If there's a bigger tease on our collective sporting radar than the Black Caps, please let me know.

Just when we were ready to tell the hangman to tighten the noose and open the trap-door after an awful tour of Sri Lanka except for two Twenty20 victories, this teasing outfit has pulled off two wonderful, consecutive wins over Sri Lanka and England.

One extraordinary fact surrounds both these wins. They both took place at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg but on entirely different wickets.

I cannot recall where two such contrasting pitches have been served up at the same ground over such a short period.

When the Black Caps played Sri Lanka, the wicket was a belter and nearly 600 runs were scored. Against England, the pitch was an appalling one-day offering with the bounce as variable as the Black Caps' form itself, meaning each team was unlikely to reach 200.

Let's hope the wicket we play on at the Wanderers on Sunday in the semi-final at least ensures the element of luck is reduced and offers something to both the bowlers and the batsmen.

So how have the Black Caps turned their fortunes around so dramatically? One significant factor has been the bullet-like starts to both our innings.

It was ironical that the injury Jesse Ryder incurred early on against Sri Lanka meant that he then played every shot as though it was probably his last.

But in fact, his last shot took 125 collective runs in an opening stand with Brendon McCullum and only after Ryder had clubbed his way to a desperate 74.

And this mighty start was repeated against England with McCullum and Martin Guptill putting on a first wicket stand of 84 before McCullum succumbed.

I believe these healthy, quick opening stanzas are critical to the Black Caps' ongoing success in the tournament given the brittleness of our middle order which hasn’t been helped by that millstone, Jacob Oram, who has once again left his team in the lurch at the last minute.

To see a chap like Gareth Hopkins who simply isn't up to international cricket as a batsman only, having to fill the gap that Oram has left is typical of the mess the lanky all-rounder has once again left his team in.

It was none other than the great Denis Lillee who once said that all quick bowlers have good reason not to bowl most of the time, given the complex nature of their actions.

He then added that that's why it takes as much courage as skill to bowl through the inevitable pain barriers and turn up game after game.

But let's give Oram the benefit of the doubt and presume his pain has invariably reached such a level that he cannot genuinely continue to bowl on the countless occasions he has thrown in the towel.

That to me makes no difference whatsoever. Whether there's softness or impossible pain involved, Oram urgently needs to do his country perhaps the biggest favour he ever has and vacate international cricket immediately.

I suspect he'd love to play the 20/20 game at least given the riches on offer in India. Maybe that's why he’s prolonging the agony for himself and the fans for so damn long.

Of course, getting rid of Oram brings to bear another intriguing question? Now that Daniel Vettori has just been made a full-time selector, will he have what it takes to fire one of his best mates?

Officially appointing coach Andy Moles and Daniel Vettori as selectors alongside Glenn Turner and Mark Greatbatch is quite simply unprecedented amongst leading countries on the cricketing scene.

And that's mainly because impartiality is seen as paramount when it comes to making the tough decisions without fear nor favour and selecting the best team available.

I truly hope Dan Vettori proves these fears unnecessary and has what it takes to tap his good mate on the shoulder and tell him it's over.

Your thoughts as usual please.

The Quiz:

Thanks to all of you who participated in the latest Man in the Stand Quiz. I have to say that there were no fully correct answers.

Question 7 stumped everybody. In a special interview with BBC commentator, Brian Johnston, Fred Trueman stated that the best fast bowler he had seen in his lifetime was Richard Hadlee.

"I've seen some great bowlers" said Fred "but my first choice in my World XI would always be Richard Hadlee from New Zealand. For guile, accuracy and control, he's the best I've seen."

The only other contentious questions were numbers 1 and 3. France, England and New Zealand are listed as the three countries to have scored over 10,000 test points by rugbydata.com.

But I've been advised that Australia may have just joined them. If that's the case, any three of the four would have sufficed.

The answer to Question 3 is Howard Joseph as some correctly identified.

The prize will now jackpot to a $300 Lone Star voucher and will be up for grabs this Friday, October 2nd, involving the NRL Grand Final this Sunday