Cricket: Being Mr Indispensable

By RICHARD BOOCK

You get the feeling that Lou Vincent would jump through flaming hoops in his birthday suit if it meant a better chance of making an impact in the World Cup.

The man in line to take back the gloves for New Zealand's opening game against Sri Lanka on Monday has the sort of approach that many coaches would like to bottle and sell; a willingness to accept whatever responsibility is deemed necessary for the team.

Returned as the side's wicketkeeper in last night's warm-up match against Gauteng in Soweto, Vincent does not fancy himself as a long-term prospect behind the stumps, but acknowledges that the balance of the side might depend on him accepting the role.

The positional rethink follows intense competition in the middle and lower-order, especially after Chris Harris provided a reminder of his worth in the opening warmup game on Wednesday and Jacob Oram cemented his spot as a bowling allrounder.

The bottleneck has placed intense pressure on incumbent wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum, whose batting position at No.7 is viewed as something of a luxury, and a role which might need to be sacrificed to accommodate Harris. The theory is that if Harris plays, McCullum will be dropped and Vincent will take the gloves, giving New Zealand much more batting and bowling experience.

"Having Chris Cairns there creates a lot more competition in the top order so I'm happy to be playing in any role at all," Vincent said yesterday. "I do see myself as a specialist batter one day, but at the moment with such a strong side, someone's got to take the gloves.

"I want to stand up at this tournament and be counted, I'd love to be part of a winning side and if it means I have to do the glovework, then so be it."

New Zealand's line-up for Monday's opener at Bloemfontein is taking shape, as Craig McMillan seems to have the inside running over Mathew Sinclair for the No.3 position, and Harris is now increasingly likely to play at No.7.

This might all seem a bit harsh on McCullum, who has kept superbly all summer without making much of an impact with the bat, but there are few teams in today's game who can afford to play a wicket-keeper at No.7.

Vincent was keeping solidly for Auckland before departing for the Republic, and has put to bed suggestions the task might distract him from his primary role of scoring runs.

"Some people say it's affecting my batting, but I think my record with Auckland this season shows it's not a problem. I didn't score big runs but I did score in every game, and kept wicket pretty tidily as well.

"I think I'm improving. I don't go in for a lot of technical stuff, you know; the hand and the feet have got to be in certain position etc - I just try and catch the freakin' thing."

Vincent said he loved the passion and scale of the tournament, and was serious about wanting to be in the first New Zealand team to win the title. It was achievable, he said.

"I think it's the best New Zealand squad I've played in. There's a feeling going round; people saying you're looking good and stuff, and we're feeling optimistic.

"This is huge, the best thing that's happened in my career so far, and I'd really like to kick arse for the team. I want to be the player of the tournament."