New Zealand Off Season 2014

[straw man]

and then how many more for the squad?

Neesham
Henry
Brownlie/anotherBatsmanMaybeOneThat'sNotAsTerribleVsSpinEvenThoIdoStillLikeBrownlie
Jeets/Tastle/Gillespie


Gillespie competing directly against second spinner imo

 

[SteveNZ]

Neesham
Henry
Brownlie/anotherBatsmanMaybeOneThat'sNotAsTerribleVsSpinEvenThoIdoStillLikeBrownlie
Jeets/Tastle/Gillespie


Gillespie competing directly against second spinner imo

A possibility, given Kane offers an away from the bat option and the next best pick, Tastle, would mean two front-line leg-spinners.

I'd be taking Gillespie.

 

[hendrix]

I think Gillespie is ahead of Henry given that he's bowled a full season. It's pretty marginal though.

God I want them to pick Jeets so bad even though his numbers weren't very good.

 

[Flem274*]

Revolving
Door
Wiliamson
Taylor
McCullum
Anderson
Watling
Sodhi
Southee
Wagner
Boult

Brownlie
Hay/Guptill (real world option: some meh batsman)
Henry
Neesham

on helpful surfaces against test batsmen there will be very little difference between KW and our legions of meh spinners. KW and Sodhi provides two spin bowling options without compromising our batting or our proper bowling.

You just know we're going to rock up to the first test with Southee, Boult, Anderson and two bakeries though.

 

[hendrix]

Gillespie competing directly against second spinner imo

A possibility, given Kane offers an away from the bat option and the next best pick, Tastle, would mean two front-line leg-spinners.
.

They picked 2 mediocre spinners for the Bangladesh tour, and actually played them. They're almost certain to pick a second spinner here. At the very least, they'll want cover if Sodhi is injured.

 

[SteveNZ]

on helpful surfaces against test batsmen there will be very little difference between KW and our legions of meh spinners. KW and Sodhi provides two spin bowling options without compromising our batting or our proper bowling.

You just know we're going to rock up to the first test with Southee, Boult, Anderson and two bakeries though.

Agreed, and then disagreed. I don't think we'll play two spinners plus Williamson. Wasn't Hesson at the forefront of a 'pick a side for them, not for us' scenario at the 2012 World T20 where we shuffled left handers and right handers all over the shop? By that token, Tastle might not get a look-in.

 

[ohnoitsyou]

Jeets and Tastle would be sooo good.

 

[SteveNZ]

They picked 2 mediocre spinners for the Bangladesh tour, and actually played them. They're almost certain to pick a second spinner here. At the very least, they'll want cover if Sodhi is injured.

I'm certain they'll take two spinners, whether or not they play them I guess is debatable. If Tastle was taking his wickets bowling off-spin, no doubt he'd play. But I can see the powers-that-be decided two leggies are surplus to requirements. At least Bucko and Ish bowled with different arms and created different angles.

 

[hendrix]

Yeah, so it really is Henry vs Gillespie, unless they decide not to take Neesham, which is almost impossible to do after his debut.

 

[Bahnz]

If Tastle was taking his wickets bowling off-spin, no doubt he'd play. But I can see the powers-that-be decided two leggies are surplus to requirements. At least Bucko and Ish bowled with different arms and created different angles.

You're probably right, but then again if New Zealand don't intend to ever play two spinners (which, after the debacle in Bangladesh, you would have to consider to be fairly likely) then what does it matter if Tastle and Ish are both leggies? One merely serves as a replacement for the other. I think the factor more likely to sway things in Jeets' favour is that he'll have had a lot of competitive first class cricket going into the tour, whereas Astle will have been sitting on his arse for last couple of months.

I suppose it's possible that with Southee and Boult headlining the attack the selectors will be less reticent about gambling on two spinners, but I would still consider it to be a pretty big mistake, especially given that Wagner is probably a better option with the old ball than any spinner in the country. Gillespie is definitely ahead of Henry, especially given his strong late season form in both the PS and the one dayers.

Latham, Ruthurghford, KW, Taylor, McCullum, Anderson, Watling, Sodhi, Southee, Wagner, Boult
Gillespie, Jeets, Neesham, ?

Obviously the last spot should be going to a certain not-so-loveable fat-ass, but with him out of the picture, the last spot could really go to anyone. Though I have the sinking feeling that it will probably go to Guptill.

 

[hendrix]

Guptill as specialist 12th man is not the worst pick in the world.

Wouldn't mind Papps getting a spot.

 

[SteveNZ]

You're probably right, but then again if New Zealand don't intend to ever play two spinners (which, after the debacle in Bangladesh, you would have to consider to be fairly likely) then what does it matter if Tastle and Ish are both leggies? One merely serves as a replacement for the other. I think the factor more likely to sway things in Jeets' favour is that he'll have had a lot of competitive first class cricket going into the tour, whereas Astle will have been sitting on his arse for last couple of months.

I suppose it's possible that with Southee and Boult headlining the attack the selectors will be less reticent about gambling on two spinners, but I would still consider it to be a pretty big mistake, especially given that Wagner is probably a better option with the old ball than any spinner in the country. Gillespie is definitely ahead of Henry, especially given his strong late season form in both the PS and the one dayers.

Latham, Ruthurghford, KW, Taylor, McCullum, Anderson, Watling, Sodhi, Southee, Wagner, Boult
Gillespie, Jeets, Neesham, ?

Obviously the last spot should be going to a certain not-so-loveable fat-ass, but with him out of the picture, the last spot could really go to anyone. Though I have the sinking feeling that it will probably go to Guptill.

