Cricket: Change sees more of same

Mark Greatbatch, left, and Daniel Vettori. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Results under the Black Caps' new regime show there is limited evidence to suggest the team are performing better.

If anything, the results have continued the usual hit-and-miss expectations with a small spike in 50-over success.

It comes after captain Daniel Vettori took increased responsibility following the demise of Andy Moles.

Mark Greatbatch is often perceived as head coach but is principally responsible for batting, with Shane Jurgensen and Mark O'Donnell in charge of bowling and fielding respectively.

Olympic chef de mission Dave Currie effectively remains in charge of logistics as team manager with Roger Mortimer dealing with players out individual improvement plans.

When Vettori goes on paternity leave at the end of July, Ross Taylor faces a stern challenge taking the team to the sub-continent as a green skipper.

Yet Vettori, our best player, was still not able to command the team to the next level to win key events like the World Twenty20 (with the strongest squad assembled in years), a test against Australia or a series against Pakistan.

Inconsistency was so often the theme. That is hard to explain for a side that claim and appear to prepare thoroughly with staff for every conceivable job in a cricketing environment.

There was the gritty Dunedin test win against Pakistan followed by a collapse for 99 and loss in the second test. That was complemented by the odd decent session matched by batting slumps against Australia.

One-dayers provided the best achievement. They reached the final of the Champion's Trophy, backed by series wins against Pakistan and Bangladesh and a creditable loss to Australia.

In Twenty20, there was an eliminator-over thriller victory against Australia, backed by a stellar start to the World Twenty20 with two practice wins and a smooth passage to the Super Eights. The Black Caps were then dispatched, when it counted, by South Africa and England.

The squad now has a couple of months off international duty with some taking up lucrative short-term contracts in the English Twenty20 competition.

After that there is a regular diet of sub-continent cricket with tours to Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, India and then a potential return to all three venues for the World Cup in February.

Questions remain: Can Brendon McCullum restrain his cavalier approach to test batting, especially in the first innings, and transform into one of the country's best top order batsmen?

Can Martin Crowe pass on his huge knowledge of batting time in tests to make a genuine difference?

When will New Zealand find a long term boost to the pace bowling stocks (outside of Tim Southee) with Kyle Mills, Chris Martin and Daryl Tuffey all on the wrong side of 30? When will Kane Williamson be introduced?

The Twenty20 batting also needs addressing. The top score of any player in the West Indies was 44 with a host of whiz-bang shots, yet Sri Lanka's Mahela Jayawardene was able to score the most runs at the tournament at a strike rate just under 160, playing largely conventional strokes.

Besides the World Cup, the series to gauge the Black Caps' place in world cricket is the Indian test tour in November. New Zealand have won just two of 26 tests there in eight series.

The results of those events will determine if yet another regime is introduced next year.