Hesson Still Confident In Bowling Strength

The Black Caps bowlers have been dragged into the headmaster's room with two in particular under fire.

The form of Mark Craig and Trent Boult has been alarmingly poor throughout the first two tests against Australia.

Craig has taken six wickets for 438 runs while Boult has figures of six for 388 in the first two tests.

Coach Mike Hesson insists Craig is an integral member of their squad and it's unlikely he'll be dropped for the Adelaide match - despite the chatter about his form.

"There's no doubt Mark's been put under pressure but what we've see from him time and time again is that we has actually fought back."

"He takes pretty well to be honest. He's a pretty laid back sort of character. No doubt he knows he's not bowling quite as well as he can. He's got a week to ten days to get it right."

Hesson also said that a niggly injury is playing with Boult's mind.

"When you come back from a back injury, there's always an element confidence, knowing when you can push through and when you can't," he said.

"He's still not quite where he normally is but we're hopeful we'll find that."

Meanwhile Kane Williamson has catapulted up the ICC test batting rankings.

The Black Caps batsman has moved up three spots to sit second equal with Australia captain Steven Smith.

It follows his scores of 166 and 32 not out in the drawn second test against Australia in Perth.

Ross Taylor, who scored a record breaking 290 in the same test, has returned to the top 10 for the first time in 12 months, coming in at 10th.

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