***Official*** New Zealand in Bangladesh & Sri Lanka 2013

[Kippax]

the hopelessness of NZC comms team

No they're denying substantive (but unsexy) releases for that top %1 cricket fan very much by design itbt.

@PlunketPromise
@abdunford @BLACKCAPS Yeah even with Littlejohn and Buchanan in Darwin, sorry bud. PR dept is playtime, they won't be investigative for you.

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[Kippax]

Okay, Bond joined the A tour for the Sri Lankan leg apparently.

And bad news for Neesham 'shippers, there's Anderson in Dhaka -
http://www.bdcricteam.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/New-Zeland-Arrived-at-Dhaka-9.jpg

 

[Bahnz]

Hmmm, all his limbs seem to still be attached, so maybe his absence from the last couple games of the A tour was only precautionary.

 

[Maximas]

Have they sorted out the media coverage of this tour?

 

[Kippax]

Insofar as it'll be definitely broadcast here in NZ, yes.

 

[Immenso]

Okay, Bond joined the A tour for the Sri Lankan leg apparently.

Whew, and relax.

So, well done Hesson and co for the very sensible (but inaugural?) decision to contract in a specialist spin bowling coach for this tour.

Although, he will have to back reasonably quickly I presume, can't be there the whole tour. Who's holding the pre-season reigns at Canterbury?

And good to know Bond has been around the 'A' team bowlers for half of their tour. Hope he's still in the highlands working with Henry atm.
The Gillespie v Bracewell selection will be based on more than just Bradburn's feedback ..,,,

 

[Mike5181]

I'd go with Gillespie personally.

 

[Kippax]

Who's holding the pre-season reigns at Canterbury?

Gary Stead is the head coach, Wiseman the network coach. I saw Dayle Hadlee and McMillan are now on board as bowling/batting coaches.

 

[Flem274*]

McMillan is a batting coach?

This is going to be fun.

 

[Kippax]

McMillan is a batting coach?

This is going to be fun.

Yeah, Canterbury's decline from the days of Peter Sharp admiring young Todd Astle's style (with all the faux English trimmings, the Village Green, Lincoln Green etc.) to what's now a filthy red-light district has been even more astonishing than Wellington's. Nicol, Stewart, that guy Nicholls seems to belong in an ND helmet every time I see him. Now it seems they've got another FIFO recruit along Ronchi lines, who absolutely wasn't keen at 23 but is at 26. It's a bad, bad scene.

Fleming's Test Debut, March 1994 - YouTube

 

[Kippax]

New Zealand in Bangladesh 2013-14 : Abdur Razzak recalled to Test squad, Mahmudullah retained | Cricket News | Bangladesh v New Zealand | ESPN Cricinfo

Left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak, who last played a Test for Bangladesh in August 2011, was named in the 14-man squad for the first Test against New Zealand, which starts on October 9. The only new face in the list was pace bowler Al-Amin Hossain, while there were recalls for Anamul Haque, Marshall Ayub and Naeem Islam too.

Mahmudullah was retained in the squad despite his poor Test form. He is the vice-captain, and will once again bat at No. 8, his regular position in the line-up.

Al-Amin is currently the second highest wicket-taker in the ongoing Dhaka Premier Division with 18 wickets. He had an impressive tour of England for Bangladesh A in August and had been in the selectors' gaze for quite a while, having been a prolific bowler for Khulna Division in the National Cricket League.

"Like any other cricketer, it was my dream to make it to the national team," Al-Amin said. "I am really excited about the opportunity. My next aim is to make it to the playing XI, and take as many wickets as I can."

He could however miss out on a Test debut as both Robiul Islam and Rubel Hossain are in the squad. Robiul is recovering from a hamstring injury, while Rubel had muscle stiffness, but the bowlers are expected to be fit in time. Bangladesh are unlikely to pick three seamers, given that Sohag Gazi and Shakib Al Hasan are automatic picks.

As a result, Razzak's inclusion isn't much of a surprise and is he unlikely to play unless there is an injury. He has been the perennial back-up spinner in the Test squad previously too, despite his bags of first-class wickets. He is considered a limited-overs specialist and has done well in both ODIs and Twenty20s. He, however, had an impressive first-class season in 2012-13, picking 54 wickets for Khulna and South Zone in the two longer-version tournaments.

