Hesson may have to tinker with middle order

New Zealand’s prospects of sneaking into the semifinals of the ICC Champions Trophy rely on England continuing its winning run and the Black Caps middle order firing, cricket writer Adrian Seconi writes.

ROSS Taylor is good for 40 off 60. Martin Guptill is yet to fire.

Luke Ronchi is hit and miss. And Kane Williamson cannot do it all on his own.

So where do the rest of the runs come from?

The Black Caps must beat Bangladesh tomorrow night and hope England beats Australia the following day to slip into the ICC Champions Trophy semifinals.

If England delivers on its part then it is all very doable. But the problem for the Black Caps is they just do not have a reliable finisher in the middle of the order — someone like Grant Elliott who can keep the innings ticking along, hold his nerve and then swat a few boundaries at the death in the bigger games to come.

The middle order has folded in both games and perhaps it is time for coach Mike Hesson to tinker with the lineup.

The Black Caps got into a wonderful position against Australia in their opening game.

Williamson enhanced his reputation with 100 from 97 deliveries. Taylor chipped in with a useful knock of 46. Ronchi had a rare good day with 65 from 43 and Guptill got a start.

But thereafter the innings petered out quickly. The Black Caps hit the repeat button in the chase against England yesterday.

Once again Guptill got a start. Taylor was solid rather than threatening. Ronchi was out first ball and Williamson was left with too much to do.

When the New Zealand skipper got out for 87, the innings unravelled again.

The Black Caps might think a Jimmy Neesham plus a Corey Anderson is the equal of an Elliotttype figure — and on their day both can be destructive — but based on recent performances you would switch one of the allrounders for another specialist batsmen.

New Zealand has gone into both games with just the four specialist batsmen and that is putting too much burden on Williamson and Taylor.

Arguably, they are two of the best New Zealand batsmen ever but that does not mean they are without flaws.

Taylor has shrunk his game in the past three or four years. He has cut out some of the shots which have led to his downfall and he has been tremendously successful at test level as a result.

Unfortunately, he is also not as dynamic in the oneday arena as he once was. The game has evolved and Taylor plays it safe for too long.

That would be perfectly fine if the next player coming in could gradually increase the risk level as the overs slipped away.

Elliott mastered that art during the World Cup and the Black Caps could really use a player like him batting at No 5.

Otago’s Neil Broom is vastly experienced at domestic level but he is still feeling his way at international level. Like Taylor, he can be a scratchy starter and that can put pressure on the players to follow.

Tom Latham, who is carrying a foot injury, is the only other specialist batsman in the squad. He is not as attacking as Ronchi but would add stability at the top.

Ronchi could drop down to bolster the middle order which would give the batting a bit more depth.

That move would mean dropping one of the allrounders and someone would have to pick up their overs. Neesham bowled only three overs in the loss against England, so there is not a lot of slack to pick up if he took a seat on the bench.