David Leggat: Options to test against Pakistan

Brendon McCullum. Photo / NZPA

The six ODIs against Pakistan offer a final opportunity for New Zealand to experiment with their 15-man squad for the World Cup.

They have six pool games in India and Sri Lanka.

The pitches will largely be slowish and with bounce tending towards the low side.

What might be the requirements for New Zealand to progress to at least the knockout stage?

Here's a handful of ideas, realistic and slightly left field, which might be rattling round among the com-bined minds of the New Zealand brains trust ...

Rejig the batting order
At some point in the series, you can bank on seeing regular openers Brendon McCullum and Jesse Ryder being tried out in the middle order, possibly even on the same day.

New Zealand's batsmen don't handle spin particularly well. This is a worry going to the subcontinent, where the locals with the supple fingers should present problems.

Ryder is among New Zealand's better players of spin. The idea would be for him to play his way through to the end of the innings.

McCullum is more likely to stay at the top during the tournament, but expect him to get a run about No 4 at some point, just to see how it goes.

Use all three spinners
Captain Dan Vettori and offspinner Nathan McCullum will be key figures with the ball.

Vettori is among the 50-over version's best operators, and McCullum is a tidy performer with the ball, and bats usefully late on.

Wellington left-armer Luke Woodcock is the third spinner in the squad, and his modus operandi is flat darters.

Expect all three to play together at least once. Thirty overs of spin out of 50?

When it comes to India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, why not. You can bet other teams will be doing that, and more. And what about history repeating ...

Open with a spinner
When Dipak Patel kicked off New Zealand's bowling attack in the 1992 World Cup opener against Australia at Eden Park, it was a shock tactic, which paid a big dividend through the tournament, en route to the semifinals.

What price New Zealand trying it, even once, in the next fortnight?

A batting pinch hitter
Let's accept that Brendon McCullum, Ryder, Martin Guptill and Ross Taylor are the favoured quartet at the top of the order.

Who should have the pads on if the openers make a flyer, to try and press on rapidly? Or alternatively if things get bogged down?

Someone should have that role during the tournament anyway. Locking in batting positions for what is a fluid situation ahead of time isn't a smart move.

Who might it be? James Franklin, who had a crack at No 3 during a T20 against Pakistan? Or Jacob Oram, who still hits a long ball with the best of them? Or Nathan McCullum, who is a sparky late-innings hitter?

Spread the bowling around
Any combination New Zealand field will have at least seven players capable of anything from a full quota of 10 overs to fiddling a couple midway through the innings.

Look for New Zealand to use at least seven bowlers in one or more games against Pakistan.

This would serve two purposes: give the part-timers a taste of action to keep involved in the bowling strategy, and also to test the depth.