Cricket: The final approach

Corey Anderson proved his class with two man-of-the-match awards. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Most pieces in New Zealand’s World Cup jigsaw puzzle have already slotted together nicely

Picture if you will - and it's hard at the moment - a rainy day at the bach.

A 500-piece jigsaw is laid out on the kitchen table and two figures hover. The puzzle is made up of 15 black-clad figures in various poses of batting, bowling and fielding. The title on the box reads: New Zealand's 2015 World Cup preparations. A few remaining pieces are strewn in the upturned lid.

One of the figures, let's call him Brendon McCullum, heads off to the kitchen to put the jug on. The second figure, Mike Hesson, sits with the back of his hand touching his chin and his elbow on his knee in a pose reminiscent of Rodin's The Thinker.

It's time for a cup of tea and a period of contemplation after the Sri Lanka series, or at least for a few more hours, with the first of two ODI matches against Pakistan starting this afternoon.

New Zealand beat Sri Lanka 4-2 and most pieces in their World Cup planning have clipped together. There are 14 days to create the perfect scene as it looks on the box (or 46 days if you leave it until the quarter-finals).

The batting picture is almost complete. Every specialist had a score in excess of 40, and those in the lower order chipped in with 20s and 30s.

The success of Kane Williamson has been well-documented but Grant Elliott exceeded expectations at No 5 as a late tournament selection, Brendon McCullum showed why he is worthy of a licence to whack at the top, Corey Anderson oscillated well between passive and aggressive, while Luke Ronchi graduated into the definitive closer with his whirring blade. If Ross Taylor, Martin Guptill and Tom Latham optimise their time at the crease against Pakistan, the picture will be clear.

The lower order also showed, via cameos from Daniel Vettori, Kyle Mills and Nathan McCullum that they're capable of runs on the rare occasions when the specialists struggled.

Each World Cup squad pace bowler justified his position playing three to five games, although Hesson admitted they bowled too many poor deliveries at the start during Thursday's loss at Wellington.

Their averages ranged from 21.57 (Tim Southee) to 34.60 (Trent Boult). Boult returned the best economy rate (4.55 runs per over) while at the other end of the thrift scale Mitchell McClenaghan conceded 5.51. He was compensated with the most wickets (10). Mills made a successful return from his groin injury and Adam Milne's side strain looks minor with the expectation he'll play today. If a member of the quintet is injured, Matt Henry sustained his form with two for 34 at 3.51 runs per over in Hamilton.

Spin-wise, Vettori didn't take any wickets but conceded only 4.30 runs per over and Nathan McCullum wasn't far behind with two wickets and an economy rate of 4.95.

Hesson said that meets their expectations: "The role of our spinners is different from other sides with wickets [in New Zealand] that don't turn a lot. They have a lot of grass so deliveries tend to slide on with changes of pace which enables us to create pressure.

"If they generate wickets with that, great, but our seamers can be used more in attacking phases."

Elsewhere, Anderson proved his pedigree as an all-rounder with man-of-the-match awards in Christchurch and Dunedin, a batting average of 35 and bowling average of 28 with nine wickets. His only blip was an economy rate of 6.14.

Ronchi was sound with the gloves executing 12 catches and a stumping and conceding four byes from a solitary delivery. Having scored 170 not out in the first innings, it's fair to assume he was forgiven.