You don't think they'd be tempted to open with Sinclair again and bring Styris back into the middle order?
I was thinking that as well actually, but would be a wrong move. How is going fairly well and is a opener and we should and give Sinclair some consistency for a change.
Yeah that'd make the most sense with Franklin out, providing Styris's knees/back are feeling good enough for him to be used as the fifth bowler. I actually think Oram bowled pretty well in South Africa and I'd back him above O'Brien as the third seamer anyway so that's not too much of an issue for mine.
I don't think you'd need that much batting if you had Franklin, so you'd have to drop Styris (or Fulton/Sinclair if Styris was batting well), defeating the purpose of it in the first place.
Just give Daniel Vettori a big long bowl, it's something he's always complained about, and he's much happier when he gets to bowl in long spells.
You might not need it, but we both know Franklin is better than both Mills and Martin, so his batting shouldn't really come into it, if the bowling is good enough. If the bowling had been weak, then drop a specialist batsman and put Franklin in there.
My point wasn't that Franklin would miss out, but that the bowling of Mills/Martin would be of more value to the team than the batting of one Styris/Fulton/Sinclair if Franklin was in the team, because he adds batting as well.
That average is still about 10 runs more than How's.
Oram's batting waaaaaay too low for mine, being the fact he has the highest average in the team currently he should be at 6. No point in loading up the top order if your bowlers can't take wickets. Fulton or Sinclair to miss out.
You would have thought so, but the selectors don't seem to like him. The other thing to take into account is the lack of top-class bowling he faces back home, with the internationals usually away. He'd have to score some runs for the A team (whenever they next have a series) to get back in the squad. Nazimuddin may be higher the pecking order at the moment.
