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Grant Elliot and Neil Broom celebrate after beating Australia - Source: Photosport -
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"As usual, Stephen Fleming's men were like lentil soup", wrote a Sydney Morning Herald scribe following the Black Caps' 1997/98 ODI tour across the ditch.
"Much better than they looked".
Fast forward a decade and the Aussies could apply the same culinary metaphor to Dan Vettori's seemingly-unappetising mélange of unheralded journeymen, raw youngsters and selectorial hunches, who somehow came within a pedantic umpiring ruling of dealing another crippling blow to the already-listing Australian juggernaut.
That this Black Caps side fell just short of bringing the Chappell-Hadlee trophy back across the ditch speaks less about a lack of ability or application on their part, and more about the experience and admirable resilience of an Australian team in the face of widespread criticism.
Vettori will feel disappointed at having let a 2-0 lead slip, but the Aussies are still a decent team - especially in the batting - and a 2-2 tie on their patch is not to be sniffed at.
The Black Caps can take many positives from this series; the biggest being that they boast a youthful and vibrant ODI side and, with the Aussies due on our shores next summer, there is every chance they will be ordering humble pie to go with that soup.
Player Report Cards
Brendon McCullum. 114 runs @ 22.8. Not an opener. Torn between aggression and stoicism at the top of the order, it's significant that his best innings of the series came down the order in Melbourne where he almost blasted his side to an improbable victory. He is of far greater value - and more nuisance to the opposition - batting at 6 or 7 where he can take the long handle to tiring bowlers with relative impunity. C+
Martin Guptill. 136 runs @ 34. Did well to bounce back from three low scores as the Aussies exploited a weakness against the short ball, making a steady 45 in Adelaide and a sumptuous 64* in Brisbane. Capable of playing shots all around the wicket, his calmness and willingness to play each ball on its merits is seriously impressive for a 22-year-old. B+
Peter Fulton. 95 runs @ 19. Picked for his strong ODI track record against Australia, Fulton looks like man who doesn't know his own game. A lack of footwork and indecisiveness resulted in too many balls hit aerially to be snapped up by infielders. C
Ross Taylor. 195 runs @ 39. A solid series for the man who continues to tease and tantalise in equal measure. Displayed a newfound maturity and a readiness to can the crossbat slogs in steadying knocks in Perth, Melbourne and Adelaide, but still falls prey to brain fades at crucial times in an innings - his disgraceful heave in Brisbane being the latest example. A-
Grant Elliott. 210 runs @ 52.5. Not since Michael Bevan has a player looked so out of his depth at test level yet so comfortable in the 50-over capers, but "Grunter" Elliott's pragmatic approach to batting and ability to pace an innings bear the hallmarks of the great Aussie all-rounder-turned mortgage broker. Added much needed steel to the middle order and has plenty to offer at bowling crease. The best leg-glancer in world cricket, as Bill Lawry wryly observed. A-
Neil Broom. 81 runs @ 20.25. The jury is out on Broom. We know he can hit a long ball, but he's yet to play a big, accelerating innings that has served Otago so well in recent years. His run out of Ponting in Perth was one of the fielding highlights of the summer and set the tone for the series. B
Kyle Mills. 52 runs @ 13, 9 wickets @ 20.33. Fully deserving of his number 4 spot in the ODI bowling rankings. Canny, smart and unerringly accurate, only in Sydney did he concede more than 35 runs in his 10 overs. Struck some lusty blows with the bat, although number 7 does feel one spot too high for him. A-
Daniel Vettori. 15 runs @ 15, 2 wickets @ 93.5. The Aussie batsmen took a noticeably more aggressive approach to Vettori in this series but he adapted well, still only conceding a mere 4.25 an over. Struggled for wickets and contributed nothing with the bat apart from his last-ball four in Perth, but made up for this by comprehensively out-captaining Messrs. Ponting and Clarke. B
Tim Southee. 3 wickets @ 84.33. Still a work in progress. Southee went for 5.62 an over in this series and can become cannon fodder for well-set batsmen when the ball isn't swinging, easing the pressure built up by the other seamers. Now that his surprise factor has worn off he needs to add another dimension to his bowling, be it pace or accuracy. Preferably both. B-
Jeetan Patel. 1 wicket @ 110. Was tidy enough in Perth and Melbourne but got clubbed out of the attack after just three overs in Sydney. Needs to cut the boundary-balls out of his repertoire before Vettori can trust him to bowl his full 10. Still an able understudy to the skipper but his development appears to have stalled somewhat. C+
Iain O'Brien. 10 wickets at 25.3. Newfound blogging fame hasn't distracted New Zealand's most improved cricketer of the past 12 months, whose combative nature and determination have earned him a place in the ODI side. The leading wicket taker for either side, his testing spells in the first two games were key to restricting the Aussies to below-par totals. A
Craig Cumming. A late call-up for the injured Jesse Ryder, Cumming fluffed his one chance, making a duck and dropping a crucial catch in Adelaide. A return to the fringes seems likely for the Otago stalwart. N/A
Brendon Diamanti. A tentative debut at the bowling crease in Brisbane but he looked solid enough with the bat. Will probably have to make way for Styris and Oram, injury-permitting. N/A
Trent Boult. Never likely to feature with the bowling line-up fairly settled, but will have benefited from being part of the set-up. N/A
Gareth Hopkins. The fast-improving Peter McGlashan's call up to the Twenty20 squad suggests that Hopkins' position as McCullum's understudy is tenuous. N/A
Jacob Oram. Another frustrating no-show from the star all-rounder who increasingly makes Shane Bond look like the bionic man. A healthy dose of McCullum's harden-up pills wouldn't go astray. F
Andy Moles. Hands up who misses the Mad Scientist's embarrassing press conference outbursts, incoherent psycho babble and pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey selection policy? Thought not. Moles seems happy to let his captain do the talking and the walking, which is as it should be. A-
Suggested team for India Series
1. Jesse Ryder, 2. Martin Guptill, 3. Ross Taylor, 4. Scott
Styris, 5. Grant Elliott, 6. Neil Broom/Jacob Oram, 7. Brendon
McCullum (wk), 8. Kyle Mills, 9. Daniel Vettori (c), 10 Tim
Southee, 11 Iain O'Brien.
