Vettori likely at No 6, Elliott left out

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New Zealand cricket's man for all occasions added another responsibility to his portfolio today - Daniel Vettori has promoted himself up a creaking batting order for the third and final test against Pakistan.

The captain and selector will fill the genuine allrounder's batting berth at No 6 for the series decider here at McLean Park tomorrow, as New Zealand field a bowler-dominant line-up against opponents plagued by their own batting inadequacies.

Sensing the quick bowlers could benefit even more from an unusually sporting wicket, Vettori all but confirmed Tim Southee would complement the standard three-pronged seam attack of Chris Martin, Iain O'Brien and Daryl Tuffey.

New Zealand forecast a change from the four-bowler strategy philosophy used in Dunedin and Wellington when confirming Daniel Flynn and Grant Elliott were vying for one middle order berth.

With an extra bowler - Southee or offspinner Jeetan Patel - Elliott's rarely-used medium pace becomes redundant so a struggling Flynn seems assured of resettling from first drop to No 5.

Vettori, New Zealand's top scorer in the series with 99 in Dunedin, has batted at No 6 in only four of his 96 tests, though given the home side's top and middle order issues the skipper has invariably batted earlier than expected.

"I'm excited about it in some ways and a little bit nervous as well.

"Once you bat six, the expectations are different," he said, though Vettori is endlessly tasked with initiating a batting revival.

In seven tests this year, Vettori averages 53.75 and has scored centuries in Hamilton and Colombo, matching the ton tallies of Ross Taylor and Jesse Ryder.

Test cricket's most prolific run scorer at No 8, Vettori first batted two spots higher against Sri Lanka in 1997; he did so most recently against the same opposition in Galle four months ago, though only because illness prompted a reshuffle.

Vettori has also batted at No 6 in his last four ODIs but at test level he suggested it might only be a short-term option.

"It depends on what the team needs at the time. If Elliott and (Jesse) Ryder are fully fit and in the side, it gives you a nice complement of overs."

Consistent batting remains the holy grail for both sides, with New Zealand's series opening innings of 429 in Dunedin still the benchmark.

Napier can normally be relied upon to offer a struggling batsman relief, though turf manager Phil Stoyanoff has produced a wicket to encourage the quicks.

"Phil wants it to be a touch livelier than it has been in the past. We've played on wickets here that favour the batsmen, the balance will be a lot more even in this test match," Vettori said.

New Zealand produced four centurions in last summer's Napier tests against the West Indies and Pakistan - Tim McIntosh, Ross Taylor, Ryder and Brendon McCullum.

McIntosh, who averages 9.25 against Pakistan, and McCullum, who has tailed off since his 78 in Dunedin, are most in need of a repeat performance, while Flynn and Martin Guptill also crave some big numbers.

Vettori denied this test may be the last chance for some of his run-starved strokemakers.

"You want to give guys extended opportunities to prove themselves and this is just another one, you just hope they go out there and grab it and relieve pressure off themselves," Vettori said.

Pakistan are likely to make one change to a batting unit reliant on Mohammad Yousuf and the Akmal brothers, Umar and Kamran, with Shoaib Malik likely to make way for Faisal Iqbal.

Although his side's batting has been patchy, Yousuf was confident his seam attack of Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Aamer and Umar Gul would prevent New Zealand scoring heavily, regardless of whether their catching improved.

Pakistan blamed the cold and wind for their dozen catching lapses in the first two tests. There should be no weather-related excuses here with fine weather forecast.

New Zealand are seeking their first series win over a major test playing nation since beating the West Indies in 2006, and their first ever win in Napier at the ninth attempt. Pakistan's last series triumph was also celebrated at the West Indies expense later that year.

For his part Stoyanoff expected a result on or before Tuesday "because both sides have such bad batsmen".

- NZPA