If they don't intend on playing two, then it's absolutely fine taking both leggies. I've got no issue with that at all. But I wouldn't play two and I don't think they will either, given the potential amount of left-handers in the Windies' top six. Both have above average wrong-uns so that does play in their favour, and they are different sorts of leggies (Astle a bigger turner, Ish more bounce) but they're still right-arm leggies. You also want a decent bit of your spin dedicated to footmarks, which Boult/Wagner are creating for Kane - or Jeets if you're that way inclined. However, Jeets has had a fair bit of county cricket going into a lot of series' and that hasn't worked out for him that well.

Your side is the side I'd play too. I wouldn't be taking Jeets on tour, I'd take Astle in case Ish gets pumped to high heaven and bowls a shower of it in the first Test. If they don't take Todd now, he might as well find another profession because they never will. So your XI, plus Gillespie/Neesham/Astle and whoever is deemed to be the next opener off the ranks. You might be right, it could be Gup.

 

[HeathDavisSpeed]

I see Shanan Stewart has retired.

New Zealand Cricket News: Shanan Stewart retires from cricket | ESPN Cricinfo

Pretty young to retire. May have lost the appetite to fight if he thought his chance of a blackcaps recall had gone.

 

[Athlai]

Yeah I'd take Bahnz squad with Guppy in there.

 

[straw man]

I don't see much point in sending two reserve batsmen - reserves should be one batsman, two bowlers and Neesham as all-rounder.

Might be swayed to choose Guptill over Brownlie, especially considering Guptill's last WI tour was the only time he's looked a test-level batsman.

Anyway wasn't this thing supposed to be named today?

 

[Kippax]

Anyway wasn't this thing supposed to be named today?

Getting Edgar to agree to Bradburn's idea of a NZ A opener wouldn't be easy, obvs.

Edgar might be being set up to look like a bit of a bumbling and dozy Ross Taylor who needs extensions on every assignment, similar to the brusquely last-minute powerplay Rutherford and Fulton pulled on him in January.

 

[hendrix]

brusquely last-minute powerplay Rutherford and Fulton pulled on him in December.

I don't think anyone else was quite in contention at that point in time anyway. Pretty sure they wanted to give Latham a full season first.

 

[Kippax]

Yeah regardless, they just didn't show Edgar enough regard to communicate their overpoweringly strong preference to not be in that NZ XI side before it was put out to the public.

Whether that was intentionally or just inadvertently rude (from two very fringe Test players), it painted Edgar as being prone to retractions and second-guessing himself early in his convenorship. Classic Blockying.

 

[Kippax]

Cricket: Fulton future in balance - Cricket - NZ Herald News

The New Zealand cricket selection panel of Bruce Edgar and Mike Hesson face a measure of their loyalty to Peter Fulton when the 15-man squad for the three-test tour to the West Indies is named on Tuesday.

The Herald on Sunday understands the prospect of Fulton continuing his 22-test career is under threat from Canterbury team-mate Tom Latham after a summer when he struggled opening the batting against India and the West Indies.

In nine test innings, the 35-year-old averaged 13.66, failing to get past 13 in all but his first outing of 61 against the West Indies in Dunedin. That form was consistent with his Canterbury Plunket Shield record (25.75 in 10 innings) but contrasted with strong Ford Trophy (47.40 in seven innings) and HRV Cup (48 in six innings) campaigns.

In a case of a strength being a weakness, Fulton often played sweetly through mid-wicket in tests but looked vulnerable to lbws on middle-and-leg. He was lbw in three of his four test innings against India.

That's despite a heroic international return in March 2013, which culminated in his becoming the fourth New Zealand batsman to score centuries in both innings of a test against England at Eden Park.

Fulton's opening partner Hamish Rutherford averaged 25.50 from nine innings last summer with a top score of 62 and anchoring the fourth innings chase with 48 not out to guide New Zealand to victory against the West Indies in Hamilton.

The pair fashioned an average opening partnership of 33.19 from 21 innings, a figure once in excess of 40. Last summer they averaged 23 from nine innings, just twice surviving more than 10 overs together.

Latham's debut for 0 and 29 in place of Ross Taylor against India in Wellington appeared calculated with the West Indies tour in the offing. He boasted 948 runs and topped the 2013-14 first-class averages with 79, including two double centuries against Wellington (241 not out) and Central Districts (261).

Martin Guptill is another opening option, averaging 74.66 in 10 innings for Auckland, and team-mate Jeet Raval and Otago's Aaron Redmond remain in the frame averaging a shade over 40.

The other talking point will be which spinner joins Ish Sodhi on what are expected to be low, spinning wickets in Jamaica, Trinidad and Guyana.

One-test leg spinner Todd Astle shapes as favourite for a recall. He took 37 Plunket Shield wickets at 30.48 in the victorious Canterbury side. That included 14 for 234, the season's only 10-wicket bag, against Central Districts.

Jeetan Patel is an off-spinning variation considering the West Indies left-hand heavy batting order. He returned 18 wickets at 47.33 in four-dayers but delivered 10 wickets at 25.10 at an economy rate of 3.77 in Wellington's Ford Trophy success. Patel has returned to Warwickshire for another season - he was their 2013 player of the year with 52 wickets at 30.01.

Mark Gillespie and Matt Henry look strong contenders to challenge for the final pace bowling spot in Doug Bracewell's expected absence. The 34-year-old Gillespie topped the Plunket Shield wicket-taking table with 42 at 32.90, but, at 22, Henry is tipped as a top prospect. He took 17 wickets at 27.11 and made a strong ODI debut with 4-38 against India in Wellington.

 

[Athlai]

15 men for a three test tour seems a little small.