Cricket: Black Caps just hanging on

As the Black Caps had their bootlaces removed as a precautionary measure in the dressing room early yesterday morning, it was another chance to reflect on a management structure that has failed to bring out the team's best.

The Bracewell regime came to a shaky end; the Moles reign surrendered meekly; and serious questions continue to be asked of the Roger Mortimer/Mark Greatbatch/Daniel Vettori conglomerate.

A blip of hope emerged in the Indian test series but that has since been forgotten as New Zealand's second worst one-day international losing streak of 11 edges towards the 13 which fans endured from April 1994-January 1995.

The futile displays in the World Cup-hosting countries of Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and India are compounded by the fact that - Jesse Ryder and Jacob Oram aside - these are the best New Zealand players.

The strength of India, albeit a weakened top side, has to be acknowledged, as does the ongoing development of Bangladesh. But that can't fully justify the recent capitulations.

The current Black Caps management structure works on the principle that performance director Roger Mortimer recruits specialists to help the players. He brings them into camp to work alongside incumbent coaches Mark Greatbatch (batting), Shane Jurgensen (bowling) and Mark O'Donnell (fielding).

That is how former England coach Duncan Fletcher was brought in to assess the team on an 'all care, no responsibility' basis for the most recent one-day series. Fletcher was initially approached but could not make it for the test segment of the tour.

Former Indian coach John Wright was scouted out by Vettori in Fletcher's absence but is believed to have turned down the opportunity on the basis that, if he ever takes the team, it will be on his terms. That response was understandable given the approach came after the 4-0 one-day loss to Bangladesh.

However, Wright's interest was piqued until he rang his former Black Caps team-mate Greatbatch to discuss it. A source told the Herald on Sunday that is when he realised the current batting coach knew nothing of the move and got quite a shock when he realised he'd been kept out of the loop.

Heightening the tricky situation for Wright was the fact the team had given themselves less than a week to fly to Ahmedabad and settle in before the first test, with no planned practice games to acclimatise. Fortunately the test was drawn, otherwise the current public wrath against the side would probably be more acerbic.

Fletcher's assessment of the team is understood to be that they have the right systems in place but need senior players (the likes of Ross Taylor, Scott Styris and Brendon McCullum) to produce match-winning performances more regularly.

He is also considered to have shown sympathy with the Black Caps being sent on their third tour of the subcontinent in four months. But these responses are predictable; he was hardly going to critique the practice of bringing in independent consultants.

Mortimer was also responsible for getting the team extra practice on turning wickets in Brisbane between June and August in preparation for the gruelling schedule. All but Ross Taylor and Brendon McCullum attended those camps at some stage.

Regardless of that practice and the new-found ability to recognise a doosra under the mentoring of ex-Pakistan international Saqlain Mushtaq earlier in the year, it did little good. Apart from a handful of batsmen, most of the team struggles against spin. It's perhaps lucky the first two test pitches were docile.

Despite the best intentions, the team has lost the hunger to win. That is what spending the better part of the last four months on the subcontinent can do. Some argue the players spend too much time getting pampered in five-star hotels compared to the gastro-enteritis hardship of old India.

The reality is boredom can still numb players when they're constantly subjected to modern security and sterile surrounds. To make matters worse, a number - at least half of the 11 who took the field in the fifth one-dayer for example - have young families, the captain being a key example.

Why would Vettori want to be playing just another one-dayer in Chennai when he could be back home with his wife and two children?

The reality is the team needs Vettori to be in charge beyond the World Cup. No-one else is mentally ready. Vettori's reign might at best be remembered as one of transition and development but he still handles the pressures of the job with aplomb.

He loses with dignity, somehow always mustering a few pithy, rational lines as to how and why the latest escapade went wrong. Maybe he should erupt every so often?

The real Vettori quibble comes with his place as a selector. Some in New Zealand Cricket circles argue the media overplays his responsibilities because they really only consist of captaining and selecting the team.

But others claim that while the status quo could remain until the World Cup, the lessons should be that having members of the touring squad selecting, rather than just consulting, creates a conflict of interest. It puts pressure on friendships when independence would be preferable.

The only real spark in the one-day series was the total of 315 for seven in the fourth match where the Black Caps gave themselves a genuine chance of winning. The shame of it is the series was over before that spirit was generated.