Mark Richardson: Fifth bowler still ideal, despite test victory

It was a great effort by the Black Caps but I am still going to argue that they can win more tests by adjusting their batting line-up so they can select more bowlers.

In their second innings, Daniel Vettori played a loose-looking drive and was dropped at slip. Very next ball he followed with an awkward-looking flick to leg to lose his wicket.

It looked tired. More of this will follow if Vettori does not place himself higher in the order, making his contribution before a rather dire-looking situation has unfolded in front of him.

Vettori has so much on his plate. He selects, captains, coaches and of course must keep up his primary responsibility of bowling. He is the best-performed test batsman over the past couple of years. Exhaustion will set in if he continues to place himself where he must continually arrest batting collapses - although he seemed fresh enough when he took the winning wicket last night.

If Vettori had a place in the order that more fully represents the quality of his batsmanship, then perhaps the all too familiar middle-order collapse may begin to disappear. Importantly, however, there is a mental shift that must be made to move from a bowler who bats, in this case very well, to a regular top order position.

The question is: Can Vettori mentally make this shift? Could it be that Vettori's success over the last few years has been driven by the frailty of those that bat above him? This is his team and results will go down on his record and thus affect the legacy he leaves. He appears to be able to get the best out of himself when he has his back to the wall and plays with great determination.

If he does not find himself in such a situation will he be able to drive the same excellence out of himself?

Right now Vettori appears bent on selecting sides that see his skills represented as batting depth. What is the point in stacking the team full of batsmen if the bulk of the runs come from seven and eight?

If Vettori can maintain his batting form and Brendon McCullum can continue to develop his test game, then seven is as far south as either of these two need venture.

Vettori seems to believe that if three seamers and himself can't get the job done, then an extra seamer won't either. But right now eight batsmen are not exactly getting the run-scoring job done either, as per the second innings collapse.

If Vettori can grow confidence in the best seven batsmen in the country (including himself and McCullum), he opens up match-winning possibilities for himself as a captain.

Five bowlers could be invaluable. In Wellington, an extra into-the-wind bowler would assist Iain O'Brien maintain his intensity throughout the day. In Napier, Vettori can keep three seamers and still play two spinners.

Bowlers win test matches but I concede they still need runs in the bank. However, picking a team full of batsmen screams "don't lose" rather than "try to win".

An elevation up the order and an extra bowler could be the next step in Vettori's development as a captain of more adventure.