Will the real batters please stand up?

Daniel Vettori's allround preformance in the previous test may have been his coming of age as a test cricketer, but it also reflected the continued unhealthy dependence of New Zealand's batting on the lower-middle order. The current top six batsmen are short on collective experience, so the transition from potential to performance may not happen just yet.

If I were a cartoonist looking for a throwaway cricket-based gag, I might consider using the following dialogue in a strip:

Scribe\School Friend\In House Psychologist: So whaddya reckon? Think you fancy batting first on that strip?
Daniel Vettori: Looks like it'll seam around like crazy during the first hour. Not sure if the guys need to be exposed to it first-up.
S\SF\IHP: Try something different then. Use reverse psychology.
DV: Reverse psychology?
S\SF\IHP: I mean, reverse the batting order. Those invincible Aussies apparently tried it in '52 on a sticky dog. Y'know, send the less recognised guys in first and hold back the accomplished ones for later.
DV: Oh that! But can't you see we've been doing just that for the past five years?

When your wicketkeeper, allrounder and frontline spinner are consistently the best batsmen in the side, you know you aren't going to win too many test matches. While Vettori's twin half-centuries in Chittagong were a testament to the undeniable progress in his batting, I personally reject the calls for him to bat at number 4 or 5 on a permanent basis. The experiment with Brendon McCullum at number 3 (against the swinging ball) was shelved after one game, and was a good example of what happens when you bat outside your comfort zone. More importantly, I'd rather see some emphasis on developing test quality top-order players so that we don't have to rely on rearguard actions most of the time.

In a sense, we've come the full circle from the first couple of years of Stephen Fleming's captaincy when the likes of Chris Cairns, Adam Parore and Dion Nash were often called upon to rescue the batting. Between then and now, Astle and Fleming lifted their game, we found Mark Richardson, and Craig McMillan and Scott Styris occasionally contributed to what became a decent top order. The aforementioned are all gone for various reasons but the fact that there were no ready replacements in place was most disappointing. Guys like Lou Vincent and Hamish Marshall, who've been around the scene for a while now, were allowed to fall by the wayside when they could have been groomed to take over the top-order responsibilities. Peter Fulton, who's been a fixture in New Zealand squads for three years now continues to be on the fringes and unsure of what his batting position will be when he returns.

When you consider that Redmond, Flynn and Ryder have played nine tests between them as of this moment, and Taylor and How have only become regulars in the last calendar year, it's difficult to point fingers. The first three were instrumental in the first test victory, but the hardest school awaits them in Australia. While that could be a sink-or-swim series for them, Australian tours have tended to bring out surprising performances from first timers of visiting kiwi sides. Shane Bond, Lou Vincent, Jacob Oram and Craig McMillan are some noteworthy examples. It could be a tour worth looking forward to after all.