Cricket: Bruise-some threesome

James Franklin and Chris Martin. Pictures / Brett Phibbs, Kenny Rodger

Never mind Brian Lara or the uncharacteristic absence of a Force 9 gale, the biggest surprise at Wellington last week was caused by the performance of a supposedly weakened New Zealand pace attack.

Robbed of their main strike-weapon after fast bowler Shane Bond was forced to withdraw with another mystery bug, the pace trio of James Franklin, Chris Martin and Kyle Mills managed to knock over the West Indies in short time, to the great satisfaction of coach John Bracewell.

Franklin snared his third five-wicket bag in tests, Martin appeared to get better as the match wore on and Mills - the eleventh-hour replacement for Bond - continued his impressive 2005-06 form and ended with six wickets.

Apart from their individual efforts, the stand-out feature was the manner in which the trio supported each other throughout the test, in stark contrast to the sometimes fractured and disjointed performance at Auckland.

We caught up with all three at Napier this week, as New Zealand put the finishing touches to their preparations for the third and final test, starting at McLean Park on Saturday.

Chris Martin

Selected as a third-seamer for the opening test at Eden Park, the former Cantabrian went into the match on the back of some questionable form with Auckland, having even been taken apart in a club game only a week earlier.

His lack of rhythm and confidence was still apparent in his first outing against the West Indies but had vanished by the time the squad arrived at Wellington.

"Maybe the move to Auckland unsettled me a little bit with my form," he says. "My A series tour to Sri Lanka was a good start to the season, but from there on I didn't have the bowling under my belt that I needed and I hadn't played a lot of test cricket, which is a different intensity.

"That's why my confidence suffered in that first game, and it's also why I was revitalised in the second."

Martin said that just as a batsman sometimes needs time to adjust to a new position, a change in role for a pace bowler was also a difficult transition and something he noticed while trying to perform as a third-seamer at Auckland.

"The third seamer role takes a wee bit of getting used to. It definitely suits me coming in behind Shane Bond and bowling with the wind. I'm a wicket taker as well, so I've just got to find a balance between that and tying up an end.

"The wickets will take care of themselves. As a unit we proved that in the last test when we bowled well collectively.

"It's hard sometimes with the poison pen and acid tongues to remain confident of your place in the side, but as the series has worn on the players whose records have been good over the last 12 months are starting to get the rewards."

He said the only thing he was waiting on now was for his batting to make the same sort of progress: "I'm getting a few throw downs and a wee bit of net time, but it's hard to fix something that is permanently broken."

Kyle Mills

There was a time when Kyle Mills was viewed as a specialist one-day bowler; an honest toiler but someone who would never have the tools to compete at test level.

Well, the right-armer had something to say about that when he was drafted into the test team last week to replace the stricken Shane Bond, taking three wickets in each innings as he responded strongly to the call-up.

Mills had been in good form earlier in the season before being sidelined with a groin-strain, and he believes he's only now starting to get enough overs under his belt to feel confident about his prospects in the five-day game.

"I think the key's been getting back into it slowly," he says. "I came back for those two one-day games against West Indies and increased my bowling loads for Auckland, but I'm still getting there.

"It takes time and with more games my form should improve.

"Test cricket is the ultimate, and it's a hard level to play cricket at. I'm enjoying it, but I'm still finding my feet. It wasn't until I had played about 45 ODIs that I felt comfortable about my one-day game, and I just don't know how many tests it will take for me to feel the same way about the longer game."

Mills says that he is comfortable with the role he's been asked to play within the test team and that he understands why it's important, in terms of the effectiveness of the attack, that someone's prepared to tie up an end indefinitely.

"The aim is to get 20 wickets and that means some guy's role within the unit is to bowl maidens and to try to tie them down at one end. When you've got world-class bowlers like Vettori and Bond, you do need to complement them with someone who'll try to restrict and deny.

"At one stage in the Wellington test match we conceded 59 runs in 30 overs, and that's what I mean - it's an example of everyone doing their job and maintaining the pressure."

James Franklin

Another to be overshadowed by Bond's heroics at Auckland, Franklin struck back with interest in the second test at the Basin Reserve, taking five for 53 to set up his team for an eventual 10-wicket triumph.

Like so many other left-arm paceman, Franklin is deeply reliant on his ability to swing the ball, and says attention to detail in terms of his technique and approach is paramount if he wants to perform to the peak of his powers.

"I did a little bit of work with VJ [Wellington coach Vaughn Johnson] and Braces [New Zealand coach John Bracewell] before the last test, just to sort out my alignment at the point of delivery," he says.

"It was just a matter of getting that right, of getting my feet right. I guess it worked out well because I found my rhythm in my first spell and it just led on from there.

"I'm definitely a rhythm bowler, so I've got to keep concentrating on making sure everything's working properly at the crease and even in the run-up, as I build into each delivery. If it's not right then sometimes the ball won't swing - and that's my main weapon.

"VJ knows my action inside out and Braces has been around for a while now too, so those guys are always looking at it and making sure I'm on top of it.

At one stage Franklin was seen as more of a fringe contender for the team, but the Wellington 25-year-old has now played the past 10 consecutive tests, dating back to the second match against Australia at Adelaide last summer.

But he said the frequency of selection had not allowed him to relax.

"There's never going to be any security over your place in this team. You've just got to make sure that every game you play is your best effort, and that you take wickets.

"For a couple of games before the last one I took just a couple of wickets in two tests - and when that happens you feel that you've got to get a bundle quickly to make sure you're still there for the next game.

"I think that's quite a good environment to be in, to make sure you're always on top of your game, that you're always performing well.

"You can never think of yourself as an automatic selection."