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Another large, multi-national cricket tournament's just kicked off in India. With the World Cup less than six months away, plenty are looking at the Champions Trophy as a large money making exercise, or a little practice before more significant series ahead - with India scheduled to tour South Africa, and England to defend the Ashes - but the next few weeks will have a little more significance for John Bracewell.
Bracewell took on the coaching job from interim coach Ashley Ross three years ago with a trophy-rich resumé from Gloucestershire, a county that under him had developed into a highly professional outfit with the depth and variety needed to dominate the domestic one day scene in England. Since then, much of his focus has been on fine tuning the Black Caps' game in the shorter form with the World Cup in mind as the big prize. Tests seem to have taken a back seat, with New Zealand having struggled both at home and abroad under him - series losses against Pakistan, Australia, South Africa and England have marked the side's resume in the last few years, with wins only coming against less substantial opposition.
With success in the longer format having been compromised for results in ODIs, New Zealand's performance in the next few weeks will be a vital indicator of how Bracewell's tenure as coach is remembered. The Black Caps have enjoyed a good deal of one day success in the last few years, particularly soon after Bracewell came to the helm with comprehensive series wins over Pakistan and South Africa, and the NatWest Trophy victory in England later in 2004, but the win-loss record since then has become a lot less admirable, particularly with regularly poor performance in tests and injuries affecting the side. Performances at the big stage though will overshadow most of the Kiwis' recent struggles, and strong showings in the Champions Trophy and the World Cup could see Bracewell being remembered as one of the more successful coaches the Black Caps have had. But with depth being earlier tested by injuries, form and selection issues, there's a chance he may end up having a large question mark hang over his time as coach after the World Cup. It comes down simply to the results achieved in the three major ODI tournaments ahead.
The Champions Trophy
New Zealand have struggled in the Champions Trophy since that fairytale 2000 victory, failing to make the semi-finals in 2002 and 2004, when they twice ran afoul of a strong Australian lineup. This time, they'll slated to play different opponents, but the bigger issue will be their handling of the slower, drier Indian wickets where they've struggled in the past. The games so far in the tournament have seen fairly low scores on sluggish tracks with medium-fast swing bowlers and spinners both doing well, and it's here that New Zealand may hold a couple of trump cards. Playing two spinners may be the right way to go here, and if the likes of Styris and Astle's medium pace can support Vettori and Jeetan Patel, New Zealand may be very effective in strangling opposition lineups in the middle overs. With Bond presently out of the first game and Mark Gillespie set to be thrown in for an international debut, there still are question marks over the bowling early on and in the death.
The real issue though will be the batting, which had been hit-or-miss over the past season. Fleming and Astle will need to summon up their experience and lead from the front, and if big hitters like Vincent and McCullum can come to the fore on the low tracks, New Zealand might find things clicking better than in their last two shots at the Champions Trophy.
The World Cup
Given the similarity of many West Indian pitches to the Indian wickets being used, the Black Caps' form in the Champions Trophy will point out their key strengths and weaknesses before the World Cup. Death bowling, which has been a problem in the past, may become an even bigger one on the smaller Caribbean grounds if Mark Gillespie doesn't work as a solution here. The real issue though will be the one that's plagued New Zealand cricket for the last few years: fitness. Shane Bond's already been ruled out of the league game against South Africa, Scott Styris has struggled to cope with the heat and humidity in India and may also not play - and the Black Caps' last international game was about six months ago.
With taxing conditions in India over the next few weeks and then an intense schedule with even more games against Sri Lanka at home, followed by the tri-series in Australia, New Zealand will have a trying schedule between now and March 2007. Key players like Bond, Vettori and Styris have shown plenty of fragility recently, and New Zealand's chances in the West Indies will weigh more heavily on their fitness and participation than most other factors. With a fully fit side, the Kiwis may be dark horses in the World Cup to challenge the higher rated teams like Australia and Pakistan, particularly with some success in the Champions Trophy and Australia. If injuries take toll once again this season though, the campaign may be over soon after it's started.
'Read more from Salil at http://sbenegal.blogspot.com
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