By RICHARD BOOCK
It is not so much Roger Twose who needs to be analysed these days as the person who came up with the suggestion that he lacks self-belief.
Whatever the shortcomings of the New Zealand left-hander, who will walk out to bat to the tune of Braveheart at Eden Park
in today's second one-day cricket international against Australia, confidence has never seemed one of his most pressing concerns.
He once entered an end-of-day press conference on his hands and knees after rescuing New Zealand in blazing heat at Hamilton, and after playing a key hand in the fourth ODI against the West Indies last month, unashamedly told reporters he believed he was "an intelligent player."
Australia's leaked briefing papers on the New Zealand team revealed that they were aware of his discomfort against the short ball and wary of his ability square on the off side, but also contained several curious references which questioned his degree of self-belief.
Twose, who in the past 14 months has averaged 54 against South Africa at home, 80 at the World Cup, 37 in India and 57 against the West Indies, joked yesterday that he was reconsidering his career.
"It's broken me mentally," he said.
"I don't think I'll be able to carry on."
The 31-year-old has shelved his test aspirations in order to better concentrate on the shorter version of the game, and said he had grown in confidence over the past few seasons and had no doubts about his ability.
"I think my record over the last year or so is good enough to convince most people, let alone myself," he said yesterday.
"My performance at the World Cup - on the biggest stage there is in the ODI game - speaks for itself. I don't think I have to.
"This isn't earth-shattering news. It's just how any team would assess their opponent.
"As a player, you should know your own strengths and weaknesses better than anyone, so I just want to show them how good a player I am."
