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Pakistan's Younis Khan bats with Brendon McCullum looking on - Source: Reuters -
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It may seem absurd considering that they almost contrived to lose the most unloseable of matches, but the Black Caps' series-clinching win over Pakistan showed plenty of character.
Firstly to stick to their guns when the Pakistani openers looked like coasting to victory; and secondly to hold their nerve when the final pair were calmly stroking the ball around like ex-County pros at a Sunday league match.
An away series victory - especially one on such unfamiliar turf - is rare and something to be celebrated, and it clearly was by the jubilant New Zealanders.
And even if the series was meaningless in itself, it will give the Black Caps heart ahead of the first Test against the same opposition beginning in a fortnight.
What all three games once again highlighed, though, are the two serious issues Vettori's men must address ahead of the home summer.
The first is that the batsmen have no idea how to pace an innings; the second is that the bowlers look woefully short of ammunition once the shine has left the ball.
And Pakistan's slow bowlers will have observed with interest how many Black Caps batsmen perished playing around their pad and closing the face of the bat, especially as New Zealand pitches typically reward bowlers who are prepared to take the pace off the ball.
Brendon McCullum - 3 matches, 228 runs at 76, strike rate
97.4
McCullum's blazing century in game two - the first of his 163-game
career against Test match opposition - was either going to be a
breakthrough or a false dawn. Even more encouragingly, he backed it
up with a sparkling 76; just the third time he'd recorded
back-to-back 50 scores. More of the same please, Baz.
Grade: A
Aaron Redmond - 3 matches, 79 runs at 26.3, SR 61.2
Did what he was asked to do, playing a support role for McCullum
without ever really catching the eye. Will lose his opening spot
when Jesse Ryder returns from injury but he's a handy enough player
to deserve a place in the ODI squad.
Grade: B
Martin Guptill - 3 matches, 74 runs at 24.7, SR 74. HS
62
A mixed bag for Guptill - undone by a beauty in game one and by a
soft leading edge in game three, he combined beautifully with
McCullum to set up the innings and spark New Zealand's series
comeback in game two.
Grade: B
Ross Taylor - 3 matches, 44 runs at 14.7, SR 57.9
Taylor had a series to forget. Fired out without scoring before
even getting a sighter in his first two games, he then made his way
responsibly to 44 in the third game only to perish at a highly
inopportune time, again playing across the line. Needs to find more
runscoring avenues off the spinners.
Grade: C
Scott Styris - 3 matches, 28 runs at 9.3, SR 57.1. 3 wickets
7.7, economy rate 5.8
It wasn't a good look for Styris to urge his senior teammates to
stand up only to get himself run out twice in three innings, even
if the second wasn't his fault. Aside from a surprising four-over
burst from the ball he looks a long way off his former glories, and
one has to wonder whether his heart is fully in it anymore.
Grade: C
Daniel Vettori - 3 matches, 83 runs at 27.7, SR 90.2. 5
wickets at 22.6, ER 3.8
Didn't top the batting charts for once (he was second). Did top the
bowling charts, which is where he really made the difference,
stifling Pakistan's batsmen effectively in the last two games.
Forget the debate over whether he's the Richie McCaw or Dan Carter
of New Zealand cricket - he's both.
Grade: A
Neil Broom - 2 matches, 0 runs
Twice up for two strike outs. Vettori's elevation into the top six
has the unfortunate consequence of pushing a batsman down to 7, and
it's hard to see what Broom offers there that an all-rounder like
Franklin wouldn't.
Grade: C.
Jacob Oram - 3 matches, 44 runs at 22, SR 68.8. 4 wickets at
23.3, ER 3.7
Hard to see how pushing Oram down to 8 in the batting order will do
much for his confidence, although his steadying 33 not out in game
two was encouraging. As was his tight, nerveless bowling in game
three, which finally induced a fatal false shot to give the Black
Caps their victory in the final over.
Grade: B
Kyle Mills - 2 matches, 3 wickets at 39.7, ER 5.9
The world's number one ODI bowler was strangely off-colour in this
series, perhaps guilty of trying too hard on a wicket that didn't
offer much assistance to the fast bowlers, although he did bowl
without a lot of luck in game three.
Grade: C
Shane Bond - 3 matches, 4 wickets at 37.5, ER 5.1
It was sad to see Bond struggling to land the killer blow against
Pakistan's tailenders in game three, but he's still coming back up
to speed after a long international layoff. Will be better off for
each game he gets under his belt.
Grade: B-
Tim Southee - 3 matches, 4 wickets at 32, ER 4.6
Southee enjoyed the best return of the three quicks and a smooth
reintroduction to the team after a long time out of the side. Was
instrumental in unravelling Pakistan's middle order in the series
decider and as usual, showed impressive calmness for such a young
man.
Grade: B
Ian Butler - 1 game, 1 wicket at 57, ER 7.71
Dropped after taking a pounding from Afridi and co in the first
game.
Nathan McCullum - 1 game, no wickets for 29 runs, ER
9.7
See above; except that there retrospectively was a decent case to
play McCullum in the third game, given how well Pakistan's spinners
made use of the wearing wicket.
