Cricket World Cup: Martin Guptill could be key to World Cup fortunes

New Zealand Black Caps batsman Martin Guptill. Photo / Brett Phibbs

Perplexing batsman cements place in side as counterpoint to mercurial McCullum

Let me introduce to you one of New Zealand's most perplexing cricketers, a man who carried his team upon his slightly stooped shoulders to within sight of victory over Bangladesh with an emphatic century. Yet, in an act emblematic of his career, he left the result in the balance with his dismissal.

He's a man who might just hold the key to New Zealand's batting fortunes not only tomorrow against the West Indies, but for the remainder of the tournament; a man who has squirrelled away the most runs among his teammates at this tournament, yet is only scratching the surface of his talent.

It's not as if we, the public, have forgotten how good Martin James Guptill can be; it's that too often Guptill forgets just how good Guptill can be. It is why the 28-year-old remains on target to be remembered as one of the country's great sporting enigmas.

He should be New Zealand's test opener - he is a better player at this point than Hamish Rutherford or, before him, Peter Fulton - but, according to one well-placed source, remains some way down the pecking order because of fundamental flaws in technique. It seems crazy that a player with such shot-making and ball-striking skills sometimes struggles with the forward defence, but there you have it: the mystery of Guptill summed up in one shot.

There is hope that Martin Crowe can bring out the magic in Guptill across all formats.

It was no coincidence that Ross Taylor went from good to, by New Zealand standards at least, great under the tutelage of New Zealand's finest batsman. Unlike a Kane Williamson or, reaching back into the misty recesses of time, an Andrew Jones, Guptill is not the sort of player who is going to figure things out for himself - he needs regular reassurance that he is on the right track.

That reassurance, in terms of selection security, is probably something he is only truly beginning to feel now. Guptill last played a test in May 2013, an inglorious affair where he scored 1 and 3 batting at No6 and, as mentioned, is probably not in the frame for an imminent recall.

Although his record in the shorter formats is much better, it is not as if he has a locked down spot, until now. As recently as the World T20 in Sri Lanka, his place in all formats was hanging on a knife-edge after he struggled to implement a fast-starting game plan. Mike Hesson and Brendon McCullum demanded quick runs while the ball was new and before the spinners came on; Guptill delivered 21 in 27 balls against the West Indies and 38 in 30 balls against Sri Lanka, both games New Zealand would eventually lose in a super over.

Concerns were raised then that Guptill was not doing enough between the boundary balls and while those concerns have not been eradicated, they have been alleviated.

Even in the lead-up to the World Cup, there were calls for Tom Latham to be tried as an opener when Guptill hit a rough patch. This time Hesson and McCullum's support was unequivocal.

Guptill's strength is hitting straight and over the top, but he knows that when McCullum is feeling it, sometimes it's better to be at the other end enjoying the show.

"Any time you've got two openers scoring so many runs sets a good tone for the team and enables the batsmen coming in to have confidence. Cricket is a confidence game and it's great to see Martin back to top form," said Taylor, Guptill's close confidante.

At the start of this tournament, Guptill must have felt like Ronnie Corbett to McCullum's Ronnie Barker - his presence necessary only to highlight the extraordinary talent of his sidekick. But as McCullum's ferocity has been slightly tempered of late, thanks (or no thanks) to the early introduction of spinners, Guptill has flourished - the straight man enjoying his time in the spotlight.

"There's always talk about form but I don't believe in that much," said teammate Grant Elliott, essentially parroting the belief of Black Caps management. "We can say he's peaking at the right time. There are a lot of matchwinners in our team."

Guptill, in typically understated fashion after the win against Bangladesh last week, referenced his gap-hitting prowess.

"It's nice to score a hundred whether it's in the World Cup or not and it's nice to get the end result there and get the win as well," he said.

"[It] was one of the those days when everything went in the gap and I scored quite freely. But those days are few and far between, so when you hit those days you have to make the most of it."

New Zealand would still like McCullum to be working the crowd into a frenzy and giving the scorers Occupational Overuse Syndrome, but with his sidekick in run-hungry form, it no longer feels like the be-all and end-all.

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