New Zealand's cricketers can ensure that all is not lost from their one-day season if they manage to beat Pakistan and win the National Bank series in Dunedin tomorrow.

From the heady days at the start of the summer when New Zealand won the International Cricket Council's KnockOut tournament in Nairobi, it has been a long way to fall for a side which has lost key all rounder Chris Cairns, other bowlers and seen its most attacking batsmen in Nathan Astle and Roger Twose suffer a horror loss of form.

Yet a win over Pakistan, a side starting to feel the sort of injury effects which have plagued the New Zealanders this summer, would go a long way towards making the hardships of the home summer more endurable.

What New Zealand's misery has done is open up opportunities for younger players to make their mark, and most of them, especially Lou Vincent, Jacob Oram, James Franklin and Darryl Tuffey have come up trumps with some exciting performances which augur well for New Zealand's future.

They have produced qualities that New Zealand supporters like to see in their players, commitment, class and courage.

But for all that, the requirements for victory are simple - runs at the top of the order again.

Signs are that Carisbrook will provide another outstanding batting strip, and that is what will be needed to make this a worthy final to a topsy-turvy series.

New Zealand will know that their ability to put two good performances in consecutive games is under scrutiny again. However, there has been four days since the win on Sunday and plenty of time to ponder the requirements for tomorrow.

The load is heavy on Astle and Twose to further their recovery which began in Christchurch while skipper Stephen Fleming could do with a confidence booster before the Test series.

Craig McMillan also has to lift himself again. But the way in which he has been the constant improver in the side will make him a potential run harvester for New Zealand again.

Pakistan have their own problems with extreme doubt that key batsman Inzamam-ul-Haq will play again on tour while the absence of pace man Shoaib Akhtar is likely to continue.

His absence does make it harder for the Pakistan attack, although the way in which they responded in the third game in Wellington should have the New Zealanders well primed to expect everything but the kitchen sink to be thrown at them.

But Wasim Akram is a wily foe and if getting a sniff of a breakthrough is more than capable of opening up the underbelly of the Kiwi batting with a couple of crucial wickets.

Waqar Younis might not be the firebrand of old but he has been showing signs of improving control although he may be struggling to piece together the variations that have made him such a key man in the past.

The way in which the New Zealanders are using their time to effect against Saqlain Mushtaq is also encouraging and it will be interesting to see what role he plays tomorrow.

Failing to win the series would be a big blow for the Pakistani confidence going into the Test series while a win would cap the season for New Zealand and go part of the way to restoring the side's credibility with its public.

The game starts at 2pm at Dunedin's Carisbrook ground.

© CricInfo