KEY POINTS:
In trying to calm the public outcry after last Tuesday's disappointment against England, Stephen Fleming chose to shrug the loss off as another on the journey and draw attention to progress made.
Sure, there were some positives but positives are no good if they don't lead to more
positive results. Twice when those positives were called upon to pay dividends, they didn't.
It's time they did. I'd go so far as to say this team now needs to make the final of the World Cup to rescue the season from disaster.
I know this season is all about the World Cup. Our preoccupation with the Rugby World Cup has allowed our cricket administrators to reduce the importance of every one day international.
Under this precept, you can therefore shrug off the loss to England as just another lost game on the journey. However, every journey has milestones, some more important than others, and that game was one.
Our result in the Caribbean will define the success or failure of the season but I'm not sure cricket in this country can afford to put all its eggs in the World Cup basket.
Every season has games that define success. Two of these games in our recent past have been the Champions Trophy semifinal against Australia and that game on Tuesday.
The Champions Trophy was the first 'impressions' moment. The nature of the tournament meant patchy form was enough to take the Black Caps to the semifinals. Had they reached the final (I don't believe they would have needed to win it), it would have been a fantastic way to launch the summer.
Instead, there was a horrendous batting collapse which nullified the rescue from total humiliation provided by the lower order.
The following months included a drawn series against Sri Lanka and the Tri-series. It was a stuttering ride.
However, it reached a game that had to be won so the Black Caps would qualify for the finals of the Commonwealth Bank series. More importantly, it was the first acid test of this team's ability to handle pressure in a 'must-win' situation against a side that should be beaten. You all know the result.
It's easy after the fact to classify games, their importance and impact. In these two games lay the chance to win, or, at the very least, be in the final of a major tournament (Champions Trophy) and the finals of a high-profile tourney (Tri-series).
Right now, however, the taste in the mouths of the New Zealand public is sour and the only thing that could remove it is success in the World Cup. If that does not happen, and for me the effective mouthwash must be the World Cup final, then this season will be seen as nothing less than a disaster.
With the Super 14 now stealing more of cricket's limelight, it would be a very untimely disaster. Now is the time for the positives to do something lastingly positive at the right time.
