KEY POINTS:
It's fair to say that the coach of New Zealand is not best pleased with some of the sentiments expressed in this literary flophouse, if the present mood is any gauge.
A pall of thunder hovered over John Bracewell's head during a brief interview in Adelaide yesterday afternoon and it's no exaggeration to suggest the New Zealand media were encouraged to keep their questions to a minimum.
Whether the coach's ire was provoked by his team's feeble performance against Australia at Sydney on Sunday night, or by a New Zealand newspaper article alleging rebellion in the ranks, is unclear - but what's certain is that the tension within the team has now reached management level.
Bracewell, whose team needs to beat England this evening at the Adelaide Oval to arrest a startling decline, was in one of his more obdurate moods yesterday - initially failing to turn up to an organised press conference at Sydney airport, and then doing his best to short-circuit proceedings in Adelaide.
When he finally made an appearance, the man who normally talks in thousand word sentences was reticent in the extreme.
Bracewell had been asked whether there was any merit in the claim that some of his players were confused and annoyed about his selection policies, and the discussion proceeded as follows.
Reporter: Are the players nervous or lacking in confidence?
Bracewell: Not at all.
Reporter: There's been talk of rebellion in the ranks. Are the players happy?
Bracewell: You'd have to ask the players that.
Reporter: So you have no concerns about the mood of the players?
Bracewell: You'd have to ask them that.
Reporter: But do you detect anything in the camp?
Bracewell: You'd have to ask the players that.
Reporter: How would you describe the team's morale?
Bracewell: I don't think there's anything wrong with the morale but you'd have to ask the players that.
Reporter: But how do you think the players are taking it?
Bracewell: No, I'd rather you ask the players.
Reporter: Do you feel you've got the faith and trust of your team?
Bracewell: I'm not going to go the Duncan Fletcher way. You'd have to ask the players. It's not for me to second-guess the players.
The beleaguered coach then began singing the praises of his team, claiming he was happy with the position they were in and delighted with the positives that had come out of the three tri-series losses so far.
Bracewell singled out the bowling of Mark Gillespie as one of his high points, and the emergence of Ross Taylor as another, and said he was pleased with the way his batsmen continued to play their shots, and how the bowlers created opportunities to win the game.
However, his claims that Brendon McCullum had initiated the move to switch from opener to No 7, and that the selectors had opted to agree sounded dubious, given only a day previous the wicket-keeper had expressed a wish to open for the rest of his career.
To complicate the issue, Bracewell said the decision about McCullum had been made during the course of the week, despite the player in question saying as late as last Friday that he thought he was well suited to opening.
Then it was back to the game of Bracewellian battleships, with the New Zealand coach answering questions as if he was the prime suspect in a murder inquiry.
Reporter: What do you hope Jacob Oram will bring into this team?
Bracewell: He's an all-rounder, so all-round skills.
Reporter: Do you expect Kyle Mills to play [against England]?
Bracewell: That's still being decided and when the team comes out, you'll know.
Reporter: Are you treating this [today's] game as a must-win contest?
Bracewell: Not at all. We're treating it as an international game of cricket.
Translation? Get a headline out of that.
