KEY POINTS:
Daniel Vettori has averaged more than 50 in the home summer and has averaged 44.6 over the past three years.
Those are figures a No 4 would be proud of, let alone a No 8 whose primary jobs are to captain the side and take wickets.
But despite
the gaudy numbers - which included a face-saving 48 in New Zealand's first innings of 277 - don't expect him to follow the lead of Brendon McCullum and promote himself up the order.
"The call with Brendon was the right one," said allrounder Jacob Oram, who would probably drop down one should Vettori be elevated. "But the thing with Dan is he's quite comfortable where he is.
"We've talked about it informally but I think he's pretty comfortable where he is and he does a really good role where he is as well.
"I know there doesn't sound a lot of difference between eight and seven, or eight to six, but he's in bit of a niche for us and his numbers suggest he does a damn good job for us there and guys just need to bat around him a bit more.
"It's nice to have him coming in at No 8 and doing his thing with the lower order."
The knives will be out for New Zealand's much-maligned top six but for the time being the weapons should stay sheathed. The batsmen deserve the benefit of the doubt after a disappointing opening to the series following on from a largely disappointing home series, but will need to dispel the scepticism quickly.
Without wanting to state the obvious, 5-104, as they were in the first innings, will not provide the platform to win tests, though it will lose plenty.
There's a chance it won't lose this one - overnight events and weather will dictate that to a large extent - but the top order must quickly take some of the responsibility for scoring out of the hands of McCullum and Vettori.
Unquestionably, the dice haven't fallen in New Zealand's favour. With such an inexperienced and fragile top six to call on, the last thing Vettori wanted to see when he drew his curtains on Thursday morning was London blanketed in gloom. Let's re-phrase that; the last thing he wanted to see was London blanketed in gloom allied to a shiny 50p coin landing the opposite way to which he called - an ugly double whammy.
When the ball is nipping around and contradicting the laws of physics by jagging up the famous slope, Lord's is a test for the world's best, let alone a bunch of greenhorns.
Crease occupation appeared to be the game plan, and an admirable one at that. However, with gloaming forecast for the first three days, and therefore no relief from the moving ball even as it got older, you had to wonder whether Ross Taylor and Brendon McCullum's more cavalier approach would have paid a better dividend. Judging by Taylor's awkward attempt to wrest initiative from the bowlers, quite possibly not.
But when a powerful hitter like Jacob Oram bats for two-and-a-half hours and rarely finds the middle of the bat, it is reasonable to ask the question as to whether a more positive approach was required.
Aaron Redmond, the debutant, got a good one from James Anderson before he had the opportunity to work away a bad one. That left him, surely, as the only player to score 107 runs less than his father in their respective first innings in tests.
Jamie How also got a good 'un. For all his undoubted progress over the past six months, particularly in one-day cricket, and his seniority within the team, How had passed 50 just once going into his 18th test innings - back in the first innings of the first test at Hamilton.
There was plenty to admire about James Marshall's application, though he was lucky to survive a no-ball caught behind and his prod was probably the lamest of the dismissals outside of Taylor's.
Daniel Flynn, on debut, can consider himself unlucky as his pants appeared to drag a ball back on to the stumps.
McCullum was, well, McCullum and his elevation up the order has probably been overdue. He will not, however, come off every time. Neither will Vettori, whether he continues to be employed at No 8, or at No 6 rather than the untested Flynn.
Regardless of those permutations, the fact is somebody else needs to make a name for himself in England, like the way Taylor threatened to during the home series - otherwise that clinking sound will be that of a steel blade on sharpener.
