting or bowling? Neither unit has been particularly flash since the dramatic opening Chappell Hadlee Trophy ODI in Napier 10 days ago. But, on balance, the gong goes to the batsmen.
The bowlers rely on having enough runs to work with. If
they are to put the squeeze on opponents - and Australia are among the more demanding in the game - they need runs to defend.
At Hamilton last Tuesday, and at Eden Park two nights ago, when the series was lost 3-1 with one to play, they didn't have them.
New Zealand were rolled for 245 in 46.2 overs in Hamilton; it got worse at Eden Park, all out for 238 in a barely believable 44.1 overs, Australia winning comfortably by six wickets after chasing a reduced 200 in 34 overs.
Being bowled out well inside the allotted 50 overs is simply not good enough, and captain Dan Vettori is starting to sound like a broken record.
"Unfortunately [we made] the same mistakes as the previous two games," he said.
"We did not put enough runs on the board, lost wickets at crucial times and put ourselves under far too much pressure."
Heard that somewhere before? There was also a witlessness about several New Zealand dismissals, batsmen being dismissed too softly, rather than scrapping to defend it.
Of course, in limited-overs cricket there comes a point when risks must be taken, but New Zealand's run rate was always good at Eden Park on Thursday. But there were signs in the innings that the batsmen rather lost the plot in terms of the strategy.
"Whether it is the mental shift from aggressiveness to accumulation, I'm not too sure," Vettori said. "But they're mistakes that shouldn't have been made constantly."
The result was that 5.5 overs were unbowled, and even allowing for a bizarre Duckworth Lewis rain recalculation which gave New Zealand a better chance than their ordinary batting effort deserved, the game was always Australia's to lose. They rarely say "no thanks" when presented with a gift.
And yet the batting order, after some peculiar placements earlier in the series - James Franklin two places above Scott Styris? - had a more sensible look to it on Thursday, with Styris at No5, Vettori promoted, and Franklin eased down to No8.
So what about Wellington today?
Vettori spoke of the importance of pride, of turning up and performing. The two-test series starts in Wellington next Friday. A New Zealand win today wouldn't hurt in terms of morale.
New Zealand coach Mark Greatbatch made it clear yesterday that offspinner Nathan McCullum will play. It should be at Tim Southee's expense. At a time when parsimony was needed on Thursday, his 5.1 overs cost a scarcely believable 55.
Australia might give a run to uncapped George Bailey while fast-medium Clint McKay has been twiddling his thumbs so far on tour.
Although Ponting talked about keeping the foot down today, they can afford to relax. New Zealand can't.
LIKELY LINE-UPS
New Zealand v Australia:
New Zealand: (from) Dan Vettori (c), Brendon McCullum, Martin Guptill, Ross Taylor, Scott Styris, Shanan Stewart, James Franklin, Neil Broom, Gareth Hopkins, Daryl Tuffey, Shane Bond, Nathan McCullum, Tim Southee, Michael Mason.
Australia: (from) Ricky Ponting (c), Brad Haddin, Shane Watson, Cameron White, Mike Hussey, Adam Voges, George Bailey, James Hopes, Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Hauritz, Ryan Harris, Doug Bollinger, Clint McKay.
