Stead ‘close’ to cup 15

Three spinners? Maybe.

Three pace allrounders? A chance.

Backup wicketkeeper/batsman? Possibly.

Black Caps coach Gary Stead and co-selector Gavin Larsen will need to definitively answer those three questions before they can lock in their World Cup squad later this month.

After his team was dominated by India in four of the five ODIs, Stead said: ‘‘We’re close to getting the 15 that we think is the right 15.’’

Given 16 Black Caps played across the five ODIs, and no backup wicketkeeper was used, it looks as if the race is down to 18.

That’s including Tim Seifert and BJ Watling in the mix for the backup gloveman/batsman role, if they consider it’s too much of a risk for Henry Nicholls to open and be Tom Latham’s deputy wicketkeeper.

Central to that is whether they’re satisfied taking just two spinners – Mitchell Santner and either Ish Sodhi or Todd Astle – in the squad or all three.

With Kane Williamson seemingly reluctant to bowl, and with spin bowling being a specialised art, picking all three remains an option if they look likely to play two in the XI for the majority of their nine group matches.

‘‘There’s room for three; there’s 15 places and you can take as many as you want. There could be room for three,’’ Stead said.

Certainly spin looms as a big issue for New Zealand; first of all playing it well after India’s tweakers spun a web around the middle order, and then bowling it effectively after Sodhi went wicketless in his two matches and Santner and Astle weren’t the goto men in Wellington.

England in June has long had a reputation as a pace bowler’s haven but not so much in recent years.

‘‘It depends a bit on the summer bowling but if you take the last few years, two spinners have been a little bit of the norm. You look at the way England structure their side, they usually have Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid. It’d be silly of us not to look at the way they play in their conditions.’’

If they opted for three spinners, with Santner and Astle both seen as allrounders too, that would shorten up another area.

Taking six batsmen with no cover, either batting or wicketkeeping, seems a big risk. Watling should still be considered for his superior glovework and ability to bat anywhere in the topsix, but the fact he’s hardly been near the white ball squad doesn’t bode well. Seifert at least played against Sri Lanka, but his glovework is the worry.

Said Stead of Nicholls as the backup wicketkeeper: ‘‘He’s done a bit of dabbling in the past and it’s something we still have to work out with the complete balance of the 15; take the extra keeping backup or look at another option.’’

When the gloveman answered, allrounders.

Jimmy Neesham is assured, and Colin de Grandhomme looks a good bet. Then there’s Doug Bracewell who is a strong chance and could be considered as one of four pacemen.

If so, that would mean one of Bracewell, Matt Henry and Tim Southee misses the cut.

The squad to face Bangladesh in three ODIs, starting in Napier next Wednesday, will tell a story. It’s their final ODI series before the cup campaign.

Stead said India deserved their 4-1 series win and there was a clear work-on for his side.

‘‘I was disappointed with [Sunday] because I think we could have got up and won it. There are similar ways we’ve been playing that we haven’t quite got right yet. Chasing, we’re just losing too many wickets early. That’s something we’ll address as a team and hopefully keep improving.’’ spin and backup questions are then it’s the