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CHRISTCHURCH - Returning paceman Shane Bond has offered a spirited defence of New Zealand's rotation policy, insisting the development of a wider squad is essential for his team's World Cup dream.
The 31-year-old right-armer was rested for the first two one-day internationals against Sri Lanka along with Stephen Fleming, but will return to the fray today when the third match begins at Jade Stadium with the series locked up at 1-1.
Speaking after New Zealand explored several ways of losing Sunday's second ODI before snatching a win off the last ball of the game, Bond said he had no problem with a system that was designed for long-term, rather than short-term goals.
"We're looking at building a squad to win the World Cup," he said yesterday. "We need to have 15 players capable of taking a part in winning it.
"Look at Australia in the last World Cup. They lost [Shane] Warne and [Jason] Gillespie and still went on to win the tournament. That's the sort of depth we need to build if we want to be a serious contender."
While Bond is back, Fleming continues to be on gardening leave - ostensibly to allow Daniel Vettori more experience in the captaincy role, and so that coach John Bracewell can run his gaze over other batting contenders.
For all that, the issue seems to be polarising opinion, mainly because of the potential of it impacting adversely on Fleming's form at a critical part of the season, but also because many people see it as unnecessary.
Batsmen aren't exactly the most vulnerable players in a cricket team, and in the case of Fleming, it would be hard to find a more durable campaigner, or someone less likely to pull a hamstring or tear a calf in the field.
However, Bond loyally argued the case for Fleming, saying all players' breaks had been mapped out well in advance, that it was healthy for the individual to get away from the game for a while, and that it was for the greater good.
"Most of the guys sat down with Braces quite a while back to work out when we were going to get rested," said Bond. "I knew my break was coming up a long time ago and so did Stephen. It's been great. I've got a young family so it's probably better for my wife and kids that I have some time at home."
Bond said the most vital element of having players such as himself and Fleming resting was it created chances for fringe players to stake their claims.
"We're trying to do whatever we can to have everyone fit for the end of April so that we've got a chance."
The only way to do that was to give them game time.
Today's showdown will be played on the permanent Jade Stadium block rather than a drop-in, which suggests a far better batting surface than the tricky Queenstown pitch and - by definition - a tougher task for the New Zealand bowlers.
Sri Lanka are set to try a little rotation of their own, resting front-line pacemen Lasith Malinga and Chaminda Vaas for Ruchira Perera and Dilhara Fernando.
THIRD ONE-DAYER
Jade Stadium, Christchurch
Live Sky Sport 1 from 10.30am, today
New Zealand: Daniel Vettori (c), Andre Adams, Nathan Astle, Peter Fulton, Mark Gillespie, Hamish Marshall, James Marshall, Michael Mason, Brendon McCullum, Ross Taylor, Shane Bond, James Franklin.
Sri Lanka: Mahela Jayawardene (c), Marvan Atapattu, Malinga Bandara, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Dilhara Fernando, Sanath Jayasuriya, Chamara Kapugedera, Farveez Maharoof, Lasith Malinga, Muttiah Muralitharan, Ruchira Perera, Kumar Sangakkara, Chamara Silva, Upal Tharanga, Chaminda Vaas.
