Cricket: Bracewell to give the 'three musketeers' another shot

John Bracewell

John Bracewell has offered a vote of confidence to his inexperienced top-order batsmen, but has stopped short of offering them a guarantee for the remainder of the series.

The New Zealand coach yesterday confirmed the retention of Hamish Marshall, Jamie How and Peter Fulton in an unchanged squad for the second test against the West Indies, saying their tentative start at Eden Park last week had been understandable.

The three musketeers perished inside the first 90 minutes in the first innings and, although proving slightly more effective in the second, were all defeated within the first 26 overs, leaving the middle order exposed.

The selection gamble had been one of the talking points heading into the series after Bracewell and fellow selectors Glenn Turner, Dion Nash and Sir Richard Hadlee courted controversy by axing incumbent Lou Vincent.

But when Bracewell arrived in Wellington yesterday, he confirmed his intention to persevere with the same trio, while emphasising that nothing long-term had been decided and that no guarantees had been offered.

"I can't speak for all the selectors but we've decided to continue with that combination for the [second] test, and that's all we're concerned with right now," he said.

Bracewell said it wasn't a great surprise that Marshall, as well as How and Fulton, had found the adjustment difficult at Eden Park, given the tension around the game, the need to do well, and the glut of recent one-day cricket.

"He [Marshall] was slightly tentative, as were the other two - and as were all our batters on that wicket," he said. "Losing the toss, the anxiety of test cricket, the desire to perform - I think some would've fallen into all those categories."

Neither was he surprised that his team found the transition from the shorter game to five-dayers a problem, given the fact they'd played 22 ODIs over the past seven months without break, and had almost forgotten was test cricket was all about.

"Hopefully we've shaken that out of our system and we're now back to the business of winning sessions. I think they tried to lock out the one-day approach but there was a bit of residue left over. It's unfair to saddle all of them with that; one or two individuals struggled with the transition, but not everyone."

Like New Zealand skipper Stephen Fleming, Bracewell said he felt the pressure as the opening test ebbed and flowed, and carried him through the full gamut of emotions. "Everyone was pretty tight," he said. "We hadn't played a test for a while and there was a high expectation on us to perform, and I think that seven-month gap made things quite difficult."

On another note, Bracewell said the remarkable one-dayer between South Africa and Australia at the weekend demonstrated that cricket, like all other sports, was evolving and breaking down barriers that were previously seen as untouchable.

Australia had no sooner set the world record total than South Africa eclipsed it, in what's now being called the "greatest ever game".

"It's the Roger Bannister thing; once the barrier's broken away you all go," said Bracewell, when asked if he thought 500 was now a reality. "Everything's faster, more entertaining; there's less fear, more games, and the consequences of losing are not so great."

As for Australian Mick Lewis breaking Martin Snedden's record for the most expensive spell in history, Bracewell suggested the news would have come as a blow to the NZC boss.

"He's a little disappointed because it takes 20 minutes out of his speeches," Bracewell said. "Who wants to be second in the world?"

THE SQUAD

Nathan Astle, Shane Bond, Stephen Fleming (c), Peter Fulton, James Franklin, Jamie How, Brendon McCullum, Hamish Marshall, Chris Martin, Kyle Mills, Jeetan Patel, Scott Styris, Daniel Vettori.