Adam Parore: Laidback Windies pose a motivation challenge

So what did the Twenty20 knockabout tell us about what to expect from the rest of the West Indies tour?

Precious little. It was a brainless game played brainlessly.

I'm not sure the West Indies have quite figured out how they're going to win in New Zealand. They looked as if they just got kitted up and wandered on to Eden Park for a stroll and to check out the stadium lights.

Their batting was clueless and although they perked up a bit as New Zealand's batting committed hara-kiri in the closing overs, I suspect they are largely a passive group of individuals.

This may pose a problem for New Zealand. If you're playing a tough, enthusiastic, passionate team, like Australia, the tendency is to raise your game.

You're still going to cop the odd pounding but you will also find the knack of improving your performance.

When faced with essentially ordinary, laidback opponents, there's a risk of being dragged down to their level. This is something coach John Bracewell and captain Stephen Fleming will be aware of and be guarding against.

If New Zealand don't win the ODI series starting in Wellington today, and comfortably, I'll be surprised.

I think the West Indies batting will get by - and Brian Lara's arrival for the tests will be a significant boost - but their bowling looks nothing special.

And when it comes to the tests, I have no idea how they hope to get 20 wickets. I'm not sure they do either.

The less said about Thursday night's bowl-off the better. It amazes me that at international level blokes still can't hit the stumps.

You can now begin to see why so many lbw decisions get turned down. On the evidence to date, most of those on display couldn't hit water if they fell out of a boat.

The one bright spot? Shane Bond's bowling, proving yet again that when he's fully fit he will damage any batting lineup.

Fingers crossed he's right for the World Cup next year.

Having watched a bit of Twenty20 now, I think the trick with the international version is not to overdo it. A couple of games a year is fine, and 27,000 voted with their feet on Thursday so there's a big financial incentive for New Zealand Cricket.

I wonder if the way to approach it in future is rather than get too serious about it, go the whole hog and turn it into a carnival atmosphere.

There are plans for a Twenty20 World Cup. Fine with me. It's certainly worth a good look.

On the point of experimentations, I applaud the International Cricket Council trying out rule variations.

While they haven't quite got it right, they have at least shown some intent to improve the game. Given the only intent they usually show is to get to the bottom of their Bombay Sapphire as quickly as possible, this is quite a step forward.

Even the supersub, which is about to be consigned to history, was worth a crack. That it was shown to be a flawed concept before the first game had even finished was unfortunate.

The power play fielding restrictions introduced at around the same time appear to have a little more potential. The fact most captains have chosen to use it as part of a 20-over block at the start of the innings, rather than split them through the course of the 50 overs, is more a reflection on the quality of captains around the world and their inability to think laterally than any fault of the ICC or the rule itself.

Regardless, the game needs to keep going forward.

If it didn't, and if the ICC didn't attempt the odd alteration, we'd still have eight-ball overs and uncovered pitches.

The only suggestion I'd make is tinker within the restrictions of the game as it is.

I think we have seen there is no need for additional players. Eleven is plenty to do the job. Always has been, always will be.