To give him his dues, he's been the best spinner in the first division of the CC by miles. It's also funny to see him doing so well with the bat given that his gutless displays v SA probably played a larger part in his axing than his bowling did.
I always found that a bit harsh, he had a game plan to score runs which was to back away, something Vettori has done for years, if McHesson had an issue with it during the series they should have said something, he still managed to score more runs in that series than Doug "looks good in the nets" Bracewell.
Yeah, so did I. At the end of the day, he did no worse with the bat than Chris Martin has done for years and he's not going to have to deal with a bowling attack that good any time soon (I don't think our next series v SA is until about 2016). He was fine in India, and bowled well without being properly rewarded in SL. It was only in SA were he got whacked around, and in that respect he was no different to the rest of the bowling attack (or, for that matter, Vettori on his past tours of the dark continent). Having said that I was for his axing for the series v England as he seemed like a real mess for a while after his mum died (understandably). Still reckon that he's probably a better option than Bartin, but agree that McHesson have probably blacklisted him.
Seriously? Woodcock averages 1 wicket per match. And what kind of competition would Patel have for his place? Even the spin bowling "stars" of the PS like Bruce Martin are only averaging about 36. New Zealand isn't exactly flush with spinners who can average under 40. I take your central point that Patel has never produced the results needed to secure a spot in the New Zealand team, but let's not take things too far.
Haha yes, took me a while to find the stats but in three seasons 2011-2013 for Warwickshire the Jeetanator now has:
Yeah Jeets' bread-and-butter wickets you see on the county highlights are the quicker ball edged to slip, an inside-edged bat-pad catch, and a sweep that carries say 60-70 metres. NZ never supplies him with this '25-30 pitches used here' aspect in terms of quickly abrased and blackened footmarks and lengthy square boundaries at all.
I really hope you're not suggesting that Vettori is on the same level as Bartin, Tastle or Jeets. I know we all like to grump about the fact that Vettori has never won New Zealand a test match with the ball, but it's also true that he's New Zealand's best spinner by miles, and almost certainly our best ever. If he were fit again, and back to the level of performance he set in 2008-11, I'd have him back in the team in a heartbeat, and not just for his batting.
I don't want to sound harsh or anything, but what the **** does this even mean?
I was allowing for a decline in Vettori's test bowling given he hasn't played for a while and if he does play again, is quite likely to never be 100% fit.
