Cricket: Latham hopes Merlin spells work magic

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Tom Latham is hoping time spent with Merlin will prove beneficial when New Zealand's test series against the West Indies starts next month.

Latham first has to get in the test XI - he's in a three-into-two scenario for the opening spots with incumbents Peter Fulton and Hamish Rutherford - then make the most of his chance.

With mystery twirler Sunil Narine and probably tall offspinner Shane Shillingford expected to send down a pile of overs during the tests, New Zealand's batsmen have worked on ways to combat the threat since the end of the home international season.

In Canterbury lefthander Latham's case, that has included working with a bowling machine named Merlin at the Canterbury indoor centre.

"That's been great," Latham said.

"You can put it on offspin with the odd ball that's a legspinner. It's about trying to pick the ball out of the machine and in the air."

Narine took 12 wickets in the two-test loss in the Caribbean in 2012, and New Zealand were thankful the West Indies made a selection hash on their tour of New Zealand last summer.

They opted to leave the Trinidad finger spinner out for all bar the final test in Hamilton, when he took six for 91 off 42 overs in New Zealand's first innings. He was understood to be battling a cold in the drawn first test, but some New Zealand batsmen clearly didn't know what he was up to in that test.

"If we can pick up subtle hand movements [he uses] to bowl the other one [variations on the offspinner] that's going to help play him, and Shillingford as well," Latham said.

Latham, 22, made his test debut, filling in for Ross Taylor in the second test against India in Wellington. A first innings duck was followed by 29, an encouraging start.

His selection came after a stonking domestic first-class season for Canterbury, in which he scored 948 runs at 79, topping the averages and aggregates in the Plunket Shield.

"It's nice the selectors, coach and captain show faith in you if you put the runs on at domestic level. It just showed to me I'm not that far away.

"[In the second innings] not to say I felt comfortable but I felt I could play at that level and it certainly gave me a lot of confidence heading out of that test."

Last season was Latham's first opening at top domestic level. He'd done it regularly in age group and school cricket but then-Canterbury coach Bob Carter eased him into first-class cricket in the middle order.

It is not a role suited to all batsmen, but Latham senses it could be his job for the foreseeable future.

"It's certainly not a role I'm unfamiliar with. I think it suits me. Getting an opportunity this year it's something I felt comfortable with ... I'm certainly looking forward to the challenge."

New Zealand will complete a two-day warmup over the weekend, and have a three-day preparatory fixture against another Jamaican selection starting on Monday.

Runs will count in the openers' battle over those matches, but Latham doesn't want to get too wound up about it.

"If you put added pressure on yourself that you've got to score runs in the warmup games then you're already behind the 8-ball. I'll just go out to do what I did last season, try and give myself the best chance and hopefully will get the nod for the first test."

Rutherford and Fulton have opened in the last 12 tests.

But neither batsman was in the pink of test form last season, Fulton in particular a contentious selection for the West Indies.

New Zealand coach Mike Hesson was adamant the best three opening options are in the Caribbean. There's no question this is Latham's chance to stake his claim for one of those encumbents' spots.