***Official*** England in New Zealand series 2013

[Howsie]

Oh Lord, Nathan McCullum is going to get a test cap isn't he?

[jcas0167]

[QUOTE=Hurricane;3011569]

I think there are signs that he could handle the role. I was quite impressed when he came out in the washed out game on Monday and looked very composed against Finn & Broad. I thought he looked more organised that Rutherford.
Obviously, it would help if he was opening for Canterbury rather than keeping & batting in the middle order. [/QUOTE]

thought you were on about anton for a moment until that sentence.

[Meridio]

Oh Lord, Nathan McCullum is going to get a test cap isn't he?

I have an ominous feeling that yes, this will happen. Would be such a dire bit of selection if so.

[hendrix]

We shouldn't be picking a spinner in the test team for this tour anyway. We're playing in Eden Park, Wellington and Dunedin. Picking an average spinner would be such a defensive option.

Our best bet is to go with Southee, Boult, Bracewell and one of McCleneghan, Milne or Gillespie. 4 seamers would also allow us to finally drop Franklin.

If needed, Williamson can bowl a few overs.

[NZTailender]

If Graeme Swann has shown us anything it's that you don't need a raging turner to be effective. Mind you, we haven't got a spinner of his quality.

[hendrix]

If Graeme Swann has shown us anything it's that you don't need a raging turner to be effective. Mind you, we haven't got a spinner of his quality.

this being the key.

However, we do have 5-6 very capable fast bowlers, and a spinner is not essential on these wickets.

It's a no-brainer, really.

I also think that Ronchi deserves selection. I think that if he plays he should be keeping wicket, because he is a better keeper than Watling. I know that's a bit harsh on BJ, but that's just the way it is.

My team for the first test:
1. McCullum
2. Flynn
3. Williamson
4. Taylor
5. Brownlie
6. Watling
7. Ronchi (w)
8. Bracewell
9. Southee
10. Boult
11. Gillespie

McCleneghan probably more likely to play than Gillespie given he was in the SA test squad. Either would be a better selection than any of the NZ spinners in these conditions.

There is simply no room for McCullum in the middle order.

[grecian]

We shouldn't be picking a spinner in the test team for this tour anyway. We're playing in Eden Park, Wellington and Dunedin. Picking an average spinner would be such a defensive option.

Our best bet is to go with Southee, Boult, Bracewell and one of McCleneghan, Milne or Gillespie. 4 seamers would also allow us to finally drop Franklin.

If needed, Williamson can bowl a few overs.

If only he would.

Don't think I can be arsed to get up at 6 in the morning to watch a bit of thrashy stuff. Do only want good reports of Jos Buttler though, no othr view is possible IMHO.

[Meridio]

this being the key.

However, we do have 5-6 very capable fast bowlers, and a spinner is not essential on these wickets.

It's a no-brainer, really.

I also think that Ronchi deserves selection. I think that if he plays he should be keeping wicket, because he is a better keeper than Watling. I know that's a bit harsh on BJ, but that's just the way it is.

My team for the first test:
1. McCullum
2. Flynn
3. Williamson
4. Taylor
5. Brownlie
6. Watling (w)
7. Ronchi
8. Bracewell
9. Southee
10. Boult
11. Gillespie

McCleneghan probably more likely to play than Gillespie given he was in the SA test squad. Either would be a better selection than any of the NZ spinners in these conditions.

There is simply no room for McCullum in the middle order.

Agree with the bolded bits in particular.

Initially I was sceptical about Ronchi, but he's scored a truckload of runs in the Plunket Shield and I don't really think we can afford to overlook him just because Watling's made a decent fist of keeping. I'd still keep Watling in the middle order though (rather than opening) since that's where he's had his success recently.

Obviously this would mean that McCullum has to open; unfortunately what Brendon wants Brendon gets though so he'll put himself in at 5 and then make everyone else fit around him.

Not sure Gillespie should get recalled just yet either - yes he's taken a few wickets this round in the PS but he's looking pretty pedestrian imo. Not sure who I'd pick ahead of him though, maybe Milne, maybe McClenaghan, maybe Butler, maybe Wagner. Would like to say Henry but he's only just recovered from injury.

As far as spinners are concerned, I'd prefer any of the following over Nathan McCullum: Martin, Astle, Nethula, Sodhi, Beard. Vettori and Patel not considered. Basically anyone but NcCullum - he's just not a test match spinner. And I agree that we don't need one anyway unless the conditions are really going to suit.

[hendrix]

I know Butler has taken domestic wickets recently, but even Chris Martin looks more exciting than him these days.

Wagner...I think he should only play test cricket again once he learns how to land the ball on the seam. He's either trying to bowl too fast because he erroneously thinks he has enough pace to hurry test batsmen, or he just never had the ability to release the ball properly in the first place.

I don't want to see the same thing happen to McCleneghan. He has decent seam position and does swing the ball, if he goes over the top trying to bowl too fast before he gets into proper rhythm he's going to find it real tough. I've heard enough of the "bowl quick" talk from him that I'm worried this will be the case. Hopefully Bond will temper the "bowl aggressively" mantra with a bit of the basics first.

Would love to see more of Henry, Wheeler and the rest of that young crop that have a bit of hype. I've only seen Milne bowl and I liked what I saw.

[BeeGee]

Oh Lord, Nathan McCullum is going to get a test cap isn't he?

It was only a matter of time.

Not only will he get a Test cap, he'll probably be named vice captain.

So the Test team is looking likely to be:

Fulton/Flynn/Rutherford
Guptill
Williamson
Taylor
McCullum
Brownlie
Watling
NcCullum
Southee
Bracewell
Boult

[HeathDavisSpeed]

If Nathan McCullum gets selected for tests, I give up.

[hendrix]

I'm a jeets fan, but realistically the slow bowling stocks are pretty low.

NCullum is probably just as reasonable a selection as Franklin.

He's also developed a carrom ball. Not that that necessarily means anything, but in comparison with Vettori there's a guy whols been basically not running through sides for 10 years now as the number one spinner and he still thinks he can rely on the ridiculously obvious arm ball?

Don't get me wrong I like Vettori, but it's just a little disappointing that noone has convinced him to try anything different.

[Zinzan]

^ Nah, McCullum and Hesson would know there's no way they'd get away with a non-nonsensical selection like that Surely.

[Mike5181]

Realistically N Mac wouldn't perform much worse than someone like Bruce Martin or Jeetan Patel. They're all terrible test options though, and I hope they go the four fast bowlers route. Is Williamson that much worse than someone who takes 1/95 in the Plunket Shield anyway? Let Southee/Boult/McClenaghan/Bracewell go hard in the first 25 overs, and then do our best to use Williamson, Brownlie etc to give them a rest. That's the only reason we would select a spin bowler in the first place, to provide time for the fast bowlers to rest.

[Days of Grace]

...and to keep the runs down while they're doing that, which n Mac would do. But he should never be part of a 4-man attack.

Cynic's Test XI

Guptill
Rutherford (after some 40s in the limited over games, ala Nicol)
Williamson
Taylor
McCullum (c)
Brownlee
Watling (wk)
NcCullum (vc)
Bracewell
Boult
Martin (Southee is now world-class and therefore like Bond and Cairns before him will struggle to play half our games)