Mark Richardson: Mills ranking reward for good basic values

Why is it that a bloke who bowls barely 130km/h; doesn't really do much with the ball; and plays for a team that at best is fourth in the world; is ranked the No 1 ODI bowler in the world?

Probably because Kyle Mills does the same sort of thing as did the previous No 1, Nuwan Kulasekara.

These two restore the values of basics in the ever-evolving game of cricket.

They hit immaculate line and length consistently. They don't appear to over-complicate things with massive variation.

They prove that if you can get the ball in the right place often enough, you ask the batsman to take risks - something that even in today's fast-scoring game they would rather avoid.

Mills has taken 159 wickets in 108 matches, a good return. His economy rate is not startling at 4.66 but still very good when you consider what it means if you extend his effort over 50 overs.

If you had five Kyle Mills, each bowling their 10 overs, then the average score by the opposition would be 233 - nowadays a score most teams would be quite happy chasing.

Mills' record, however, looks really impressive when you see what he does on the subcontinent. In conditions that generally suit batting and which can be a seam bowler's graveyard, his average is a super 19.34, his economy rate just 4.15.

All this has been achieved while generally operating in the opening and death overs when batsmen are looking to be aggressive. His record would be even more impressive if New Zealand had other bowlers more suited to the death.

It is Mills' normal length that gives him this success. He is tall and can bowl into the wicket on a shortish but not a pull-able length. That length is quite effective in the subcontinent.

When Mills has been hit, it has been when he has got a little full or batsmen have attacked him on the up. This is dangerous for them as he does get some movement in the air and can get it off the wicket too.

Combine that with his accuracy and he gets good players out, just as he got Ricky Ponting out in the Champions Trophy final.

Two other New Zealand bowlers come to mind when appraising Mills - Gavin Larsen and Ewen Chatfield. Their economy rates were 3.76 and 3.57 respectively but that probably reflects the game at the time.

However, Mills has been far superior when it comes to taking wickets. These three all operate on that shortish, good length and, arguably, all made the most of their perhaps underrated talents.

In Mills' case, this is clearly evidenced by the reluctance of an IPL team to pick him up.

With the top-ranked ODI bowler in world cricket and two others in the top five, this is yet another indictment on our batting. We found ourselves at seven in the rankings and have only picked up to fourth.

Perhaps our batsmen need to observe the habits of Mills, Daniel Vettori and Shane Bond a little closer.