Bahnz
Hall of Fame Member
After New Zealand's tragicomedy in Bangladesh, everyone's scrabbling around for potential solutions to what appears to be a complete meltdown, particularly in the batting. One potential answer that Daniel Vettori has raised is to revive the old debate of where McCullum should bat:
Brendon McCullum set for move down batting order | Stuff.co.nz
It's an interesting idea, with some merit given New Zealand's inability to bat out 50 overs this year. What's more, with the batting powerplay, McCullum could be poised to take full advantage of the fielding restrictions and really up the ante for New Zealand at the death. However, it means a big loss at the top. McCullum's figures opening the batting since the 2007 World Cup have been impressive, averaging a shade over 36 at a strikerate of 93.5. And with Guptill out of form, Watling looking not up to scratch and Jamie How still with a big question mark over aspects of his technical and mental game, McCullum shifting down leaves us looking dangerously light on genuine ability at the top. One could argue the case that with the return of Styris and Oram, and a move for Daniel Vettori a couple of slots down the order, our problems could solve themselves.
Any thoughts or opinions on where McCullum should bat for the next 6 months running into the World Cup?
Brendon McCullum set for move down batting order | Stuff.co.nz
It's an interesting idea, with some merit given New Zealand's inability to bat out 50 overs this year. What's more, with the batting powerplay, McCullum could be poised to take full advantage of the fielding restrictions and really up the ante for New Zealand at the death. However, it means a big loss at the top. McCullum's figures opening the batting since the 2007 World Cup have been impressive, averaging a shade over 36 at a strikerate of 93.5. And with Guptill out of form, Watling looking not up to scratch and Jamie How still with a big question mark over aspects of his technical and mental game, McCullum shifting down leaves us looking dangerously light on genuine ability at the top. One could argue the case that with the return of Styris and Oram, and a move for Daniel Vettori a couple of slots down the order, our problems could solve themselves.
Any thoughts or opinions on where McCullum should bat for the next 6 months running into the World Cup?