Cricket: Tour so far produces more questions than answers

Disappointing returns from keeper-batsman Brendon McCullum have been part of New Zealand’s problem. Picture / Reuters

You get the feeling that if John Bracewell was a chemistry teacher his science laboratory would have been blown to smithereens within the first weeks of the opening term.

The man who has opted for experimentation to find the best World Cup combination has so far watched his shrewdest theories explode in spectacular style, to the extent that he's now in danger of leaving South Africa with more questions in his head than answers.

Already 3-0 down in the five-match series, New Zealand will conclude their obligations in South Africa with the fourth ODI in Johannesburg tomorrow morning and the fifth at Centurion on Sunday evening with only pride to play for.

Much has been made of the team's opportunities during the first three games, but the reality is they haven't batted, bowled or fielded well enough to win and have been furthered hampered by some volatile and ideological decision-making.

As experiments go, Bracewell's are destined to be remembered alongside the elastic tape-measure and the soluble tea-pot, just behind Laurie Mains' fireproof paint and well below the attempt to develop the inflatable dart-board.

* First there was the shock axing of Chris Cairns, New Zealand's best all-rounder, on the grounds that he needed more cricket. Since then, fellow all-rounders Scott Styris and Jacob Oram have battled injury, leaving the team about as balanced as a two-legged stool.

* Then there was the move to play the injured Oram as a specialist batsman, despite the fact his ODI record is poor: 59 innings, 928 runs at 17.50, with three 50s and no centuries. Despite this he plays solely as a batsman in the first two games and as a super-sub batsman in the third.

* Bracewell drops Paul Wiseman and brings in unheralded Wellington off-spinner Jeetan Patel, on the grounds that he has a good cricket brain and his style of bowling could be useful at the death, especially on slow wickets. Patel concedes 48 runs off eight overs in the first game, drops a vital catch and is omitted for the next two matches.

* James Franklin is brought into the team at the expense of Cairns, on the strength of his swing-bowling and honest batting, but is largely ignored until it's too late and is left to play second fiddle to Oram.

To be fair to Bracewell, his problems might not seem so acute had the top-order batting performed with any degree of consistency and had Shane Bond continued on from the Zimbabwe tour to re-establish his reputation.

But in keeping with all New Zealand's previous tours of South Africa, little has gone to plan on or off the field on this visit, leaving Bracewell in a vaguely familiar position as he considers his options for this weekend and next month's series against Australia.

Not for the first time, the top order batting will rank as his chief concern, and the problem is that he has few viable alternatives.

Nathan Astle, New Zealand's best one-day batsman with 15 centuries, is averaging 5.00 and owes his continued selection more to his bowling than batting. Hamish Marshall has yet to fire and only managed to average 6.75 during the previous tour.

Add the unpredictability of Lou Vincent, who could score a century or a first-ball duck on any given day, the infuriating indiscipline of Craig McMillan and the disappointing returns from keeper-batsman Brendon McCullum and New Zealand's batting fragility is all too clear.

New Zealand have yet to get under way safely in the series, losing their first two wickets for 18 runs in the opening game, for 16 runs in the second match and for 23 in the third match at Port Elizabeth, a trend that has not only rocked their confidence but has also negated their advantage during the powerplays.

To make matters worse, Bond has struggled to live up to the hype of his first genuine challenge since recovering from injury and has appeared vulnerable and short of pace when returning for his second and third spells.

Bracewell, at least, can be secure in his future as he looks to the remaining schedule this summer and the lead-up to the World Cup campaign in West Indies, although South African tours haven't always been as kind.

The 1994-95 Drugs, Sex and Rock 'n' Roll tour spelt the end of Geoff Howarth's coaching reign. David Trist decided to resign midway through the 2000-01 tour, and Denis Aberhart was ditched after New Zealand failed to make the 2003 World Cup semi-finals.