KEY POINTS:
Chris Martin and Dion Nash, fast bowler and selector, were locked in urgent conversation at Eden Park Outer Oval late on Friday afternoon. It was likely the second fraught exchange of views the pair have shared in the past year.
When Martin, to his astonishment, was dropped from the one-day side for the tour of England, he sought an explanation from Nash, a former teammate. He would have sought further explanation on Friday when he was omitted from the 12 to play the West Indies at Dunedin and Napier.
"I think he [Nash] offered to do that one," selector Glenn Turner said. "We generally share it. That's the tough side of the job but there are winners and losers in everything and, as long as we respect the protocols and give our reasons, we're prepared to stand up and be counted on those reasons."
Martin was perhaps the biggest surprise omission of a squad from which Tim Southee and Aaron Redmond, members of the team that lost by an innings to Australia in Adelaide last week, were also excluded.
"We saw it was difficult to play both of them [Martin and Iain O'Brien] and Chris by his own admission is a little bit down on being 100 per cent," Turner said. "He's still bowling well, even having said that, but a bit more work and he'll have that zip back.
"It was a tough decision but Dizzy [Mark Gillespie] is bowling well."
In further changes, it seems likely Daniel Flynn will move up to No 3, with Jesse Ryder cosying up in the middle order.
"That's something we talked about a lot," Turner said. "The objective of the No 3 is to see off the new ball if they are in early and to protect those lower in the order. It's a bit of tricky one that, and in fact we've left that decision up to the coach and captain. But certainly there was a lot of discussion. They'll take it a stage further and come up with an answer."
Jamie How had been talked about as a No 3 before the selectors decided to leave him as an opener.
"It is a possibility," Turner said. "But you've got to remember opening the batting is the toughest job. You're facing the new ball when the bowlers are fresh. There are not that many around who are capable, prepared or, ideally, want to open. They're not lining up because in any cricketing line-up the preferred position is No 4."
Tim McIntosh headed a short queue of openers, as much because of the side of the bat he stands on as to his exceptional form this season.
With four genuine allrounders in the team - Jacob Oram, Brendon McCullum, Daniel Vettori and James Franklin - the competition for numbers six to nine will be fierce. Franklin, who is in sparkling form with the bat for Wellington, could well find himself at No 9 with only the dubious batting abilities of Gillespie and either Iain O'Brien or Jeetan Patel to protect him.
Patel might be preferred to O'Brien in Dunedin, where the pitch for the recent Otago-Northern Districts State Championship match suited spinners more than seamers.
It has been a watershed week for cricket here. Along with a modified team to face the Windies:
- Andy Moles will take over as national coach from John Bracewell;
- Ex-Rowing NZ boss Craig Ross will take over from Lindsay Crocker as team manager after the Dunedin test;
- Support staff have been altered. New selector John Wright will work with Moles and the batsmen and Australian Shane Jurgensen with the bowlers;
- On match days, only Moles, a trainer, a physio, a computer analyst and Ross will have access to the changing rooms;
- Input from the Leading Teams consultancy has been reduced.
It remains to be seen if the changes translate into instant results. Perhaps the India tour will be a better indicator as to whether Moles and his philosophies have made an impact.
New Zealand XII: Daniel Vettori (c), Brendon McCullum (vc), Jamie How, Tim McIntosh, Daniel Flynn, Ross Taylor, Jesse Ryder, Jacob Oram, James Franklin, Mark Gillespie, Iain O'Brien, Jeetan Patel.
