Cricket: Tide and weather could halt Black Caps' sweep

Stephen Fleming might want to check the tide readings before starting his bid to become the first New Zealand test captain to oversee a 3-nil clean sweep.

If you believe McLean Park curator Phil Stoyanoff, not only will the recent inclement weather have a bearing on the third test between New Zealand and the West Indies, starting this morning, but so will the lunar cycle.

Storms and squalls have lashed the Hawkes Bay for the past week, leaving Stoyanoff playing catch-up with his pitch preparations, and setting the scene for what is expected to be a lively and bowler-friendly surface this morning.

Adding even more interest is Stoyanoff's theory that the pitch could be more juicy than usual because of the proximity of the Hawkes Bay coastline, and the subsequent tidal effects on the water table beneath the ground.

His revelations mean either Fleming or West Indies skipper Shiv Chanderpaul, if blessed with a favourable call at the toss, are unlikely to demure for too long before opting to bowl first - particularly as the tide is scheduled to peak in the early afternoon.

For Chanderpaul, the match is another chance for his side to arrest their alarming free-fall in the test arena, a slump that has so far consisted of eight consecutive defeats dating back to June last year.

But for Fleming's squad, the match represents another chance to blaze a new path into the record books, this time as the first New Zealand side to win all tests in a series of three or more matches.

The man who today plays his 99th test has already presided over historic 5-nil ODI and 2-nil test series wins in 1999-2000 and the first test series win in the Caribbean; the latter achievement sealed after a historic triumph at Bridgetown in 2002. As usual, however, Fleming preferred to keep his eye on the ball when asked yesterday about the chance of marching into uncharted territory.

"I haven't thought about it a helluva lot," he conceded. "It's just a chance to improve on our test performance and to maintain concentration in this match, rather than starting to think of what's coming up. Some players are under more pressure than others but collectively we've got to keep playing well at test level to make sure we're ready for a tough tour of South Africa."

New Zealand head to the Republic soon after the Napier match, and will play three tests in a month at Centurion, Cape Town and Johannesburg.

Fleming, a big supporter of the incumbents within his squad, confirmed he'd spent a bit of time over the past few days counselling under-fire batsman Hamish Marshall, who has been told to perform at Napier or face being left out of the tour.

"We're basically trying to control fear and anxiety," he said. "As you move through your career you go through periods where things don't work out well for you and you start to get anxious and think about tours coming up and what's been written.

"It's very much a case of trying to have that 'no fear' attitude. It's not easy to do because you feel everything is on the line, but it's what I've been trying to encourage, especially with Hamish.

"He needs to adopt that fearless approach and feel free to play instinctively, rather than like a man who's carrying the world on his shoulders. It's all about confidence and I'm sure he'll bounce out of it at some point.

Third Test

New Zealand: Stephen Fleming (c), Jamie How, Hamish Marshall, Peter Fulton, Nathan Astle, Scott Styris, Brendon McCullum, Daniel Vettori, James Franklin, Kyle Mills, Shane Bond, Chris Martin, Jeetan Patel.

West Indies: Shivnarine Chanderpaul (captain), Chris Gayle, Daren Ganga, Runako Morton, Brian Lara, Dwayne Smith, Dwayne Bravo, Denesh Ramdin, Ian Bradshaw, Daren Powell, Jerome Taylor, Rawl Lewis, Devon Smith, Fidel Edwards.

Umpires: Mark Benson (England), Ian Howell (South Africa).

Match referee: Mike Proctor.

Play starts: 10.30am