Live scoring at nzherald.co.nz from 7pm
Just as New Zealand officials might have felt the time was right to get attention back on the field, Dan Vettori yesterday felt moved to clarify exactly who does what off it.
With one of captain Vettori's fellow national selectors, Mark Greatbatch, joining the management group as coach, with special
responsibilities for sorting out the batting, the waters were muddied over the weekend on what the pecking order is.
One thing is a given: Vettori's role as acting coach since the demise of Andy Moles in October - a term which didn't sit particularly comfortably with him at the best of times - is no more.
"On the field is my domain and the manager and coaches look after everything else," Vettori said yesterday on the eve of the solitary Twenty20 international against Bangladesh.
"I don't run the team day-to-day."
Vettori believes his role in the scheme of things had been misconstrued and talk of ever-increasing player power within the operation was wide of the mark.
"There's no underlying motivation, nothing else going on."
He likened his position to those of his Australian and South African counterparts, Ricky Ponting and Graeme Smith, but there is one notable difference.
Vettori is officially a selector; the others are merely hugely influential skippers whose voices carry substantial weight.
Vettori said that just like the other players, he was answerable to the management, headed by Dave Currie.
"Like any manager, he takes control of most things, but when we step out on the field, like every captain, it's my role to lead the team."
Players' priority was to perform, and "that's the only way this group of guys is thinking", Vettori added.
It is unwise to raise with Vettori the notion that it's "only" Bangladesh for the next couple of weeks, and therefore New Zealand should win their five matches across the three forms of the game in cruise mode.
Setting out to win decisively is a fine game plan, but he dislikes the running down of any opponent, reckoning it disrespectful. Not that New Zealand are in any position to do that at the moment.
Vettori could also add it is a dangerous approach, given that Bangladesh are making progress. They are still capable of producing a stinker, but increasingly there is a fighting spirit showing through among their players.
They possess a coterie of decent performers, led by allrounder Shakib al Hasan, who aren't likely to meekly fold their tents if things go wrong.
For the first Twenty20 clash between the countries New Zealand have players in strong form, notably batsman Ross Taylor, who took Auckland apart with 80 in just 30 balls in the HRV Cup final win on the miniature ground at Pukekura Park, New Plymouth, on Sunday.
New cap Peter Ingram will open and was among the pick of the batsmen during that competition.
So who to omit from the New Zealand 12? The selectors have said they want another look at James Franklin with the world Twenty20 in May in mind, so there's no point leaving him out.
Auckland captain Gareth Hopkins deserves his chance after a decent domestic campaign, which leaves offspinner Nathan McCullum or one of the three fast-medium men - and all of them, Ian Butler, Tim Southee and Daryl Tuffey - had strong Twenty20 form to commend them.
Bangladesh's catching let them down at times on their last visit two seasons ago.
But they surely can't be as bad as Pakistan, who grassed 18 catches in three tests before Christmas. Some of that lot would have struggled to catch a cold skinny-dipping in Antarctica.
But Bangladesh will need to grab every opportunity. They have promising batsmen, notably left-hand opener Tamim Iqbal, who hit 151 against India in a test at Dhaka late last month and while they will miss their senior fast-medium bowler, Mashrafe Mortaza, they have handy operators. The trick will be having them all functioning at their optimum at the same time.
NZ V BANGLADESH
NEW ZEALAND: Dan Vettori (c), Martin Guptill, Brendon McCullum, Peter Ingram, Ross Taylor, Jacob Oram, Gareth Hopkins, James Franklin, Nathan McCullum, Ian Butler, Daryl Tuffey, Tim Southee.
BANGLADESH (from): Shakib al Hasan (c), Imrul Kayes, Tamim Iqbal, Mohammad Ashraful, Raqibul Hasan, Mahmudullah, Aftab Ahmed, Mushfiqur Rahim, Abdur Razzak, Naeem Islam, Shahadat Hossain, Rubel Hossain, Nazmul Hossain, Shafiul Islam.
Seddon Park, Hamilton, 7 tonight