Naeem returns after a good two Tests against West Indies where he looked like a long-term prospect at No. 4. He scored a century in the first Test, but a careless injury in the Bangladesh Premier League cost him two consecutive tours - Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe. Marshall was in the Test squad for Sri Lanka, but didn't get a chance to play there. He continued to score runs domestically, scoring six centuries.

Anamul, who missed the tour to Zimbabwe due to college exams, has replaced Jahurul Islam and will open with Tamim Iqbal. There are going to be a few contenders for the No. 3 and 4 positions, with Naeem, Mominul Haque and Marshall picked to give the team management options for the two places.

Squad for first Test:

Mushfiqur Rahim (capt.), Mahmudullah, Anamul Haque, Tamim Iqbal, Shakib Al Hasan, Nasir Hossain, Abdur Razzak, Naeem Islam, Sohag Gazi, Rubel Hossain, Mominul Haque, Marshall Ayub, Robiul Islam, Al-Amin Hossain

BCB XI FOR THREE-DAY MATCH AT MA AZIZ STADIUM (04-06 Oct.)

Mahmudullah (Captain), Shakib Al Hasan, Anamul Haque, Ziaur Rahman, Naeem Islam, Shamsur Rahman, Marshall Ayub, Sajedul Islam, Souyma Sarker, Muktar Ali, Nur Hossain, Farhad Reza

 

[Kippax]

Al Amin earns call-up, Razzak returns

Natural wicket-taking ability brought uncapped pacer Al Amin Hossain to the national fold, while Abdur Razzak was recalled after a long break as the selectors considered his recent development as a longer-version bowler when announcing the 14-member final squad yesterday for the first Test against New Zealand that begins in Chittagong on October 9.

Naeem Islam, Anamul Haque and Marshall Ayub were also recalled while Enamul Haque, Jahurul Islam, Sajedul Islam, Shafiul Islam, Shahadat Hossain, Shahriar Nafees, Ziaur Rahman and the banned Mohammad Ashraful were the omissions from the side that played the last Test series in Zimbabwe.

“He (Al Amin) is the kind of bowler who can take wickets and we need this kind of pace bowler for our Test team. He has had consistent performances in recent times and we believe that he is a future prospect for our struggling pace department,” said selector Habibul Bashar — the only one standing of the three-man panel — on the only fresh inclusion in the squad.

The 23-year old paceman from Jhenidah, Al-Amin Hossain was excited about the call-up but he was looking forward to grab a place in the playing eleven. “A dream came true for me and I think it’s a result of my hard work. Now I am looking forward to playing the first Test match in Chittagong. The main challenge however lies with how long I can keep my place in the team by putting in good performances,” said the lanky paceman.

“One can raise questions about the exclusion of Ziaur Rahman as he played a big role in our last Test victory against Zimbabwe by taking four wickets in the second innings but we think these conditions will hardly suit his bowling and as a batting all-rounder he could not impress us at all,” added Bashar.

Since his Test debut in 2006, Razzak has played only nine Tests as he acquired the tag of a limited-overs specialist for his ability to contain the batsman. His last Test appearance was against Zimbabwe at Harare in 2011, so it was interesting to see the left-armer’s return to the Test side.

“If you look at his (Razzak) performance in the domestic longer-version competitions, he has been quite successful. We observed that he made changes to his bowling; he is now giving the ball more loop and getting more turn. Considering everything, we picked him over Enam (Enamul Haque),” explained Bashar.

Another name may invite interest. Vice-captain Mahmudullah Riyad was dropped from the Tigers’ last Test in Zimbabwe after some meagre returns, but the batsman finds his name right below that of the skipper in this squad. “Riyad has been showing good form recently, and I am sure he will face no problems in the series,” Bashar said.

On the other hand he said that Naeem, Marshall and Anamul deserved their places for their reasonable performances.

“Jahurul is actually out of form but he can get back his place any time by putting in good performances,” said Bashar.

 

[hendrix]

Dropping Mahmudullah would've been a terrible move. He's so gun.

