Cricket: Selectorial roles in doubt

Daniel Vettori. Photo / Getty Images

Black Caps captain Daniel Vettori and batting coach Mark Greatbatch could be ditched as selectors as New Zealand Cricket seeks solutions on how the team operate - less than four months from the World Cup.

The impetus is coming from within the team. Whilst the players have nothing personal against the pair, they are understood to be wary of talking too much to them within the team environment because of a fear their selection chances may dim if they reveal weaknesses or areas of their game that need work.

That places Vettori's dual team management/selection role under threat. Crucially, it points to the fact that while Vettori is a gifted player, captain and undoubted team man, the shine has gone off the concept of juggling so many responsibilities.

Similarly there is a reluctance among players to approach Greatbatch about technique - because of a perception it counts against them in selection.

That's not to say the pair would have no input - just not dominance in selection terms.

However, it's a moot point that the move would make much difference - as Vettori and Greatbatch would still call the selection shots on tour.

In addition, the status quo is expected for the individual performance plans (IPP) monitored by performance director Roger Mortimer. As head of administration, effectively sitting above - or at least to the side of - management and coaches, Mortimer has the backing of Vettori and Greatbatch.

Yet despite working on Mortimer's IPPs at home, only a handful of players actually practised together before the tour. That was at a slap-up net the day before they left. Then the warm-up games were washed out - a common occurrence, even post-monsoon - which left the players woefully short of match practice.

What is less clear is the future role of manager Dave Currie who was chef de mission of New Zealand's Delhi Commonwealth Games team while the Bangladesh tour was on.

Currie was appointed because some felt it was important to have "a big name" with no real thought about the fit. Certainly there have been other successful managers who have not played for the Black Caps.

Former All Black captain and Auckland Grammar headmaster John Graham is the best modern-day example.

But it is a tricky job running a cricket side compared to a Games team because of what can be extreme levels of selfishness, a by-product of reaching the top in cricket.

A cricket team can be highly political - they are team-mates, colleagues and competitors.

The suggestion Brendon McCullum will again move down the order to help chase from seven seems unlikely.

He got out cheaply in Bangladesh but still top scored with 61 from 45 balls in the first match, one of just four scores of 50 or better in the series. McCullum's opening partnership with Jesse Ryder is a point of difference New Zealand can ill afford to reject.

BJ Watling, with a top score of 20, faces possible axing, particularly if Scott Styris and Jacob Oram are fit for the World Cup.

The onus for improvement goes on the batting more than elsewhere. Vettori and Kyle Mills returned some sound one-day figures, despite the 'down-trou' result.

Apart from the selectorial issue and some logical personnel changes, little else looks likely to alter heading to the World Cup - which shapes as a watershed for the Vettori reign.

Success will confirm his era of management. Failure or mediocrity will see pressure mount for a more traditional coach/manager role. It will be interesting to see if John Wright, for so long the favoured candidate, gets his chance.

The Bangladesh tour unveiled a stack of problems and the timing is lousy. New Zealand are about to embark on a tour to an Indian team that have just seen off the powerful Australians in a test series and appear about to do the same at one day level.

The Black Caps have a less than satisfactory record in India. In the World Cups of 1987 and 1996, they have seven losses and five wins. The best they've mustered is a quarter-final loss to Australia (1996).

A number of aftershocks have followed the 4-0, one-day series loss to Bangladesh. Many are calling it one of the Black Caps' lowest ebbs. It is unfair to compare test and one-day calamities but the result certainly ranks low.

Others compare worse. The 14 losses out of 18 matches during the 1994-95 centenary summer (which included the sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll tour of South Africa) is a contender. Another is the eight out of 10 losses (including two in Zimbabwe) which somehow morphed into one of New Zealand's finest moments - a victory at the ICC Knock-out Trophy in 2000.

That win was followed by 11 straight losses (including two back home against Zimbabwe) during 2000-01.

Bangladesh is the most improved of the international sides. While they have been termed lightweights since their entry to tests in 2000, the irony is New Zealand has still taken the longest of any test nation to get its first win - 26 years - compared to Bangladesh (four years, two months); Sri Lanka (two years, six months); and Zimbabwe (two years, three months).