Beyond the regular comings and goings in the New Zealand cricket limited overs squads, the most important problem to solve is who bolsters the middle order in place of the injured Ross Taylor and Jesse Ryder for the upcoming series against Zimbabwe.
The pair's absence has seen the shock elevation of Canterbury 19-year-old Tom Latham to the one-day ranks and the more predictable rise of former Zimbabwe age-group representative Colin de Grandhomme into the Twenty20 realm.
Latham and de Grandhomme will likely fill one of those two spots in the respective ODI and T20 orders with Dean Brownlie or Kane Williamson the candidates to fill the other. That leaves a shuffling of stand-in skipper Brendon McCullum, Martin Guptill and Rob Nicol to make up the top three.
The message the selection sends to players outside the squads is also telling. BJ Watling and Kruger van Wyk are still considered longer form cricketers, judging by their omissions. The fact Brendon McCullum takes back the gloves is significant, but on batting alone the pair might have been considered to hold some sway.
Auckland's consecutive HRV Cup wins have been rewarded with three of the six new caps: de Grandhomme (T20), Michael Bates (ODI and T20) and Roneel Hira (T20). T20 finalists Canterbury get two: Andrew Ellis and Latham (both in the ODI squad) while Central Districts' Tarun Nethula gets a well-telegraphed run in the one-day ranks.
