New Zealand have, for a long time, come up short in filling the holes left by Nathan Astle and Craig McMillan's departure from ODI competition. Subject to a few more innings of substance, and consistent favour from the selectors, Ross Taylor and Scott Styris are at the forefront of plugging the gaps successfully.

By no means newcomers to Kiwi cricket, Taylor and Styris have laboured through their fair share of unfulfilled potential. Though not entirely at the end of their respective inadequacies, the duo bring an air of calm, collection and - most importantly - promise of big runs going forward.

Taylor's recent accomplishments, backed by the confidence reflected by the powers that-be in his leadership ability for the ongoing series in Sri Lanka and typified his captain's knock of 95 in Tuesday's 200-run trouncing of India, come more of a graduation than an emergence.

He has, for an extended period, rejected the initial faith shown in him when plucked from state cricket as talented 21-year-old. All too often, with the lure of the lucrative Indian Premier League hardly helping his impressionable cause, Taylor has thrown away opportunity after opportunity to be taken seriously as one of the game's greatest stars.

"I'm disappointed that I got out, I would have loved to have still been out there," rued Taylor, who hasn't completed an ODI century in close on two years, in the wake of yet another unwarranted dismissal recently.

Statements along similar lines have dogged the 26-year-old throughout a seesaw five-year international career.

Holing out on the midwicket fence in the 30s and 40s, or even worse, the 50 and 60s, has become a particular favourite of the impulsive slog-sweeper across all formats. If he truly wishes to lay claim to being the Black Caps' best batsman across the next decade, such a brash approach must be abolished all but entirely, let out the bag only in the IPL and other such inconsequential tournaments.

With coach Mark Greatbatch having added to the conviction instilled in Taylor by predecessors Andy Moles and John Bracewell, the right-hander must step up once and for all.

Matt Sinclair, Jamie How, Hamish Marshall, Daniel Flynn, etc - the list of New Zealand's top-order failures is far too full to accommodate another name.

Styris' comeback, meanwhile, serves as a timely and fitting complement to a more mature Taylor's arrival.

Having wisely thrown in the towel on Test cricket, which holds no place for his cranky frame, Styris finds himself amidst a limited-overs resurgence of age-defying proportions. It's not often a 34-year-old manages a victorious riposte in the wake of a lengthy period in the international wilderness, and although Andrew Flintoff and Jacob Oram will have you believe otherwise, Styris is the pioneer on this front.

"Some nine to 10 months ago I was a bit on the outer, which was disappointing," rued the middle-order man this week. "But since than I have done well in domestic cricket, in the series against Australia and for Essex."

Once a perennial benchwarmer for the Deccan Chargers in the doldrums of the IPL, Styris has well and truly bounced back by a) starring in this years' Chappell-Hadlee Series, b) regaining a New Zealand central contract, c) honing his craft in county competition and d) landing an integral part in his country's World Cup plans.

And in the nick of time too...

Asking begrudging wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum - in need of some space to explore his sole role as specialist opener - and Daniel Vettori - primary role: bowler - to carry the bulk of the run-scoring duties time and time again was never ideal.

Styris, at the tail of his career, and Taylor, in the prime of his, now offer a welcome alternative, though. Starting, again, with Friday's clash against Sri Lanka...

Jonhenry Wilson