 

[BeeGee]

Thank God Test cricket is imminent.

 

[Binkley]

Thank God Test cricket is imminent.

Yay! It does feel like it has been a very long winter.

Given his performances on the 'A' tour, I can't see Ish Sodhi making the test side, despite his selection in the squad. I do think he remains a test player of the future though. Given that we only have one other specialist spinner (Bartin), a good pace attack and a line-up that is shaky on a turning pitch I wouldn't be surprised to see spin-friendly wickets and a fair amount of hard work ahead.

Immenso and Mike talked about Gillespie vs Bracewell being a selection issue, but I would go with Bracewell unless Gillespie really is "booming it" this time around (and please don't let Jamie Siddons be the judge of that). If I were a selector I might actually be tempted to pick Anderson over either, because it would be a good time to ease him in and because neither Gillespie nor Bracewell have shown much consistency or accuracy lately. I am not sure whether Anderson is really ready to play as a first-change pace bowler yet, but if hard work is required then I am sure Williamson will be sharing a decent chunk of the bowling workload.

It'll also be interesting to see how Brownlie goes against the spinners. I have heard he has spent a lot of time working on his skills against spin and I really rate him against the quicks, but I can see Latham making his test debut if Dean leaves the selectors in much doubt and the wicket looks a bit sticky.

 

[Kippax]

Sticky the thread time.

We need a New Zealand mod who's still actively reading tbh. A lot of our sensible posters end up overseas, or using the initiative they displayed on CW to become the Black Caps find of the summer, so we rely on Cribb and Dan to cross the Tasman and mod us.

 

[hendrix]

Yay! It does feel like it has been a very long winter.

Given his performances on the 'A' tour, I can't see Ish Sodhi making the test side, despite his selection in the squad. I do think he remains a test player of the future though. Given that we only have one other specialist spinner (Bartin), a good pace attack and a line-up that is shaky on a turning pitch I wouldn't be surprised to see spin-friendly wickets and a fair amount of hard work ahead.

Immenso and Mike talked about Gillespie vs Bracewell being a selection issue, but I would go with Bracewell unless Gillespie really is "booming it" this time around (and please don't let Jamie Siddons be the judge of that). If I were a selector I might actually be tempted to pick Anderson over either, because it would be a good time to ease him in and because neither Gillespie nor Bracewell have shown much consistency or accuracy lately. I am not sure whether Anderson is really ready to play as a first-change pace bowler yet, but if hard work is required then I am sure Williamson will be sharing a decent chunk of the bowling workload.

It'll also be interesting to see how Brownlie goes against the spinners. I have heard he has spent a lot of time working on his skills against spin and I really rate him against the quicks, but I can see Latham making his test debut if Dean leaves the selectors in much doubt and the wicket looks a bit sticky.

Thoughts:
a) Wagner is the incumbent and neither Gillespie nor Bracewell have done anything to push for his spot. Despite many of us having reservations about his ability, he rightfully retains his spot and deserves his chance to cement it.

EDIT: Thanks PEWS. I'd forgotten Southee was injured. sucks....

b) I like the idea of Anderson, but as you correctly point out, he's not ready as a first change bowler. He should either play as a direct replacement for Brownlie (Latham might be ahead of him there) or as the third seamer IF we play two spinners - which is not going to happen given that Sodhi hasn't exactly pressed his case. Basically, I think he won't play. But I like that he's in the squad and rate him very highly.

I actually don't know if he will ever really be a first change bowler. Neesham looks more likely to succeed in this department, but I think Anderson is ahead of him on the batting side of the equation. It would be nice if he could develop his bowling as well, but with the seamers we have we'll only need a few old ball overs from him. I think he's a great chance to get in at number 6 at some stage.

 

[Prince EWS]

Thoughts:
a) Wagner is the incumbent and neither Gillespie nor Bracewell have done anything to push for his spot. Despite many of us having reservations about his ability, he rightfully retains his spot and deserves his chance to cement it.

Southee is out though. You're looking at Boult, Wagner, Gillespie/Bracewell and Martin.

 

[hendrix]

Oh I completely forgot about that. My bad.

 

[hendrix]

Jesus, that attack could get smashed.