**Official** New Zealand in South Africa

[Howsie]

lol, only $9?

Why have I got that sinking feeling that McCullum will move back down to three and Fulton will open with Guptill? I think it kind of explains why he was in the 20/20 squad in a way.

[straw man]

Looking forward to the tests too, despite the prospect of two absolute thumpings.

Going to be looking for small victories e.g.
- Bracewell bowls well - he's looked like he wants to be a wicket-taker rather than containing third seamer recently and this is his chance. If he bowls well it will take the focus off Boult (who is otherwise our only threat).
- Guptill, Flynn & Brownlie to score a 50 each.
- Williamson to score a century.
- Fulton/Franklin to provide some lolz
- Watling to keep well
- no injuries
- Hesson to quit. That's even more wishful thinking than the rest.

[straw man]

Why have I got that sinking feeling that McCullum will move back down to three and Fulton will open with Guptill? I think it kind of explains why he was in the 20/20 squad in a way.

NZ cricket tactix

Do what your opposition fans least want you to do

[M0rphin3]

Looking forward to the tests too, despite the prospect of two absolute thumpings.

Going to be looking for small victories e.g.
- Bracewell bowls well - he's looked like he wants to be a wicket-taker rather than containing third seamer recently and this is his chance. If he bowls well it will take the focus off Boult (who is otherwise our only threat).
- Guptill, Flynn & Brownlie to score a 50 each.
- Williamson to score a century.
- Fulton/Franklin to provide some lolz
- Watling to keep well
- no injuries
- Hesson to quit. That's even more wishful thinking than the rest.

Would gladly take a thumping for that itbt.

[Howsie]

And I can't get over the 'Mitch only bowled mid 130s' stuff from PE. Did anyone notice he swung it more to adjust to a sluggish pitch, took control of his own fields and bowled to them
Impeccably and went for 1-24 - and probably could have taken one more? I'm biased but I thought he showed way more than your run of the mill charge in, bowl fast and think later sort of character. Which is exactly what he was 2-3 years ago. He's in the Test squad - wont play but on what I saw and what I know of him, he'll be a fixture sooner rather than later.

He bowled well but when you read stuff from Lou Vincent yapping on how he's the quickest bowler in NZ you sort of expect him to bowl quicker then Jimmy bloody Neesham.

He looked good though, as he has in domestic cricket from time to time. Even if he isn't 140+ at least he swings the ball and gets some pretty decent bounce. The days of Andy McKay ever getting a game for New Zealand are hopefully long gone.

[Briony]

Most of the SA squad will have rested since oz while NZ have been playing some T20 cricket and a tour match. Maybe they can catch them off guard as SA have been caught out in this way before.

[Hurricane]

Most of the SA squad will have rested since oz while NZ have been playing some T20 cricket and a tour match. Maybe they can catch them off guard as SA have been caught out in this way before.

I think if Martin plays we will be fine as far as our bowling attack goes. And if we play 4 seamers I reckon our attack will be test standard. We are quite fortunate to have Martin waiting in the wings.

Cricket: NZ pace bowlers get chance to impress - Sport - NZ Herald News

I will be impressed if we reach 300 in any of our innings for batting however.

Article says McCullum tempted to bat at 4. FWIW he has more recent experience opening than Fulton does and he shouldn't be making Pete bat out of position.

[HeathDavisSpeed]

FWIW he has more recent experience opening than Fulton does and he shouldn't be making Pete bat out of position.

Sorry mate, but what's best for McCullum is best for New Zealand.

[Mike5181]

Article says McCullum tempted to bat at 4. FWIW he has more recent experience opening than Fulton does and he shouldn't be making Pete bat out of position.

The only reason Fulton's even near the test squad is because he scored 504 runs @ 72 as an opener including three centuries, and two half-centuries. It's fine to to say McCullum should play as an opener, I wholeheartedly agree actually. To say he'd be pushing Fulton out of position simply isn't true though.

I honestly don't see the point in picking Martin btw. The guy is 38, and this is an opportunity to give one of the younger guys a go against a proper team in preparation for the England series where we're likely to at least compete a little better with the reinforcements we're likely to get. Let Wagner play in conditions he's familiar with. We're going to get smashed anyway.

[SteveNZ]

He bowled well but when you read stuff from Lou Vincent yapping on how he's the quickest bowler in NZ you sort of expect him to bowl quicker then Jimmy bloody Neesham.

