Adam Parore: Now for the ODIs, and fresh faces will be so important

Opinion

New Zealand face a major task if they are to gain something worthwhile from the Australian tour.

The test series was a disaster and they need to pick themselves up smartly if the three one-dayers, starting in Melbourne tomorrow, are not to go down the drain in similar fashion.

What they must do is try to get what happened at Brisbane and Adelaide out of their minds and replace them with positive thoughts about their one-day record this year.

Easier said than done, especially if you are feeling a bit bruised and fragile.

Remember, it will be the same blokes belting the bowlers around, and Brett Lee and Jason Gillespie will be steaming in at them.

The only thing to change will be the colour of the playing gear.

New Zealand need to remember that in 22 games since facing Pakistan on January 3, they have won 17, lost three and had two no results. That's an outstanding record in anyone's language, and one they should use to their advantage.

Coach John Bracewell and captain Stephen Fleming will have hatched plans to cope with individual Australian batsmen and will be helped by the fact that any bowler getting a pasting can be hidden, unlike in the test matches.

Fleming will have more bowling options at his disposal, he'll have a couple of players who can fiddle three or four overs if he's in a jam, and he'll have Chris Cairns and Chris Harris back.

Along with Andre Adams, they will bring new dynamics to the team. Indeed, I'm convinced the one-day squad is far better balanced than the test party.

Instead of the younger players outnumbering the experienced heads, now there is more wisdom for Fleming to lean on.

I'm not sure if Fleming was unduly troubled by any lingering effects of the viral condition he picked up in Bangladesh during the tests, but it wouldn't surprise me. You don't shake them off with a couple of aspirin.

Any time a team is getting punished, fresh faces are important. They haven't been scarred by the poundings and they bring different ideas and different voices into the dressing room.

The atmosphere changes and with Cairns and Harris on hand there will be a more positive vibe among the group.

In assessing where the test series went wrong, I reckon two things happened: New Zealand played well below their capabilities, but almost as importantly, Australia managed to exceed even their own usual high standards.

Their bowling was exceptional and we know the strength of their batting.

The problem against the Australians is that when the wheels start to come off they do so rapidly and, unlike other test nations, the Aussies don't give you a chance to get out the jack, repair the problems and get back in the race.

No one expected we would perform so far below par.

The expectation was that, as with previous New Zealand sides, we would punch above our weight. Instead, too many batsmen simply failed to deliver.

Positives? Jacob Oram with his fine hundred, the work in tandem of spinners Daniel Vettori and Paul Wiseman and ... er, that's about it.

I was pleased for Wiseman. Not only did he give Vettori excellent support, but I'm certain he's given the selectors food for thought ahead of the visit of Sri Lanka and, early next year, Australia.

Before the Adelaide test, you would have assumed Wiseman would have little part to play in the home tests.

The accepted wisdom in New Zealand conditions is three or four seamers and one spinner.

But if one of those seamers isn't up to scratch, and Oram is there with his allround element, why not play Wiseman? I'm not saying it will happen, but he has certainly given his chances a significant boost. He showed character to bounce back when he copped an early pasting.

* Adam Parore is a former New Zealand test player