Guptill back in the nick of time

If the Black Caps were looking for an X factor as they try to keep the one-day series against South Africa alive, they might just have found it in the form of Martin Guptill.

The experienced opening batsman has missed the side’s last four ODIS, having injured each of his hamstrings at different points in the past month, but is now back for today’s must-win match.

His absence has been sorely felt, and he will be a welcome sight at the crease when he gets there during the fourth ODI at Seddon Park, where he will look to continue a two-year run of world-class form

that began in the latter stages of the 2015 World Cup.

It seems funny now how much angst there was around Guptill’s place in the squad prior to that event, and although his form in the 13 months leading up to it was concerning - an average of 28.95 across 23 innings - that went out the window when he hit the West Indies all around Westpac Stadium in scoring 237no in the quarterfinals.

Reflecting on his turnaround, Guptill said it was ‘‘a funny thing’’. ‘‘Back before the World Cup when I wasn’t scoring runs, I was still batting like a genius in the nets, or I felt like I was anyway.

‘‘I couldn’t hit the ball anywhere else but the middle of the bat, then I’d go out in the middle and I couldn’t score a run. You just go through times like that in your career and you just have to get through those periods.

‘‘When you spend time in the middle, things just sort of click, you find that rhythm and that momentum to get through it, and you’ve just got to keep that momentum going as long as you can.’’