Vincent takes Jonty's hints but wants to be his own man

Watch out for even more improvements in livewire New Zealand batsman and fielder Lou Vincent's game before the next World Cup.

Vincent has added another dimension to what was already a combative New Zealand fielding unit since his introduction last summer. He, and Andre Adams, have built on the natural, and continuing, athleticism of cover-point fielder Chris Harris to give New Zealand absolute agility against most sides.

And on the recent tour of Australia, Vincent was able to look at other masters in the 'in-the-circle' positions like Jonty Rhodes and Ricky Ponting, but especially Rhodes.

Vincent also made full use of the chance to watch Rhodes' batting style as well. He liked what he saw and is keen to develop that part of his play.

While he has been moved around the order, it is becoming increasingly obvious that in the one-day style of the game he is best equipped, at this stage of his career, to bat at five or six and to work the ball around.

That worked perfectly on the slow pitch at WestpacTrust Stadium on Saturday in Wellington when New Zealand made good use of what was a useful batting mix to recover from a position of 52/3 and still post a score of 244.

"I watched Jonty Rhodes up close and I'm not trying to adopt exactly what he does because I want to be my own player.

"But I think he signifies the style of fast-running, aggressive middle-order sort of player and I think that can be my role.

"There are enough guys in New Zealand who can hit the ball at the top and get the boys off to a flyer. Consolidating the middle with Macca [Craig McMillan] and Cairnsy [Chris Cairns] that's going to be my role, I love it.

"It doesn't matter where I bat, for now I'm pretty comfortable at four or five or six or seven," he said.

Vincent said he had a good chat with Rhodes after the second VB Series final in Sydney.

"He just said: 'Yeah, keep going hard, keep going hard. Bat on ball and run hard,' that's what he said."

Vincent also talked to him about aspects of their fielding craft, how to work on his balance. He also talked about the way Rhodes tends to go sideways in his movements. Vincent's movements tend to go forward so he doesn't quite get to cover the same amount of ground as Rhodes achieves.

Missing balls that pass by in that region have been frustrating Vincent and he will be working on different muscle development in the future to help him cope with the sideways type of movements.

Vincent's fielding skill is no accident. He works hard at it and has catching practice most days, something that CLEAR Black Caps manager Jeff Crowe advocates as one of the better first slippers New Zealand cricket has had.

Vincent, Harris and Adams also spend time talking about how they can further improve their fielding and their fielding philosophies. They talk about how they prepare and how to get the ball faster into the hands.

"It's agility. Stretching and flexibility," he said.

"We always think about aspects of our game, batting, bowling and fielding, we're getting quite tactical as a team now. It's all part of the New Zealand make-up," Vincent said.

The very eagerness of the fieldsmen allows batsmen no respite at all and there is always the nagging fear created by batsmen looking to take a quick run.

But with Vincent looking to further develop his style, with bat and ball, even more exciting times are in prospect.