Guest post: Depth put to the test

BY MARC ELLISON

Given the lack of media coverage, it is fair to point out that New Zealand has, somehow, generated a substantial amount of depth in the last 12-24 months.

Looking at the likely XI to play Australia in the third ODI in Hamilton on Tuesday – McCullum, Ingram, Guptill, Styris, Stewart, Broom, Hopkins, Vettori, Tuffey, Bond, Southee – New Zealand are without injured front-line players such as Jesse Ryder, Ross Taylor, Grant Elliott, James Franklin, Jacob Oram, Ian Butler and Kyle Mills.

Even without this list of seven players, you look at the domestic scene and who is producing consistent performances and you can add names such as BJ Watling, Rob Nicol, Aaron Redmond, Kane Williamson, Nathan McCullum, Chris Martin, Michael Mason and Brent Arnel to the list of New Zealand possibles.

Former New Zealand internationals Jamie How, Michael Papps, Craig Cumming, Matthew Sinclair, Peter Fulton and Ewen Thompson continue to produce the goods at domestic level.

While some of you may well say, 'oh not those guys again,' surely the time away from the international scene has given them a chance to reassess their game and take a look at their mental approach.

Maturity can change a player markedly. We only have to look as far back as Mark Richardson to see evidence of that.

New Zealand has a golden opportunity to take a series win against Australia and it seems as though injury worries could well be the only thing to deny them that.

Without a doubt, Brendon McCullum is the key, particularly with the loss of Taylor for game three, and Martin Guptill must push on from another one of his many starts if the Black Caps are to threaten Australia. With those two more-established players to provide the bulk of the scoring, the onus is on Scott Styris to anchor the chase and hope they receive cameos throughout the order from Ingram, Stewart, Broom and Hopkins.

The bowling unit remains strong and have done pretty well to restrict Australia to 270 in both of the first two matches, particularly on such small grounds. Vettori and Bond continue to remain our strike weapons and if they can have their usual effect in Hamilton we can quickly get back to a lead in the series with two to play.

Whatever happens in the next few matches of the Chappell-Hadlee series, one thing is for sure, our depth will be put to the test, especially with the World Twenty20 in mind, which gets underway in the West Indies on April 30. Will Jesse Ryder be fit in time? What kind of team will New Zealand field with all the injuries worries that we are presently facing?

Marc Ellison’s top 30 one-day players in the country: Brendon McCullum, BJ Watling, Jamie How, Peter Ingram, Aaron Redmond, Jesse Ryder, Martin Guptill, Ross Taylor, Kane Williamson, Neil Broom, Shanan Stewart, James Franklin, Scott Styris, Jacob Oram, Grant Elliott, Colin de Grandhomme, Gareth Hopkins, Reece Young, Daniel Vettori, Nathan McCullum, Jeetan Patel, Ian Butler, Daryl Tuffey, Kyle Mills, Shane Bond, Tim Southee, Chris Martin, Andy McKay, Michael Mason, Michael Bates.

Marc Ellison writes for twenty20.co.nz