Mark Greatbatch vows to keep attacking

The series may be lost but the Black Caps have vowed to keep trying to attack Australia in the dead rubber in Wellington on Saturday.

Reckless batting contributed to yesterday's loss in Eden Park as Australia claimed the series 3-1.

Coach Mark Greatbatch said a review had found the batsmen "doing some good stuff but we're not doing it long enough".

Attack needed to be mixed with smartness given the level of opposition.

"We are trying to get these guys to play as fearlessly as they can against the best in the world which is not always easy. But you have to encourage them to play their best game," Greatbatch said.

"There are going to be some mistakes along the way but if we really want to be as good as we can we actually have to attack the opposition. But you have to do it with smart as well ...that's the test of it all."

Hugely disappointed to lose the ODI series after taking the opening match on the back of the thrilling T20 win in Christchurch, Greatbatch didn't believe his side had gone backwards.

Clearly Australia showed improvement to advance over them though.

"We have competed for periods of time but it hasn't been enough.

"Hopefully you have seen the fight in the players. Obviously our batting is not consistent enough, it needs to be more ruthless. When guys get in they need to finish the job. The guys know that and they have a crack at it tomorrow."

Greatbatch noted the Australians had scored eight 50s and one century to New Zealand's three 50s despite plenty of reasonable starts from the Black Caps batsmen.

"It's pretty tough to win a series with numbers like that."

Honest discussions had emphasised the need for personal responsibilities over improvements.

Offspinner Nathan McCullum is likely to come into the mix for the final.

New Zealand are due to name a 13-man test squad for next week's opening test against Australia with half of that expected to come out of the Plunket Shield play.

- © Fairfax NZ News