Mills turns to Grant Fox for psychological boost

Grant Fox, the former All Black fly-half and legendary goalkicker, has been recruited by New Zealand's cricket coach John Bracewell to boost the morale of Kyle Mills, who has been struggling with his bowling of late.

Mills conceded 25 runs off the final over of New Zealand's match against South Africa at Auckland on Sunday, and even though the Kiwis clung on for a two-run victory, it was not the first time that he had suffered such a blowout - Shaun Pollock carted him for 21 runs (with 27 needed) in the final over of the third ODI at Wellington.

But Bracewell was able to gloss over that first occasion, seeing as Mills's penultimate over had gone for just four runs, and had effectively sealed the match. "The damage was done and the game was won before that," he joked. "Kyle just chose to entertain us. He bowled eight terrific balls in a row to nail the game, then slipped and let go a full toss [which went for six]."

"[Kyle]'s going to talk to Grant about being in pressure situations," explained Bracewell. "When you've got to nail it, it's the last kick, how do you cope?" Fox, who played 46 Tests for New Zealand and was a World-Cup winner in 1987, scored 645 points in an eight-year career, including 246 successful goalkicks.