Pressure heats up on Black Caps batsmen

Never has test cricket been played this early in a New Zealand season.

Seven years ago, New Zealand Cricket boldly ventured into November for the first time and sent Pakistan south to Dunedin. It paid off, and Shane Bond helped bowl the Black Caps to victory in a final-day thriller, by 32 runs.

The formula’s stood up a long time: send the team from much warmer climes south prechristmas and watch them freeze. Almost certain victory for the hosts.

It worked last December when Sri Lanka were greeted by sleet in Dunedin and the Black Caps began their home ‘summer’ with a 122-run win.

In 11 pre-christmas test season openers in New Zealand, the hosts have lost just one: to Pakistan in December 1995, in Christchurch.

Pakistan return there for Thursday’s first test at a different venue, Hagley Oval, with the odds stacked against them. Their only three-day warmup match was washed out without a ball bowled. Thursday’s early forecast is for southerlies, rain and a maximum of 14degc. Welcome to New Zealand in November.

That ramps up the pressure on the Black Caps’ underperforming top-six, in conditions far removed from India where they melted against quality spin.

Selection’s been largely straightforward for coach Mike Hesson, but this 13-man New Zealand squad caused him and coselector Gavin Larsen headaches.

They made the overdue call to cut the struggling Martin Guptill but were only really bombarded by one player who roared ‘‘pick me’’ in domestic cricket. That was Todd Astle, the 30-year-old batting legspinner who owed his spot to a Mitchell Santner broken wrist but deserved some love after nearly four years in the test wilderness.