• Howick and Pakuranga Times

ONLY South Africa’s pending tour can confirm whether New Zealand’s recent cricketing success is a bright new dawn or a false illusion.

Certainly there was cause for hope after the heroics of a rare test win against Australia on a conducive Hobart pitch upon which 21-year-old bowler Doug Bracewell ended with nine wickets for 60 runs late last year.

The momentum has continued with overwhelming success against Zimbabwe. But the calibre of the opposition has been so poor it’s difficult to accurately gauge the progress made.

Coach John Wright does appear to be on the right track and he deserves praise for introducing new blood based on domestic form, along with the successful return from injury of veterans Jacob Oram and Howick Pakuranga’s Kyle Mills.

Oram’s 3-29 and rollicking 59 in the Cobham Oval ODI was particularly impressive last Monday, when Rob Nicol top scored with an outstanding 146 and Martin Guptill and Tom Latham were other major contributors to their team’s 372 with 77 and 48 respectively.

At 19, lefty Latham, son of former Black Cap Rod, looks a fine prospect. But again Zimbabwe’s overall incompetence makes judgment difficult.

Certainly South Africa, so blessed with dangerous fast bowlers, will provide a much sterner test of New Zealand’s mettle.

Nevertheless, the Black Caps can only play what’s in front of them and it’s encouraging to note that the bowlers have maintained good line and length, even if we still cannot manufacture the speedsters that come so readily off the Australian production line.

For consistency, Guptill’s batting has been brilliant, a shining light for others to follow, and it was good to see the gifted Nicol take his chance at a time when captain Ross Taylor is sidelined with the calf problems that sidelined Jesse Ryder for a few months.

That Ryder marked his return for Wellington with a 96 was a timely reminder of his enormous talent as New Zealand builds towards the world cup later in the year.

Meanwhile, India will be gutted that they should have been so comprehensively outplayed by an Australian team that was rocked by their test loss to New Zealand.

Having produced the best batting side in the world for so long, India now finds age has eroded the brilliance of some of its finest and will need to instil some youth if it’s to regain high standing.

Interesting, too, that Australian veterans Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey should use India as a life buoy when their own careers looked to be in crisis, while captain Michael Clarke was even more savage in using it as chopping block in amassing his test triple hundred.

Meanwhile, Brendon McCullum’s Twenty20 game still rates highly with the Indians who have paid US$900,000 for his services, despite the fact that his brilliance would shine brighter if he wasn’t so erratic.

That Guptill should make himself unavailable for such riches at this stage of his career is astonishing when one considers his present form.

If only McCullum, Taylor and Ryder could emulate his consistency, New Zealand’s world cup hopes would rise dramatically.