Triumph of the replacements

The limited overs leg of the South African tour ended in disappointment with Herschelle Gibbs choosing hitting top form all of a sudden to swing it 2-1 in the Proteas' favour. Still, it was a shade better than the ones on the two previous tours of 2000 and 2005 in which we couldn't win a single game. As with the earlier editions, the series defeat doesn't really reflect the gap between the two sides and that comprehensive victory at Port Elizabeth underlined we are still capable of holding our own in ODIs even without our first choice lineup. Narrow losses in the 20 twenty and the first ODI (in which Andre Nel decided to follow in the footsteps of Justin Kemp and Lance Klusener by snatching a last-over-finish away form us) was a reminder that even in better times the luck simply doesn't run with us in this country!

The success at PE was pretty memorable because we controlled the game from start to finish, but it was the performance of the replacements - Jamie How, Kyle Mills and Mathew Sinclair - which was the most heartening and interesting part of the series. The long injured list has become a familiar feature of New Zealand tours (especially to SA) and for once the team was really not much the weaker for it. The 'b-list' combined effectively to almost pull off a series victory, and it assures us of a good standing in the shorter version of the game at least. Which is good news with Chappell-Hadlee around the corner.

Jamie How might have finally cemented his place with back to back fifties at number three, and the timing couldn't have been better. He looked comfortable against the South African pace attack and will now replace Michael Papps in the test side. I was one of those who felt he should be persevered with solely as a test player, and only because of the dearth of quality opening batsmen, but an ODI record of 4 fifties in 8 games so far speaks for itself. He needs to carry the same consistency and application into the test arena and has time on his side too, something Craig Cumming at 32 does not. I also think he should move up from number three to open in ODIs as I'm not convinced of the Vincent-McCullum opening combination so far.

If How's return to the side was a case of a younger player making his mark, Kyle Mills' was a case of a previously valuable competitor stepping up and turning himself into a minor legend of sorts. He was not at full fitness and was recalled more as a desparate measure to fill up the void created by Shane Bond's absence. He has now established himself as a first rate new ball bowler and makes up for his lack of raw pace with outswing, movement and reserves of aggression (also evident in his valuable lower order batting - something we could have done with in the test series). His five wicket haul in Durban was overshadowed by the eventual manner of defeat, which continued a disappoiting trend for him of being almost but not quite a matchwinner - his excellent 4-38 against the Aussies in the Champions Trophy last year was another example. Like How, he should return to test cricket soon if he can maintain his fitness. He claimed he hadn't quite got back his rhythm during the ODIs and if this is true, it speaks volumes of his competitive spirit which NZ need for the Chappell-Hadlee series and beyond.

And of course, there was Mathew 'Skippy' Sinclair. The selectors' decision to send for him seemed like an afterthought as they had all but given up on his one day career having branded him a 5 day specialist (Come to think of it, they seem to have given up on his test career as well). Two bright innings at number 6 against some testing bowling suggest that he should be able to reinvent himself as a a finisher down the order, in the mould of Chris harris or even Roger Twose. He looks more comfortable against the old ball, and the lower-middle order could use a cladding of steel. His 73 at Cape Town was a well paced innings in contrast with Scott Styris at the other end, who was struggling to rotate the strike, and it came at a time when NZ was in danger of collapsing for a low total. Skippy has been messed about by the men in charge so far, but if they are smart they will recognise he has a role to play in the limited overs side and he may have finally found his niche, in this format anyway.

Mark Richardson, on the subject of NZ struggling to produce test match quality cricketers, recently wrote in his cricinfo column "Cricketers of this sort are not manufactured but develop through necessity". Even if this one day series pales into insignificance soon, the performance of these players who were not originally considered for selection offers hope that with sufficient levels of commitment and hunger, we can still develop the skills to be competitive in the International arena; test matches or otherwise.