KEY POINTS:
Craig McMillan yesterday lifted the lid on the stark realities of professional sport, revealing he was toying with a career as a salesman before being resurrected by the New Zealand selectors.
The 30-year-old Canterbury right-hander, who was dropped last summer and seemed on the verge of being deserted by coach John Bracewell, was recalled this week for both tomorrow's one-dayer against Sri Lanka at Eden Park, and the upcoming tri-series in Australia.
To say he was a tad relieved is to suggest Dr Livingstone was moderately pleased to stray across the path of Henry Stanley.
"I went on a couple of job interviews which, luckily enough, I didn't manage to land," he said yesterday.
"It was an interesting experience being so far out of my comfort zone; having to sit before two or three people and be questioned about things that I couldn't possibly answer - because I hadn't been in the workforce or that sort of situation before.
"I was going to be a salesman. I did a couple of different courses and applied for a couple of things I thought I might like; did a couple of interviews.
"I guess when something hits you that hard you have to start thinking ahead and that's what I did."
McMillan has been drafted back into the side to play a specific role as an end-of-inning specialist; filling the vacancy created by the promotion of wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum.
He is enthusiastic about the assignment, believing the experience of 176 ODIs and a decade of international cricket will stand him in good stead for what he considers a match-influencing role with the bat.
New assignments are nothing new for McMillan. He was used as an experimental No 3 in the 1999 World Cup and found himself offered as an occasional opener in the most recent tournament, in South Africa in 2003.
"I suppose people have seen me as role-player," he said. "Mentally, it just comes down to being flexible enough to adapt to the challenges thrown down; it's not about batting as a number anymore, it's more to do with the situation that you face on any given day.
"Brendon McCullum's created something of a benchmark with his ability to close out an innings, and I think I possess the sort of power in my game that could make me just as successful."
He reckons the experience he's gained with New Zealand over the past 10 years means he'll at least understand the demands of each situation, and recognise quickly the best course of action.
"Half the battle will be about option-taking; about making the right move at the right time," he said. "When you're coming in that far down the order, you can expect everything to be condensed and that you'll probably feel extra pressure in having to cope with what, quite likely, could be a match-deciding situation."
And fuelling McMillan's passion to succeed over the next four months will be the thought of how close he came to losing touch with international cricket, and having to forge another career.
"It was a serious jolt - I probably didn't see it coming," he conceded.
"It took a fair bit of reflection after that to sort out which way I wanted to head; whether I still had the determination to keep playing and push myself hard, or whether I should just give it away.
"I found that I did want to carry on, but it took a bit of time to sort that out."
If there was to be a crowning glory to McMillan's recall, it would be if he could develop his No 7 role as a batting all-rounder, and make a contribution at the bowling crease - however brief.
"I would love to still have a part to play with the ball, whatever it might be. I'm bowling my 10 overs for Canterbury consistently and I'm back bowling bouncers which is a good sign for me.
"I might not have the pace that I had five years ago but I'm still hitting the occasional batsman and if the opportunity arose, I'd love to get back into it."
And if McMillan was to be brutally honest, he doesn't just want to return to the international scene, he wants to make a tangible contribution to New Zealand assault on the World Cup.
"With the experience I've gained over the years I've still got something to offer. I've been to two World Cups, played in a couple of tri-series so some of the challenges I'm facing aren't new. "That doesn't make it any easier but at least I understand what I'm up against."
