Cricket: Ludicrous selection again exposed

By RICHARD BOOCK and NZPA

It is not so much that Adam Parore is not keen to open the batting for the New Zealand cricketers, it's just that he has not been asked.

The in-form Kiwi wicketkeeper again found himself under-used during yesterday's third one-day international in Pretoria as South Africa romped to a 2-0 series lead against the tourists.

New Zealand again went into the match with the absurd luxury of two wicketkeepers, and again they found themselves lacking sufficient bowling options, with the Proteas eventually cashing in to the tune of 324 for four - their highest one-day score on home soil.

After a thunderstorm, New Zealand were dismissed for 189 - 116 runs short of their revised target of 305 off 43 overs.

Parore, arguably in the best ODI form of his life, was unbeaten on 17, while his non-keeping colleague, Chris Nevin, continued his miserable run of form as an opener, falling for seven in the second over of the innings.

Already one of 11 different players to open the batting for New Zealand since August, Parore revealed on the eve of yesterday's match that he was willing to partner Nathan Astle at the top of the innings - if he was asked.

Speaking from the ground where he scored a career-best 108 in 1994, the 29-year-old right-hander said he would love to have another crack at the new ball.

"I'd love to bat at the top of the order, but we've got seven guys who would like to do that, so it's a case of standing in line," he said.

"The wickets in South Africa are pretty good for batting. There's a bit of pace, so once you get in you can do some scoring.

"If the chance came up, I would definitely be a starter."

Initially considered surplus to New Zealand's ODI requirements, Parore managed to rescue his place on the back of some sparkling all-round form this season, but appears to have been wasted down the order.

Before yesterday's effort, his past four innings had spanned 11, 4, 12 and 8 balls as he either ran out of overs or partners.

A move to employ him at the top of the order would free up another spot for a bowler and allow Scott Styris to move up to No 8, where he is more than capable of handling the position's cameo-type responsibilities.

As it was, New Zealand badly missed the variation of a spinner yesterday, having been forced to omit both Paul Wiseman and Brooke Walker in order to make room for pacemen Shayne O'Connor and Geoff Allott.

South Africa's batsmen obviously fancied what they saw, posting their highest one-day cricket total on home soil and ending just short of their all-time record of 328 for three against Holland.

The star was again allrounder Nicky Boje, who pasted the New Zealand bowlers to all parts of the ground while making his second century in five days.

The stop-gap lefthander scored 129 from 114 balls, departing with just one ball remaining after helping fellow opener Gary Kirsten to add a record 161 off 165 balls for the second wicket.

It beat the 149 set by Hansie Cronje and Dave Callaghan against New Zealand at the same ground when South Africa scored 314 in 1994.

South Africa have now had second-wicket partnerships of 129, 111 and 161 in the series so far, a clear indication of New Zealand's lack of firepower with the ball.

New Zealand lost Roger Twose, Chris Cairns, Nathan Astle and Craig McMillan in the space of four overs, effectively ending their winning chances midway through their reply.

Stephen Fleming hinted at a return to form with 35 off 26 balls, but Cairns was only a shadow of himself, falling for a first-ball duck and giving up eight runs an over at the bowling crease.

Fleming said the team had taken some heavy body blows after the euphoria of the ICC Knockout Trophy win in Nairobi.

"We're not penetrating at the top and we've got confident guys batting at No 1 and No 3 who are killing us.

"We can't apply any pressure throughout and they're getting a free run. We've got a good batting line-up, but we're not getting a chance to be competitive."