By RICHARD BOOCK
Radical though it sounds, the New Zealand cricketers might benefit by using their best bowlers at the most difficult stages of today's third one-day international against Sri Lanka.
While debate rages over which greenhorn New Zealand paceman should be sacrificed at the business end of the opposition innings at Eden Park this afternoon, the problem could possibly be reduced if the home side opted to hold back their two best bowlers - Daniel Vettori and Chris Harris - until much later in the piece.
At their wit's end after consecutive losses to Sri Lanka, New Zealand head into today's ODI needing to win to keep the five-match series alive, and with several questions hovering over the top-order batting, and the bowling at the death.
The latter has been a problem for New Zealand all season, mostly because of the freakish injury toll, although in recent games they could have perhaps helped themselves by using their most effective weapons at the most desperate times.
So far this season we have seen Shayne O'Connor, Daryl Tuffey, Scott Styris, Chris Martin and Craig McMillan destroyed during the end-of-innings acceleration, which invariably gets under way directly after New Zealand's slow bowlers have ended their spells.
No one would suggest Vettori should be the one bowling at the end, but there is a suspicion that the world's best left-arm spinner might be better used bowling deeper into the innings than he has in the past two ODIs, perhaps completing his allotment around the 45th, a couple of overs after Harris.
The pair are unquestionably New Zealand's most successful and most experienced bowlers, carrying 228 caps between them compared with the 14 shared between the rest of the pace attack, and their ability to work as a partnership has been the feature of the side's bowling performance to date.
However, because New Zealand's two biggest threats with the ball are usually out of the game by the 35th over, the least-most equipped members of the bowling attack are shouldering the burden at the most dangerous times.
Whatever happens with the bowlers, the other main point of interest today will surround the New Zealand top-order batsmen, who have not responded to the extra responsibility forced on them this season. Far too often they have left the run-scoring up to their middle and lower order team-mates.
The selectors have so far resisted the urge to make wholesale changes because of fears of disrupting the side on the eve of such an important game, but it will be interesting to see if they continue to stand by their top-order in the wake of another disappointing performance.
A sobering thought for New Zealand is that, while they fielded brilliantly at Wellington and bowled a reasonable line and length, the Sri Lankans played some of their worst cricket of their tour and still managed to win by three wickets.
Both sides will be looking for all-round improvements today, and Sri Lanka may have an extra option up their sleeve if star left-arm paceman Chaminda Vaas is considered free of injury and available to play.
New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming was not convinced that his batsmen had been to blame for the slump, but said the time had come for the most experienced members of the side to play a leading hand.
The pitch for the match looks hard and reasonably well-paced, but with a better cover of grass than the one used for the third ODI against Zimbabwe.
New Zealand: Stephen Fleming (captain), Nathan Astle, Mathew Sinclair, Lou Vincent, Craig McMillan, Chris Harris, Jacob Oram, Adam Parore, Daniel Vettori, Daryl Tuffey, James Franklin, Chris Martin.
Sri Lanka (from): Sanath Jayasuriya, Marvan Atapattu, Russel Arnold, Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakarra, Avishka Gunawardene, Romesh Kaluwitharana, Muttiah Muralitharan, Chaminda Vaas, Nuwan Zoysa, Dilhara Fernando, Aravinda de Silva, Ruchira Perera, Eric Upashantha, Kumar Dharmasena.
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