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New Zealand's bowlers have had on and off days this summer, but they can't be accused of tossing away freebies to their opponents.
The New Zealand bowling contingent have been stingy in the extreme since the start of the West Indies ODIs in gifting free runs through wides
and no balls.
And it hasn't come about by accident. Discipline, planning and good technique have all contributed to produce a startling comparison between their form with the ball and the form of their opponents.
In the course of 11 games - ODIs plus one Twenty20 against Australia - New Zealand averaged a remarkable one wide for every 16.1 overs they bowled, compared with one every five overs bowled by the opposition in the same period.
In the course of 404 overs, just three no balls were sent down - two by fast-medium Tim Southee and one by captain Dan Vettori.
Their opponents' no ball rate was reasonably good too - six out of 363.5 overs - but the wides were a significant contributor to Zealand's totals.
Another important point was that New Zealand's wides were inexpensive; that is, they rarely cost more than the one run. Of the 25, a total of 29 runs were racked up, the extra four coming from balls wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum was unable to gather cleanly.
By contrast, Australia and the West Indies' 63 wides cost a whopping 90 runs altogether.
The wide "culprits" for New Zealand have been Southee (six), Grant Elliott, Kyle Mills and Mark Gillespie (four each), Jeetan Patel and Iain O'Brien (two), Ian Butler, Jacob Oram and Vettori (one).
New Zealand bowling coach Shane Jurgensen puts the parsimonious performance down to several factors. Luck is not among them.
Wide lines are painted on the practice pitches and special attention is paid to bowlers' run ups.
"That is certainly something we can control as a bowling group," he said yesterday. "We've been aiming to train with really good specifics, ensuring our runups are good, with rhythm and balance, so by the time you get to the crease you're in the best possible position to execute."
Giving away piles of wides and no balls also won't endear the bowlers to their batsmen. It's akin to handing the opposition another batsman.
The most no balls bowled in an ODI innings was 20 by Pakistan, at Karachi in 2004 against India. The result? India 349 for seven beat Pakistan 344 for eight by five runs.
The biggest concession of wides in an ODI was 37 by the West Indies against Pakistan at Brisbane in 1989.
On 87 occasions, teams have bowled 20 or more wides, Pakistan (16), the West Indies (13) and India (12) being the worst offenders. New Zealand? Never.
Jurgensen is a former Western Australian, Tasmanian and Queensland fast-medium bowler, who took 11 wickets in back-to-back Pura Cup games, including the 2001-02 final for Tasmania against Queensland. He knows the value of discipline in areas the bowlers are aiming to hit.
The 32-year-old Brisbane-born Jurgensen, who is married to a New Zealander, joined the coaching setup when Andy Moles took charge for the West Indies visit. He likes what he's seen from the bowlers and described the wide and no ball statistics as "outstanding".
"With no balls, the guys have been really good. There's no no balls at practice and that comes through in games."
Jurgensen reckons the statistics tell another story, too.
"If you're not handling the pressure well, then all of sudden the wickets look about six inches wide, so we are certainly hitting our lines that are in our plans. Dan has specific plans he wants to follow, therefore you have direction, and when you've got that, all of a sudden it distracts you from pressure and outside influences and focuses on that ball, that moment."
THE EXTRA DETAILS
Sample: 11 games, 5 ODIs v West Indies, 5 ODIs v Australia, 1 Twenty20 v Australia.
New Zealand: 404 overs, 25 wides delivered, 3 no balls. Average: 1 wide every 16.1 overs.
West Indies/Australia combined: 363.5 overs, 63 wides delivered, 6 no balls. Average: 1 wide every 5.5 overs.
