Batsmen coming into form

The New Zealand batting order is taking on a bit of a rosy sheen thanks to the form of batsmen in the first-class game. In the latest round most of the top players did well, despite generally average team totals:

Craig McMillan - 51 (out of 198) and 82 (out of 238)
Nathan Astle - 53 (out of 198) and 3 (out of 238)
Michael Papps - 3 (out of 198) and 13 (out of 238)
Tim McIntosh - 21 (out of 198) and 4 (out of 238)
Peter Fulton - 18 (out of 198) and 23 (out of 238)
Jamie How - 4 (out of 350) and 13 (out of 275)
Matthew Sinclair - 17 (out of 350) and 95 (out of 275)
Ross Taylor - 42 (out of 350) and 0 (out of 275)
Matthew Horne - 76 (out of 404) and 72 (out of 223/3)
Lou Vincent - 185 (out of 404) and 8 (out of 223/3)
Rob Nicol - 35 (out of 404) and 14* (out of 223/3)
Hamish Marshall - 51 (out of 184) and 13 (out of 195)
Scott Styris - 31 (out of 184) and 15 (out of 195)
Stephen Fleming - 56 (out of 220) and 80* (out of 160/2)
Jesse Ryder - 20 (out of 220)

So McMillan, Astle, Sinclair, Fleming and Marshall are all looking good in the middle order - with the form of Vincent and Horne putting some pressure on them. A word also on Rob Nicol, whose 35 came off 180 balls in 242 minutes and who I think has the technique and temperament to be a test opener.

There are some concerns. None of the youngsters did particularly well and on current form, Michael Papps would have to be pretty lucky to be selected to open the batting against Australia. Meanwhile Scott Styris has barely scored a run all year. But overall, I think we are starting to look in fairly good shape.