Cricket: Cunning plan to settle Mills' jitters

By RICHARD BOOCK

New Zealand are set to turn to former All Black great Grant Fox in a bid to help death bowler Kyle Mills with his last-over jitters.

Mills frayed the nerves of his team-mates in the third and fifth one-dayers when he conceded 21 and 25 runs in the final overs, and on both occasions needed to survive a last-ball showdown before New Zealand were able to secure the game.

The theory is that Fox, the master goal-kicker during the 1980s and 90s, could assist Mills to cope with the pressure faced in last-ditch situations and could talk to him about the methodology required to be successful in the clutch.

The immediate thought is of Mills measuring up his next run-up with 18 deliberate steps backwards, shaking the tension from his fingers at the end of his mark, and possibly taking 23 minutes to complete an over.

But coach John Bracewell emphasised yesterday that the plan was to provide information for his players and that he was more than satisfied with Mills' efforts so far, despite the hiccups at Wellington and Auckland.

Bracewell said that Mills, who might be rested for today's series finale against South Africa at McLean Park, was being criticised by some for his largesse at the death, when he had, in fact, won the fifth match for New Zealand with his penultimate over.

Mills made South Africa's challenge much more difficult on Sunday when he bowled a brilliant 27th over, conceding just four runs and frustrating the in-form pair of Jacques Kallis and Mark Boucher.

"I think the damage in both games was done prior to the last over. Kyle just happened to entertain us, tease us a bit," said Bracewell.

"He actually strung together eight terrific balls in a row, at Auckland 9, then slipped, let go a full toss, and he suffered from a bit of self-doubt."

The New Zealand coach stood by Mills as a death option, saying he was one of the few volunteers for the role.

"I haven't changed my mind about him. It's all about coping and it's my job to help him cope."

Bracewell said the idea of approaching Fox came from manager Lindsay Crocker and that Mills had already been working on "coping strategies" with team shrink Gilbert Enoka.

"There are times when you've just got to nail it. You might have just run all over the place, but it's the last kick and it's sink-or-swim time. It's nice to read about it in a book but how do real people do it, and how do they do it time and time again?

"We'll investigate those sort of things."

Meanwhile, Chris Harris, man of the match at Auckland on Sunday, will retain his place in today's line-up after New Zealand released batsman Craig McMillan, who has returned home to be with his wife for the birth of their first child.

Up 4-1 in the six-match series, the New Zealanders are especially keen to end on a high note, as a 5-1 margin would push them from seventh to third place on the world rankings.