KEY POINTS:
After Saturday's fun and games at Eden Park, someone needs to tell the Black Caps that John Bracewell's resting system is supposed to occur between matches and not during them.
And quick.
It is only a matter of months before our lads head to the West Indies for
the World Cup.
There they have been placed in the group of death - death by boredom for the good people of St Lucia that is.
St Lucia is shaping as the killing fields for cricket.
New Zealand, England, Kenya, Canada.
What a lineup.
By the time those giants of attacking cricket have finished, St Lucia might just be finished with cricket.
Before then, there's the small matter for the Black Caps of a stack of games against Australia.
R and R should be given the first R, permanently.
We're not exactly brimming with world class cricketers.
But apparently the way to make them and the team play better is not to play them all the time.
Presumably - and this is a wild guess - R and R builds confidence because it prevents a run of low scores or high bowling figures.
New Zealand play so many combinations these days that most people have more chance of remembering all their PIN numbers than naming a Black Caps team.
God knows what it's like for the players, but batting in combinations and bowling in tandem must be a tad tricky.
The strangest part of Bracewell's R and R policy is that one of the blokes who is part of this revolving circus is the captain, Stephen Fleming, whose return hit another low on Saturday.
Let's ignore the issue of consumer rights right now - although you would think the punters at the gate and the television subscribers deserve a better return from our only ODI batsman in the world top 30.
If ever there was a sport where a captain really does a bit of captaining, it's cricket, especially when you're out in the field.
Presumably the captain is the captain because whatever spins around between his ears does so with a little bit more insight and clarity than what goes on between all the other ears.
That is why it is often a good idea to have the captain playing and putting his craft to the test all the time.
The other thing about captains is you do a bit of leading by example.
An inspired decision here ... A word of advice there.
The troops love it when they see the captain giving his all.
We all know the drill from our own dim sporting pasts.
Dave might forget the biscuits ... Steve might always get lost on away games ...
Eric opens but has never scored more than seven ...
And Tim dribbles special brew all over the scorebook ...
But Bob is the captain, and this is Bob's team.
You can rely on Bob - he fights it out every time.
Bob is an inspiration - partly because he's our best cricketer.
What is a player to think when - as is the nouveau cricket way - the skipper gives a well-done tap on the bum, after he's been sitting on his for most of the day.
"Thanks skip - how were the ham baguettes?"
The other intriguing aspect of the R and R policy is trying to work out what S. Fleming was rested from.
Book writer's cramp?
TV advertising ODORS? (Overused deodorant occupational rash syndrome).
It hasn't exactly been a busy time for the Black Caps.
At least not compared with say the Ashes where Australia have been hard at it for up to four days at a time ...
And even England were at full tilt for an hour and a half every now and then.
In fact, you'd wager that most New Zealanders have seen a bat in the hands of Steve Harmison more than they've seen Stephen Fleming at the crease.
Although in fairness the skipper did notch up another five deliveries faced on Saturday.
Even when he fields, Flem gets all the cushy positions.
And he doesn't even bowl a bit.
It must have been exhausting thinking of reasons why Stephen Fleming needed a rest.
Even the All Blacks, who are presumably responsible for this R and R business, play their captain all the time.
Even though their captain could actually do with a rest.
Pride.
Unity.
Going beyond the call of duty.
Toughing it out in the trenches.
These have always been New Zealand cricket's greatest commodities - to overcome a lack of sheer class.
They were all in short supply on Saturday.
Still, Fleming should be absolutely fizzing by the time he gets to play Australia and England.
Or will he get to play Australia and England?
St Lucia is a long way away ...
And it is a tough flight.
England, Canada and Kenya will all be lying in wait.
And Flem might need a bit of a kip before playing against that lot.
High
Brilliant one day batting and bowling by Sri Lanka. They are terrific entertainers, and won in glorious style. On comedic value, Craig McMillan's batting cameo (although it was an epic compared to the rest) deserves a mention.
Low
Ummmmm ... the Black Caps perhaps.