**Official** New Zealand in South Africa

[Mike5181]

Originally Posted by ohnoitsyou

The starting line up looks great, but theres no point including Milne against a team that has 150 kmph bowling at them in the nets, and it would be good to get Chops in the squad as well, nvm his weakness

I picked Milne because he has a good record in the longer format, and dominated the Plunket Shield this season.

[Mike5181]

Originally Posted by _Ed_

Yeah, probably agree. And, like it or not, I wouldn't be surprised if Ronchi forced his way into contention by then.

I thought about including Ronchi, but we generally haven't included a reserve keeper in our test squads. I can't see him replacing Watling just yet, unless he has an absolutely terrible second test.

[Kippax]

People should refrain from putting Ryder at 5 in their teams tbh. Overseas readers will think it's just a matter of time.

[ohnoitsyou]

Originally Posted by Mike5181

I picked Milne because he has a good record in the longer format, and dominated the Plunket Shield this season.

NZ domestic batsmen

[Zinzan]

Originally Posted by ohnoitsyou

Come on guys get realistic we need a genuine batsmen at number 7. As if the 5th bowler is going to add much more than the occasional wicket, and if we need to manage our bowlers, Vettori is there to bowl long tight spells and the part timers can chip a few in as well
Ideal situation:
7. Watling
8 Vettori
9. Bracewell/Wagner/whoever
10. Southee
11. Boult

Why has Mark Gillespie suddenly fallen off the radar with everyone? In his last two tests (which were against SA) he took 11 wickets @ 22 and was by far and away our most likely wicket taking option. Short memories.

[_Ed_]

Fair point. But he is injury-prone and has only been OK for Wellington in Plunket Shield - 17 wickets @ 35.

[Mike5181]

Originally Posted by ohnoitsyou

NZ domestic batsmen

NZ domestic batsmen? It's not like scoring runs against NZ first-class bowlers is a good indication of whether they would score runs in internationals either. We just have to live with what we have to judge players on. Cachopa scoring a few centuries against our domestic attacks isn't going to scare Steyn, Philander, and Morkel either. The batsmen we have at the moment have done the same thing, and they were recently bowled out for 45. It's not like we can pick bowlers that have had success at test level for that reserve spot, unless you want to pick a 38 year old. Love it or hate it, Milne's definitely among the top bowlers in the country that have yet to be picked for the test squad. Matt Henry, and Ben Wheeler would be the others.

[Mike5181]

Originally Posted by Zinzan

Why has Mark Gillespie suddenly fallen off the radar with everyone? In his last two tests (which were against SA) he took 11 wickets @ 22 and was by far and away our most likely wicket taking option. Short memories.

When he's fit and in form, he's definitely one of our best. He's always injured though.

[Bahnz]

Originally Posted by Mike5181

I picked Milne because he has a good record in the longer format, and dominated the Plunket Shield this season.

Erm, dominated the Plunket Shield? He's only played in 2 games so far this season, and while he bowled well (in parts), I'd hardly call that dominating the comp.

[Howsie]

Cricket, Black Caps: Batsmen Cop Friendly Fire In... | Stuff.co.nz

Hesson earlier hinted Guptill may go down the order and he may need a respite, leaving Flynn to potentially get a promotion.

Are there many PS games before the England test series starts?

[wellAlbidarned]

Originally Posted by Prince EWS

You don't have to be a great player to be under-rated though. In fact you can be an absolutely awful player and still be under-rated if the general consensus of you is that of an even more vile player than you actually are.

Franklin was a good Test bowler for a period. That is being forgotten by many because of what the second half of his career has been like. Not by you, probably not even by too many New Zealanders on CW, but by a lot of semi-serious cricket fans and probably even serious ones from other countries as well. I'm not saying the he was ever world class or that he should go down as a great bowler for sustaining good bowling for ~ 20 Tests, but that doesn't mean he isn't under-rated. The longer this batting allrounder experiment goes on well after he's lost his bowling completely, the more under-rated his early bowling will get, as a lot of people will just remember him for this.

I see where you're coming from but I guess I just don't really see it as an injustice that he isn't really rated or even noted by many cricket fans. So many bowlers with career trajectories like his have come and gone and they're all remembered fondly by fans of their country but no-one else, which is fair enough in my view.

[Mike5181]

Originally Posted by Bahnz

Erm, dominated the Plunket Shield? He's only played in 2 games so far this season, and while he bowled well (in parts), I'd hardly call that dominating the comp.

Dominated when he played then. 11 wickets @ 16, with an ER of 2.8 is quality.

[Bahnz]

Has dominated with the bat too, average of 67.50 at a strike rate of 65 is quality. Should get him in the team in place of Guptill. Actually tbh he couldn't do any worse.

[Immenso]

Originally Posted by Howsie

Cricket, Black Caps: Batsmen Cop Friendly Fire In... | Stuff.co.nz



Are there many PS games before the England test series starts?

Yes, sensible domestic calender this hear. PS starts again on 24th Jan. He could theoretically play 5 games before the first test. Or more likely play 2 games before the first T20 on the 9th Feb, or probably even more likely play 0 games so that he is 'refreshed' ....... and then go to Derbyshire in the winter

[Mike5181]

Originally Posted by Bahnz

Has dominated with the bat too, average of 67.50 at a strike rate of 65 is quality. Should get him in the team in place of Guptill. Actually tbh he couldn't do any worse.

I really don't think he's a bad option at all for what is essentially the fifth seamers spot behind Southee, Boult, Bracewell, and Wagner. I'd like to know who you would rather have there?