KEY POINTS:
If the Black Caps beat England in tonight's final one dayer at Lord's - and I think they will - it will go a long way to salvaging their tour.
Just a few weeks ago, they were probably looking at a mark of about two or three out of ten. But if they win tonight and take the one day series 3-1, then I'd probably give them a six. You'd have to say they'd performed about up to expectations.
They weren't far off the pace in the tests and in the one-day stuff we have played pretty much to par. There have been some extreme views of this tour but if they win the one dayers, you'd say it has pretty much gone with serve.
It has been interesting to watch the boys turn the tour around. There is only one way to do that and that is to play good solid cricket and wait for the conditions to favour you so you can get on top. It doesn't happen in five minutes. It's not like you can go from being off the pace for seven weeks to being the better team just like that.
The revival started in that rain-affected second ODI. We dominated that game and it has continued.
It is England who now need to turn things around, as clearly the momentum is now going against them. The tight calls aren't going in their favour either but there is more to it that bad luck. They are off the pace.
The only way they can change that in a short period of time is if they have one guy who can dominate a game. They'll need a brilliant individual performance that just takes the game away from the dominant side.
They'll look to Kevin Pietersen with the bat or if the conditions favour the bowling then maybe a guy like Ryan Sidebottom.
Grant Elliott's run out caused plenty of reaction but to me it was just a collision and if you look at it to the letter of the law that's out. Bad luck.
I think it's a bit tough to blame Paul Collingwood for not exercising the discretion to call Elliott back. I'm not sure I would have.
There were two or three incidents like that in my career when a player could have been called back but in reality it never happens. You want to win and in the heat of battle it's hard to think objectively. I'm sure in hindsight Collingwood would make a different decision, but it's tough to blame him for the one he made.
It was interesting to see Dan Vettori so fired up at the end of that game. That's who Dan is. He is a pretty tough character. He is a pretty honest guy too. He doesn't pretend to be something he isn't.
I like that. I don't buy into the traditional view that a captain can't show any emotion and needs to hold himself on a pedestal above everyone else.
I always responded better to guys who were prepared to get in the trenches with you and live it with you. I think that style suits the guys who are in the team at the moment. I know Brendon McCullum responds to that and my gut feeling is that a lot of the younger guys do too. They take confidence from the fact that he is their equal is well as their leader. That's something Dan brings to the role that perhaps nobody else could.
I've been amazed at the amount of flak he has copped in the short time he has been in the job. I can't recall a New Zealand captain being criticised as openly and frequently. A lot of it has been pretty tough. I wouldn't say it has been undeserved but there were a lot of New Zealand captains I played with who did a much worse job and nobody ever said boo about them.
I think he's doing a pretty reasonable job. Certainly the results are no worse than anybody else and he seems to have a pretty happy crew.
