Bowlers who have their skills under control and who consistently deliver plans for Captain Kane Williamson at the World Cup.
The tests will continue in the summer. However, the stints in the one-day series against India scheduled to start later this month should have more influence when the 15-man World Cup team is selected.
The job descriptions for bowlers have not changed, but the concerns of those who can meet the needs of specialists in over 50 matches played have increased.
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The merit of Colin Munro at the top of the list is the only immediate question about the punch talent, and this may leave the debate on the implications of relocating wicket keeper Tom Latham to his test role as the opening player. That’s unlikely, but it’s an option.
Elsewhere, top-batting rank has shrunk, with Martin Guptill, Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, Henry Nicholls and Jimmy Neesham making runs with Latham to complete the list.
The bowling game has gone in a different direction.
Trent Boult and Tim Southee did the business this summer at the opening of the test level, but the bowling plans, the field environment, and the production were mixed, although they do carry the one-day series with Sri Lanka.
Tonight there will be a T20 game at Eden Park to unpack the conversation and finish the summer before attention shifts from Indian clout to the Inquisition. This line-up has tempered Australia’s attack for a historic victory in the test series and three one-day candidates against Australia can warm up for their visit to the Tasman.
You may need a game or two to adapt to the different conditions, but Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, RK Rahul, Shikar Dhawan, Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni and their colleagues will add some points to the demands for the New Zealand bowlers. Who will they be?
For the World Cup, coach Gary Stead has to agree on a primary group of bowlers whose beating is more of a bonus than a requirement, and then he can take one or two rounder, but injuries can reduce his choices if Adam Milne and Todd Astle, Corey Anderson or Mitchell Santner can not do enough work.
Stead and his associates will have assessed the likely conditions and size of the facilities in England at the start of the tournament in May and which bowlers best fit New Zealand’s plans and tournament format.
Tempo is the best weapon for stroke indecision, so Lockie Ferguson beats Milne, Seth Rance or Scott Kuggeleijn as wild cards. The experience of Boult and Southee is leading, perhaps with Matt Henry, who has been successful on the British racetrack but needs a shot and results to confirm his ticket.
If spin is a necessity, then Ish Sodhi, Will Somerville, Ajaz Patel and Astle opt for the discussion, but usually New Zealand opt for batsmen who are a bit like Santner or middle-tempers like Colin de Grandhomme, Anderson, Neesham or Play Doug Bracewell.
Stead wants a few all-rounders in his squad, but he should limit that choice and concentrate on specialized one-day bowlers like Ferguson and Sodhi, whose attack difference creates the point the teams need to win a World Cup.
