Mark Richardson: Definition of roles is essential

When you can leave record-breaking Ross Taylor, in-form Craig McMillan and James Marshall out of the team then you could say New Zealand cricket is in a strong and healthy position.

You could, but that would be to assume that winning one-day games starts and ends with scoring runs. The cliche is that bowlers win tests and batsmen win one-dayers and, for the most part, I agree. However, you still have to chase down the runs you concede or defend the runs you score and it helps if you don't make that task harder than it need be.

The Black Caps have a wealth of batting talent in and around the team but in the side picked for the first few games of the upcoming West Indies series - and I'd suspect a team with an eye on the World Cup - I worry about the bowling depth.

Shane Bond is so important because he is our only strike bowler. Wickets early and in the middle stages and pace at the death are crucial and Bond is our only real option here. His inclusion allows for the other bowlers to be worked in and around his overs and provides options and balance. The problem is keeping Bond fit and on the field.

James Franklin has "potential" but it is a worry that having been on the scene for so long he still comes with that tag. He can fill the role of seven overs up front if the ball is swinging but even then is proving hittable on too many occasions.

Michael Mason is honest and big hearted, but very much your typical New Zealand seamer - lacks a little pace at the top level - and that has proven the scourge of many when not in New Zealand seamer-friendly conditions.

Kyle Mills and Jacob Oram are unfit and while both have shown containment consistency and growing maturity, their injury status is concerning, especially given what that has done to Oram's previously reliable fast-medium bowling form.

That just leaves Andre Adams and Daryl Tuffey in the wings. Adams is exciting but unpredictable and Tuffey is a season short of a gallop.

So our batsmen are key to winning one-day games and it's time to get the balance right and roles defined for the World Cup challenge. Given the seam bowling concerns, the best balance is batting heavy so it's a good thing the top and middle order have pressure on them and players ready to step in should someone lose form. It also means that our bowling approach may have to revolve around the slower bowlers.

With Dan Vettori we are blessed and maybe Jeetan Patel will be as influential as the last Patel was when asked to perform a specialist role in the 1992 World Cup. In fact I hope Scott Styris and Nathan Astle have access to some footage of the 1992 World Cup because they may have to be as effective as Chris Harris and Gavin Larsen were all those years ago.

- HERALD ON SUNDAY