Will Colin Munro keep his place in the Black Caps? Photo / Getty
Will Colin Munro keep his place in the Black Caps? Photo / Getty
Former captain Daniel Vettori is picking the Black Caps to stick to their guns as the business end of the Cricket World Cup approaches.
The Black Caps remain unbeaten at the Cup after a nail-biting five-run win over the West Indies yesterday, but there have been calls forthe return of Tim Southee and Henry Nicholls to the side, with the pair yet to feature after missing New Zealand's opening games due to injury.
Nicholls is a strong option to replace Colin Munro at the top of the order, with Munro having failed to pass 25 in his last four innings, while Matt Henry's poor display against the West Indies, including conceding 25 off an over to Carlos Brathwaite, could put Southee firmly back in the selection mix.
However, Vettori isn't expecting many changes.
"I'd be surprised if we saw many, if any, changes heading into the next game against Pakistan," said Vettori, trying out his Scribe impersonation in a column for the ICC.
"New Zealand have proven and shown that they want to be a consistent team, and this has been an ethos in the team for about four or five years.
"They've wanted to back guys up and not tinker with things too much, even if it's not someone's day for one match, it doesn't mean that they can't do a job next time.
"There's no concerns in this unit and there shouldn't be in a winning team, victorious teams complement each other in such a way that they can pick each other up if someone is having an off day.
"Knowing your team and management has that confidence can really make a difference when it comes to a big tournament like this."
Will Colin Munro keep his place in the Black Caps? Photo / Getty
While Munro and Henry are the most at risk of being dropped, Martin Guptill and Tom Latham have also struggled so far this tournament, but Vettori expects them to turn it around in the next few games – potentially in a major way.
"It's only a matter of time before Martin Guptill and Tom Latham get going in their positions and then they can complement that with a Jimmy Neesham lower down. Then you've got the makings of a very complete top six or seven.
"Guptill hasn't really hit it yet but I'm not too worried about him, he's shown that he's a proven performer and he's got 174 ODIs under his belt. He's one of the finest one-day batsmen we've produced.
"He will perform at some stage of this tournament and it will be in a match-winning capacity."
Vettori also had praise for Trent Boult and Lockie Ferguson's contributions with the ball.
"Trent Boult and Lockie Ferguson proved their worth with seven wickets between them, they put West Indies under pressure early on, particularly Boult, then backed it up in the middle.
"Ferguson's job is to get wickets and he's up to the task, he's got 14 in the tournament now and I really like his style of bowling. He's fast, but his control of the slower ball and the bouncer is very effective, he's not one-trick and it's really fun to watch. His pace sets him apart with the way he hurries up top, top players."
As for Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor, Vettori posed the question (well, more or less) - how many dudes you know roll like this?
"With the bat, we've once again seen something so impressive from Kane Williamson and it's come in a completely different manner. He's come out and had to deal with two golden ducks from the openers, but he and Ross Taylor came out and performed once again.
"You almost take it for granted. But they prove time and time again that they can do it in pressure situations. New Zealand know that those two are going to be brilliant and that they can rely on them more often than not."