He looked good though, as he has in domestic cricket from time to time. Even if he isn't 140+ at least he swings the ball and gets some pretty decent bounce. The days of Andy McKay ever getting a game for New Zealand are hopefully long gone.

Ha yeah Louis does get a bit carried away as we all know. I have seen some quick Mitch spells which I have no doubt were mid 140s, however. He doesn't do it all the time - whether it's body preservation, bowling to conditions, can't be arsed some days only he'l tell you.
But I can tell you he's a smart boy who will thrive under the right coaching, hopefully that being Bond

[Hurricane]

The only reason Fulton's even near the test squad is because he scored 504 runs @ 72 as an opener including three centuries, and two half-centuries. It's fine to to say McCullum should play as an opener, I wholeheartedly agree actually. To say he'd be pushing Fulton out of position simply isn't true though.
.

Thanks for putting me straight.

[wellAlbidarned]

Surely McCullum realises than he'll be in after two overs even if he bats at 4

[hendrix]

I will be impressed if we reach 300 in any of our innings for batting however.

+1

If McCullum bats 4...

[Mike5181]

Batsman Colin Munro, allrounders Jimmy Neesham and Corey Anderson, and fast bowler Mitchell McClenaghan have been named in New Zealand's one-day squad for the South Africa series. These four players were the new faces to take the field for New Zealand in the Twenty20 series that preceded the ODIs; they have not played any other international games apart from those three T20s.

McClenaghan being picked comes as no surprise as, earlier this week, he had also been added to New Zealand's Test squad for the series starting on January 2, in place of the injured Tim Southee.

Left-arm spinner Ronnie Hira, who is yet to debut in ODIs, was also picked. Batsman Kane Williamson, keeper BJ Watling, and quicks Kyle Mills and Adam Milne have been called-up for the one-day leg of the limited-overs series.

Fast bowler Doug Bracewell missed out in the 15-man squad. The decision to leave him out, coach Mike Hesson said, was in view with 'managing his workload'. "[It] is in-line with our policy to sensibly manage player workloads," Hesson said. "He has a big role to play in the Test series against South Africa and will benefit from the opportunity to freshen up ahead of the home series [in February-March] against England."

Eleven out of the 15 from the Twenty20 squad were retained to give the limited-overs squad stability, national selection manager, Kim Littlejohn, said: "We're keen to show consistency in selection for our short-form side and retain the nucleus of the squad who competed in the T20 series, along with four players from the last ODI series against Sri Lanka.

"There is healthy competition for places in our starting line-up at present and we are working on developing a larger group of players who can compete at international level."

New Zealand will play three ODIs against South Africa, between January 19 and 25.

New Zealand in South Africa 2012-13 : New Zealand retain Anderson, Munro, Neesham for South Africa ODIs | Cricket News | South Africa v New Zealand | ESPN Cricinfo

ODI squad:

Brendon McCullum (c): Otago Volts

Corey Anderson: Northern Knights

Trent Boult: Northern Knights

James Franklin: Wellington Firebirds

Martin Guptill: Auckland Aces

Roneel Hira: Canterbury Wizards

Mitchell McClenaghan: Auckland Aces

Nathan McCullum: Otago Volts

Kyle Mills: Auckland Aces

Adam Milne: Central Stags

Colin Munro: Auckland Aces

Jimmy Neesham: Otago Volts

Rob Nicol: Canterbury Wizards

BJ Watling: Northern Knights

Kane Williamson: Northern Knights

[Bahnz]

You're forgiven, but you've missed something. Focus on the last 12 months, not what he did four years ago, three hips ago and in a much less mature mindset.

And I can't get over the 'Mitch only bowled mid 130s' stuff from PE. Did anyone notice he swung it more to adjust to a sluggish pitch, took control of his own fields and bowled to them
Impeccably and went for 1-24 - and probably could have taken one more? I'm biased but I thought he showed way more than your run of the mill charge in, bowl fast and think later sort of character. Which is exactly what he was 2-3 years ago. He's in the Test squad - wont play but on what I saw and what I know of him, he'll be a fixture sooner rather than later.

I don't think anyone was having a go at him about his performance. He bowled very well. It was more people commenting on another example of the tendency of kiwi cricket followers to over-hype the pace of young prospects. McClenaghan was being talked about as being as quick as Bond a couple of seasons ago. Then when we get an actual speed gun on him it turns out he's 142 max and mid 130's most of the time.