Modern New Zealand XI (dayboo post 1980) fifth poll: Catch my balls

[Flem274*]

READ THIS: Don't vote for Baz on this poll if you voted for him to open the batting without making a post in bold saying "I have changed my mind because .... and I change my opener vote to..." or I will ignore your vote and send you my poo in the mail

Here's an example of the above

I have changed my mind about Brendon McCullum because I am hungry. I change my opener vote to Blair Hartland.

Pick a keeper.

It's multi-choice so you can vote for your in-joke Hurricane.

 

[Flem274*]

*sigh* ankit votes for Baz after voting for him to open the batting

 

[Zinzan]

Obviously I'm still quietly hopeful some sort of sanity will prevail & there'll be a re-vote or something on the opening thing. I'm sure many were thrown off & forgot Fleming wasn't going win the no 3, 4 & 5 until later P.S I have mail block.

On the keeping spot, ...McCullum for me & in his rightful position down the order. Watling's done exceeding well in the last 24 months or so & although he's been even better with the bat than a wicket-keeping Bmac, he hasn't done so for long enough yet and I still think his keeping itself is a distance behind Bmac. It's easy to forget how good Bmac was with the gloves in those first 5 years or so (bar that Dravid WC blemish).

 

[Flametree]

I'm not sure this works as an independent poll - it depends entirely on who is the elusive number 6 and who's opening to my mind. If it's Cairns as the 11th player, and it looks like it will be, then the extra batting of Watling or McCullum are needed. If McCullum is the opener, then that plays into picking Watling here.... I think you may need a post-selection poll to say ok guys would you prefer McCullum opening and Watling keeping, or McCullum keeping with Fleming (or Jones?) opening....

I went for Smith, best keeper of the four in my opinion and not a bunny with the bat, since I'm continuing to pick a side with Cairns at 8 as third seamer and 6 batsmen.... Parore looked one of the best, neatest, most natural keepers I've ever seen from any nation but then out of nowhere he'd drop one, and he never quite scored the runs that he should have. I have to say Watling is one of my favourite current cricketers, and I hope if this poll is re-run in a couple of years time the keeping spot will be a "no contest" in his favour.

 

[Flem274*]

You're bloody lucky Baz is on this poll at all. You forget Martin Crowe is a modern player and call yourself a kiwi

Your Fleming vote doesn't count btw unless you post it in this thread. When I read through this I'm not going to read people paragraphs to figure out whether they've made their minds up.

 

[Flem274*]

Ian Smith currently leads with two votes. McCullum has one (NZTailender) and Watling one.

Hint hint.

 

[Zinzan]

I
I have to say Watling is one of my favourite current cricketers, and I hope if this poll is re-run in a couple of years time the keeping spot will be a "no contest" in his favour.

Yeah, If BJ has another couple of years like his last two, I'd probably vote for him in the future.

 

[Howe_zat]

Keeper-batsman B McCullum c.2009 is the most valuable of the various B McCullums for this team

 

[Zinzan]

I went for Smith, best keeper of the four in my opinion and not a bunny with the bat, since I'm continuing to pick a side with Cairns at 8 as third seamer and 6 batsmen.... Parore looked one of the best, neatest, most natural keepers I've ever seen from any nation but then out of nowhere he'd drop one, and he never quite scored the runs that he should have.

That's true enough, but man Parore was a top glove-man for a while there. I remember for a short time he was talked about as the best keeper in the world around the time that Healy was first replaced by Gilchrist and Boucher was still really young. Around 1998-2001.

 

[Flem274*]

hey zinzan since you're so big on baz keeping make it official and name your opener to set a good example for the other ****s not doing what the OP says

 

[Zinzan]

Richardson & Fleming were my openers. McCullum keeps and bats at 6, followed by Cairns & Vettori & 7 & 8.

 

[Zinzan]

Your Fleming vote doesn't count btw unless you post it in this thread. When I read through this I'm not going to read people paragraphs to figure out whether they've made their minds up.

Or you could just let this one play out, and if Bmac wins, do a one-off head-to-head between a wicket-keeping Bmac and Fleming to open the batting with Richardson. If Fleming wins, Bmac can bat down the order with the allrounders.

Your call.

 

[Flem274*]

Or you could just let this one play out, and if Bmac wins, do a one-off head-to-head between a wicket-keeping Bmac and Fleming to open the batting with Richardson. If Fleming wins, Bmac can bat down the order with the allrounders.

Your call.

I'm only going to do this if I have to. I'd rather people make their minds up first time.

 

[The Battlers Prince]

He's a decent opener at times, but is exceptional as a keeper, so I've gone Baz. Ian Smith is as good with the gloves, but not what I want ant in the teams batting wise, and Watling is good but it's too early for him yet

 

[ankitj]

*sigh* ankit votes for Baz after voting for him to open the batting

With so many polls going around, I don't remember who I'm voting for.

But if he is up for this poll, it means he isn't locked in yet, right?

Edit: LOL just read the OP

 

[Bahnz]

Even though I changed my mind and support Fleming for opening (fyi, I think there should be a Flem v Baz run-off given that the split between them in the opening thread was 17-16 when I last checked) I back Watling for the keeping spot. Probably NZ's most consistent keeper-bat ever, and he's produced the goods against the best there is in the modern game.

McCullum was obviously very good, but he only ever really had one truly excellent season (09/10), managed only 2 hundreds against non-**** opposition during his 6 years with the gloves (and one of those was against India on the roadiest of McLane Park roads after Jesse and Ross had already spent day 1 grinding them into mulch - the other was pretty great though, a 100 against Oz with Johnson and Harris even if it was on a pretty placid track by Basin standards) and spent most of his career averaging low 30's. People need to put his batting of the last 2 years to one side - that's McCullum the specialist batsman. McCullum the keeper wasn't a patch on BJ batting wise, and his glovework wasn't that much better.

I know who I'd rather have coming out to bat with the score at 140/5.

 

[Fuller Pilch]

Look we can't decide which one out of Fleming and McCullum will open (and then probably captain the side) so
Darrin Murray or Blair Hartland to open and Lee Germon as wicketkeeper and captain. Robert Kennedy (no, not JFk's brother) can take the new ball.

Actually Germon wasn't that bad and Tony Blain was pretty good. Wicketkeepers have probably the area of greatest depth in NZ cricket.
Even little Kruger was okay - funny clip this, but pretty bad fake Saffa accent:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOlfCm_7Ze8

 

[Hurricane]

I went for Smith, but should have strategically voted for Watling.

Smith was simply the best glovesman and I wanted him to have at least one vote. In the modern game he would be awful though as he was a crap batsman, his 170 vs Pakistan (iirc) notwithstanding,

 

[Fuller Pilch]

India (not Pak)

 

[Hurricane]

India (not Pak)

Thanks for that. My memory has a glitch. I firmly recall Imran Khan getting him out lbw the next morning after he had raced to 170 by stumps. But cricinfo disagrees with me.