KEY POINTS:
All experiments barring the Brendon McCullum initiative seem likely to be shelved tomorrow when New Zealand take on Australia in the first rubber of a tri-series double-header at Bellerive.
Having witnessed a succession of laboratory explosions during the series against Sri Lanka, coach John Bracewell is believed to
be swaying towards a more conventional line-up, featuring Daniel Vettori shifting from No 5 to the lower order, Nathan Astle opening and Stephen Fleming at No 3.
The rethink should come as a great relief for those who blamed Bracewell's rotation system for New Zealand's bumbling form against Sri Lanka, culminating in the humiliation of being bowled out for 73 in the fourth ODI at Eden Park.
For all that, if the adjustments take place it will mean another day of uncertainty for the New Zealand batting line-up, as yet another clutch of key players attempt to acclimatise to a slightly different role, this time in their biggest game of the season.
Only the experiment involving McCullum, who opened against Sri Lanka with promise but without posting any meaningful scores, is likely to be persevered with, something his opening partner said yesterday was the right move.
"He's confident," Astle said of McCullum. "He enjoys it up there, gets us off to a flyer and thinks a lot about his game.
"While this position is a little new to him, he's made quick starts almost every time and now he's just got to convert those into bigger scores. I think in that regard he'll find his feet pretty quickly."
New Zealand, who will back-up on Tuesday with a showdown against England at the same venue, practised yesterday at the Bellerive Oval against some lively, short-pitched bowling, half of it from their own pacemen, and the balance from an enthusiastic band of net bowlers.
Batting wasn't for the faint-hearted as bouncer followed bouncer and - on occasion - accidental beamer followed accidental beamer; a baptism that should have the New Zealanders well primed for the world-class Australian pace attack.
Astle said the trick for McCullum was to learn about the fine line between aggression and recklessness, the inherent dangers of having a free licence to attack, and the need to keep the emotions in check despite the enormous pressure.
"Hopefully Flem and I can help him out and talk him through [the blood rush] if he gets into that position," said Astle.
"He doesn't need to get in runaway mode; he'll score quickly enough without even trying."
ODI
Bellerive Oval, live Sky Sport 1, 4pm tomorrow
New Zealand: Brendon McCullum, Nathan Astle, Stephen Fleming (c), Ross Taylor, Peter Fulton, Hamish Marshall, Craig McMillan, Daniel Vettori, James Franklin, Shane Bond, Mark Gillespie, Michael Mason, Andre Adams, Jeetan Patel.
Australia: Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting (c), Michael Hussey, Michael Clarke, Andrew Symonds, Cameron White, Brad Hogg, Brett Lee, Mitchell Johnson, Stuart Clark, Nathan Bracken, Glenn McGrath.
