Heres a piece of the Christchurch Press that I find interesting:
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New Zealand Cricket is likely to send two young spin bowlers to Sri Lanka with the Black Caps tour next week to assist their development.
Concerned at the dearth of quality spin bowlers in the New Zealand game, NZC wants to broaden the experience base of the spinners by exposing them to Sri Lankan conditions where the wickets favour the slower bowlers.
Operations manager John Reid said two promising spinners at first-class level would be selected with Bruce Martin (Northern Districts), Aaron Redmond (Canterbury), and Luke Woodcock (Wellington) in contention.
New Zealand's slim spin stocks were highlighted when Paul Wiseman was recalled for the tour with a bowling average from the past season of 49.1.
Reid said NZC was very concerned about the lack of slow bowling talent not just at first-class level but through most tiers of the game.
He said the two players picked would be attached to the Black Caps but not part of the official team.
NZC's coaching staff believed the move would be a win-win situation. It gave the Black Caps batsmen more opportunity to play more spinners during net sessions while assisting in the young players development.
"They will learn about conditions overseas and what is required."
The players will be paid for by NZC and it is expected they will return home after the two-test series in early May.
Reid said the idea came from a brainstorming session by coaching staff, had merit and was taken further.
"We have a problem with that area of our game and some times have to take innovative measures to improve it."
He said pitch conditions in New Zealand did not necessarily suit spinners nor were they always bowled enough.
New Zealand's next tour, to India during October, is also a country which favours spin bowlers.
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Good move by NZ. But isn't it a bit late. This should have been done a couple of years ago. I think that Woodcock and Redmond wil be the ones that travel.
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New Zealand Cricket is likely to send two young spin bowlers to Sri Lanka with the Black Caps tour next week to assist their development.
Concerned at the dearth of quality spin bowlers in the New Zealand game, NZC wants to broaden the experience base of the spinners by exposing them to Sri Lankan conditions where the wickets favour the slower bowlers.
Operations manager John Reid said two promising spinners at first-class level would be selected with Bruce Martin (Northern Districts), Aaron Redmond (Canterbury), and Luke Woodcock (Wellington) in contention.
New Zealand's slim spin stocks were highlighted when Paul Wiseman was recalled for the tour with a bowling average from the past season of 49.1.
Reid said NZC was very concerned about the lack of slow bowling talent not just at first-class level but through most tiers of the game.
He said the two players picked would be attached to the Black Caps but not part of the official team.
NZC's coaching staff believed the move would be a win-win situation. It gave the Black Caps batsmen more opportunity to play more spinners during net sessions while assisting in the young players development.
"They will learn about conditions overseas and what is required."
The players will be paid for by NZC and it is expected they will return home after the two-test series in early May.
Reid said the idea came from a brainstorming session by coaching staff, had merit and was taken further.
"We have a problem with that area of our game and some times have to take innovative measures to improve it."
He said pitch conditions in New Zealand did not necessarily suit spinners nor were they always bowled enough.
New Zealand's next tour, to India during October, is also a country which favours spin bowlers.
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Good move by NZ. But isn't it a bit late. This should have been done a couple of years ago. I think that Woodcock and Redmond wil be the ones that travel.