Cricket: Papps and Mason play way into test contention

By RICHARD BOOCK

Opening batsman Michael Papps and pace bowler Michael Mason seem likely to figure prominently in John Bracewell's thinking when the test squad to play South Africa is named today.

Whatever other concerns he might have, Bracewell's most challenging task will be to find an opening batting replacement for Lou Vincent, and a bowler to cover for paceman Ian Butler, who has an ankle complaint.

Bracewell said Butler had bowled four or five overs at 75 per cent yesterday, but probably would not be fit in time for the first test, which begins at Hamilton's Westpac Park on Wednesday week.

Mason, one of the form bowlers in domestic cricket this season, impressed Bracewell with his effort in the fourth one-dayer against South Africa, and seems likely to receive another run in the sixth match at Napier today.

Vincent struggled in the tests against Pakistan late last year, scoring just 16 runs in four innings, and then suffered a nasty hand injury and played in only four of eight State Championship matches and three State Shield contests.

If he is overlooked, it will probably be good news for Papps, one of the finds for New Zealand during the one-day series against South Africa, and a batsman well-suited to the demands of the longer game.

"I think he's shown some good skills in a position that's perceived to be weak," Bracewell said.

"He's got pretty good form, technique and an excellent temperament. I think he can evolve.

"The people who said at the start of his career that he was more suited to the longer game than one-day cricket may have been right. He looks to have longer-version tools."

Bracewell said that Papps had demonstrated his value in the one-day side, providing the glue for a batting line-up rich in stroke-makers, in much the same way that Larry Gomes held together the West Indies batting line-up through the 1980s.

"With the style of the ODI team we've got, we need some cement between the hitters, and I think both he and Hamish [Marshall] do that nicely," he said. "It allows our guys to go out there and play their shots and not be dominated."

Possible squad: Stephen Fleming (captain), Michael Papps, Richard Jones, Scott Styris, Craig McMillan, Chris Cairns, Jacob Oram, Robbie Hart, Daniel Vettori, Daryl Tuffey, Paul Wiseman, Michael Mason.