Cricket: Vincent primed to attack

Lou Vincent enhanced his reputation in South Africa and will partner Nathan Astle at the top of the order. Picture / Reuters

Lou Vincent will move back into an opening role tomorrow as New Zealand seek to take advantage of what they see as a weakened Australian attack.

One of the few players to return from South Africa with an enhanced reputation, Vincent has been primed to partner Nathan Astle at the top of the order in the absence of skipper Stephen Fleming, who is recovering from facial surgery.

New Zealand coach John Bracewell emphasised yesterday that he had great respect for the Australian squad, but that the absence of Glenn McGrath - the world's most successful paceman - had to have an impact on their attack.

Add the strange and short boundary angles at Eden Park and Vincent's vintage form in South Africa, and he said it was clear New Zealand had to explore their chances at the top of the order, and particularly during the power-plays.

"We'll open with Lou and Nathan because we're looking for an offensive start to the first 20 overs," Bracewell said yesterday.

"We're still working on our game-plan in that period. We're anxious to develop something that we can carry into the [2007] World Cup, and a three-pronged attack at the top of the order continues to interest us."

Bracewell described Vincent as the only top-order batsman to show any consistency in the South African series and said he also had an outstanding series in Zimbabwe, scoring 172 in one match. Astle, too, was in solid form during that tour, posting a century of such quality in the final against India that it set his team up for a rare tournament win.

Apart from Fleming's absence, the only fleeting concern yesterday was the health of fast-bowler Shane Bond, who stayed behind at the hotel with a gastric disorder, in what Bracewell called a "precautionary exercise".

"He's got a tummy bug," said Bracewell. "He's feeling a lot better and probably wanted to practise today but we left him at home as a precaution. He probably could have practised this afternoon and I'm confident he should be right for the match."

Bond is seen as a crucial ingredient in the side; a player with the ability to take the game to the Australian batsmen and provide his captain with a genuine cutting edge.

He impressed in his comeback series against Zimbabwe and India, but struggled noticeably when the pressure went on in South Africa, and will be under increased scrutiny at Eden Park tomorrow.

"He's still developing his game; he had an outstanding tour of Zimbabwe and bowled well against India," Bracewell said. "But he met an international-class batting line-up in South Africa and it will be interesting to see how he's developed from there."

And Bracewell said just because England had punched a couple of holes in the Australian test team's aura of invincibility, it didn't follow that the Aussie one-day team would have similar problems, particularly against a different opponent.

"The world learnt something from the way the English went about attacking Gilchrist and company," he said. "But you've also got to understand that not everyone has an Andrew Flintoff, who was one of the quickest and most hostile bowlers in the series.

"Of course we'd all like to emulate that. But there's a difference between learning what to do and having the tools to do it."

As for the withdrawal of Fleming, he said there was no doubt that the New Zealand players had responded positively to the crisis and had thrown their support in behind stand-in skipper Daniel Vettori, who will fill the role for the next two ODIs.

"It's something we've been trying to cultivate recently in terms of leadership, and I think a new voice will freshen things - that's just a fact of life."