McCullum to bat at No. 5 - Vettori

New Zealand's captain Daniel Vettori wants wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum to bat at No. 5 to bolster an inexperienced top order in the upcoming Tests against Bangladesh and Australia. McCullum, who was usually used at No. 7 or No. 8, was pushed up the order during the Tests against England earlier this year.

''Without Brendon in there, all of the top six apart from Jamie How, have played fewer than 10 Tests. And Jamie's only played a handful more," Vettori told the Sunday Star Times. "We need Brendon there for his capability but also for his experience.

''Brendon's the sort of guy who'd like to bat as high up the order as possible. He's probably not happy about languishing at No. 5. But it's important he's in the mix because we've got such an inexperienced top-order." Vettori said the other benefits of McCullum at No. 5 were that it will ease the pressure on allrounder Jacob Oram and allow Daniel Flynn to settle in at No. 6.

Vettori also suggested that Jesse Ryder, who had an impressive start to his international career before injuring himself in an incident at a Christchurch bar, was likely to make his Test debut. "I think there's good reason to be optimistic when you think about a middle order that might include [Ross] Taylor, Ryder, Baz [McCullum] and [Jacob] Oram,'' he said. "But it's also important to have strength in the supporting areas, and especially at the top of the innings. It would be good if Jamie [How] and Aaron Redmond can make the most of their chances.''

New Zealand leave for Bangladesh on Tuesday for two Tests and three one-day internationals.