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Daniel Vettori thinks it over - Source: Photosport -
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Brendon McCullum: 5 matches, 154 runs at 30.8, strike rate 89.5
Lots of explosive starts - he made it past 20 in each of the
first four games - but as his series average suggests, he was one
of the key culprits for his side's inability to bat out the 50
overs. Granted, he didn't get much support from his top order
colleagues and the Australian bowlers didn't feed his strengths as
much as they did during his Twenty20 century. Should be allowed to
ditch the gloves in this form of the game for the time being as
Gareth Hopkins is worth his place down the order.
Grade: B
Peter Ingram: 3 matches, 59 runs at 19.7, SR 86.8
Many doubted Ingram's ability to cope with Australia's pace
bowlers after twin failures in the Twenty20s. He bashed his way to
40 in the series opener before his awkward footwork and
indecisiveness again thwarted him in games two and three. Was sent
back to domestic cricket and made scores of 3 and 59 for Central
but if he doesn't have the technique to score runs against the
Aussies in ODIs, he will find the Tests even harder going.
Grade: C-
Martin Guptill: 5 matches, 85 runs at 17, SR 66.4
Has the same problem with soft dismissals as his vice-captain,
except that his tend to come after brief cameos as opposed to
Taylor's more meaningful stays. Guptill's strength is also his
weakness - hit a couple of balls to the fence he can't help but try
again, often aerially, and that's where Ponting's shrewd placings
caught Guptill out. It's fine to hit the ball in the air, as
McCullum does, provided you know exactly where the fielders are at
all times. Guptill certainly did not in this series.
Grade: C
Ross Taylor: 4 matches, 177 runs at 44.3, SR 77.3
Don't be fooled by the statistics. An impressive captaincy debut
aside, Taylor won't look back on this series with any pride. Three
years ago at Eden Park his century against Australia made him a
hero - this series his appalling modes of dismissal crippled his
team's momentum in each of the final three games and took the
lustre off his authoritative strokeplay. Time to pull your head in,
Rosco.
Grade: B-
Neil Broom: 3 matches, 43 runs at 14.3, SR 66.2
So often looks on the verge of playing his breakthough ODI
innings yet conspires to get himself out, through a mixture of bad
luck and bad batting. But an average of 17 after 22 games suggests
he has had enough chances and failed to take them. Ironically, had
he been plundering Plunket Shield runs for Otago, he would be
pushing for a spot in the Test XI. Instead he was retained in the
ODI team for this series, couldn't make an impression and
subsequently makes way for Mathew Sinclair as the back-up
batsman.
Grade: C
Shanan Stewart: 2 matches. 10 runs at 5, SR 62.5
Deserved a chance after displaying irresistible form for
Canterbury. But so do the likes of Kane Williamson, and it's the
latter who resembles a safer long-term bet in the national side
than yet another middle-order journeyman.
Grade: C
Scott Styris: 5 matches, 199 runs at 49.75, SR 87.3
Should never have been out of the side in the first place.
Styris is New Zealand's only batsman capable of properly pacing an
innings through the middle overs and was more economical than most
of his pace-bowling colleagues with his part time mediums. Puts a
high value on his wicket and plays without fear of the opposition:
two valuable commodities amongst this current batch of Black
Caps.
Grade: A
James Franklin: 3 matches, 24 runs at 8, SR 38.7. 3 wickets at 35, economy rate 6.4
Has used up a few of his cricketing lives in the past year.
Franklin looked stifled at the batting crease, as if his elevation
up the order placed some unseen burden upon his shoulders, and
Australia's batsmen's were waiting for his largely-innocuous medium
pacers. Isn't good enough to hold down a place as a batsman or a
bowler at present.
Grade: C-
Gareth Hopkins: 4 matches, 126 runs at 31.50, SR 84
In four matches, Hopkins came in to bat with his team five down for 89, 146, 152 and 153 respectively. Each was a thankless rescue task that he approached with calmness and confidence. Only McCullum has a wider array of trick shots in his bag and for a little man he can hit the ball with tremendous force, but is just as adept at nudging the ball into gaps. Glovework wasn't quite up to scratch but all in all, this was probably his best series in black. Grade: B
Dan Vettori: 4 matches, 110 runs at 27.5, SR 101.9. 6 wickets at 24.5, ER 3.9
Came so close to taking New Zealand two-nil up with a
scintillating 70 at Eden Park but he'll rue his eventual dismissal,
as he will his run out in Hamilton and poor shot in Wellington that
saw his downfall. The Aussies were typically watchful of him at the
bowling crease but he still prised out six wickets at a good
average. Vettori has become increasingly prickly at press
conferences lately; perhaps a sign of a man with too much on his
plate?
Grade: B
Daryl Tuffey: 4 matches, 102 runs at 25.5, SR 120. 4 wickets at 50.25, ER 6.3
New Zealand's form tail ender at the moment? Tuffey continued
where he left off in the Pakistan Test with some powerful late
order hitting that ultimately proved the difference in the final
match. Less impressive was his bowling, where his metronomic
accuracy deserted him for much of the series. Taking just one
wicket in his last three games won't fill him with confidence ahead
of a tough assignment in the Tests.
Grade: B-
Shane Bond: 5 matches, 9 wickets at 21, ER 4.4
Did we expect anything less from Bond against his bunny team?
Perhaps he didn't rip through the top order as we have so often see
him do against Australia, but his second and third spells were as
testing and controlled as the first. And he bowled more overs than
any of his colleagues without a hint of stress on his body - though
it will be his cool and casual boundary-hitting in a thrilling
finale in Napier which will probably give him the most
pleasure.
Grade: A
Tim Southee: 5 matches, 6 wickets at 42.8, ER 6.1
Dramatically improved his stats with a four-fer in the final
match. Was always going to be targeted by the Aussies after his
superb death bowling in their Twenty20 win and was unable to find
that yorker length as consistently in the 50-over game. But he has
picked up his pace and the more matches he plays alongside Shane
Bond the more he will improve as a cricketer.
Grade: C
Michael Mason: 1 match, 1 wicket at 68, ER 6.8.
A wonderful servant of Central Districts cricket who, sadly, again found the step up to international cricket to be a daunting one. But Mason certainly wasn't the only Black Caps bowler to suffer in the face of a dominant Aussie batting effort in Hamilton.
Nathan McCullum: 1 match, 17 runs. 1 wicket at 31, ER 3.9
Wasn't even picked until the dead rubber, whereupon he reminded the selectors of his all-round quality by adding valuable lower order runs with Hopkins and Tuffey, bowling eight overs of tidy change-ups and patrolling the field with the same menacing presence as his brother. Needs to be picked in the ODI team more often.
Jacob Oram: 1 match, DNB, 1 wicket for 29, ER 4.1
A freak knee injury ended his participation before he had a chance to swing the bat in anger. Purely an unlucky injury this time, but with Styris back in the frame and Jesse Ryder slowly returning to full health, Oram's long-term future now looks far from secure.
