Cricket: Windies can weather storm

John Bracewell reckons the West Indies are merely battered rather than broken, and will take enormous heart from today's arrival of test batting star Brian Lara.

The besieged tourists flew into Auckland yesterday to begin preparations for tomorrow's final one-dayer against New Zealand, after which they will start gearing up for the opening match of the test series, starting at Eden Park on Thursday.

Lara and fellow test specialists Devon Smith and Daren Powel were expected to arrive from Hong Kong yesterday, but will now apparently fly in about lunchtime today, as replacements for one-day players Wavell Hinds and Deighton Butler.

Lara, the current and only two-time holder of the world test batting record and the greatest run-scorer in the history of the game, has scaled down his workload in the interests of longevity, and was unavailable for the one-day section of the tour.

But Bracewell is wary of his influence, saying yesterday that the great left-hander could not help but have a positive impact on the rest of his teammates.

"They'll get a huge boost from the arrival of Brian," said Bracewell. "He's the man who puts the big runs on the board and when they compete as a nation it's usually when he's got a score under his belt.

"As a test side I thought they grew in confidence in Australia and were one of the few sides to have left without having their tail between their legs. They became stronger as the tour went on.

"So I'm picking that their test team, at least in a mental sense, will probably have more confidence than the one-day side."

Bracewell yesterday released injured pace bowler Michael Mason from the one-day squad and recalled left-armer James Franklin for tomorrow's contest.

He said Franklin, who continues to develop as an all-rounder and scored a double-century for Wellington on Wednesday, was a good example of the evolution within the squad, as players matured and adjusted to an ever-changing environment.

"We're starting to get growth and emergence from James."