The curse of the one-day keepers
It was a win for New Zealand fans to savour, to cast an expectant glance towards Wellington tomorrow and celebrate the fighting qualities of their one-day international cricket team on home soil.
Then there was the elephant in the dressing room, draped in a giant pair of wicketkeeping gloves.
Heart-stopping victories like Wednesday’s over the world No 1 South Africans, chasing a recordbreaking 13th successive ODI win, can mask some blemishes. Indeed, if the Big Four of Ross Taylor, Kane Williamson, Trent Boult and Tim Southee all step up as they did at Hagley Oval, the Black Caps will rarely lose.
But the sight of the previously unstoppable Tom Latham trudging back in the fourth over, having scored his ninth run in four ODI innings as wicketkeeper, raised the burning questions Williamson and coach Mike Hesson will be juggling like a hot potato.
Why is the ODI wicketkeeping role such a poisoned chalice this season?
And how long can they persevere with Latham in that role, before his confidence is damaged to the point his most important task as test opener is compromised next month?
The answer to question two is at least one more chance in Wellington, and probably the rest of this gripping five-match series.
In that respect, Wednesday’s win proved troublesome in that any tough calls will be delayed in light of the Black Caps’ largely impressive victory. Never change a winning team, and all that.
‘‘It’s hard to tick all your boxes all at the same time, and yesterday we certainly had more positives than questions. We’re travelling all right,’’ Hesson said.
Latham kept wicket flawlessly in Christchurch, diving forward to New Zealand ODI wicketkeepers with the bat this season: 7 and 0 v Australia 0 and 2 v South Africa 0, 6 and 1 v India 5 and 35 v Bangladesh 14 and 0 v India 6, 17 and 8 v Australia snare the crucial catch of AB de Villiers, and removing JP Duminy and David Miller standing up to spin. With Latham taking the gloves and opening, they can include both allrounders and cover for Jimmy Neesham’s struggles with the ball.
But Latham suddenly looks bereft with the bat, his familiar out shot of falling over on a leg stump line and being either lbw or caught an area teams are cottoning on to. Seven innings ago Latham scored a career-best 137 against Bangladesh on Boxing Day, when Luke Ronchi had the gloves and the label of New Zealand’s No 1 white ball wicketkeeper.
There is a feeling within the camp that the gloves aren’t affecting Latham’s batting, given the Black Caps batted first in all four ODIs against Australia and South Africa.
He hasn’t yet crouched behind the stumps for nearly four hours, then gone straight out to bat. Still, the expanded role appears to be some kind of burden.
The eternal hope in team Black Cap is that Latham can break out of his form slump and ease a few minds.
If he’s dismissed cheaply again, and Dean Brownlie goes big, then Martin Guptill’s potential return for game four might give them an excuse to ‘freshen’ Latham up for the three tests and hand Ronchi the gloves.
That might put Neil Broom in danger of missing out, with Neesham in top batting form and under less pressure with Colin de Grandhomme doing a tidy job with the ball.
It’s the biggest headache facing the national selectors.
Ronchi and BJ Watling each had five ODI innings this season; Ronchi with four single-figure scores and Watling three. Ronchi looks a world-beater in the nets and for Wellington but for whatever reason struggles for ODI runs.
Still, Latham and Ronchi look the likely duo for the Champions Trophy squad in June, given the selectors’ reluctance to look elsewhere at home.