C'mon, as of the tour these "ND" boys are officially Black Caps and we would do well to afford them the same kind of support as we did to Jesse Ryder.
I think blindly we are a genuine chance. Much will depend on whether Flintoff comes back. England is a whole different side when Flintoff is in there with KP. At the moment, one can argue they have only one dominating batsman in KP. The rest are more orthodox and traditional.
We held our own against an England team with their out of form bowlers, only that our out of sorts Bell and Sinclair offset by Sidebottom.
In fact, New Zealand batting and England's bowling are each other's Achilles heel at the moment.
Aside from Sidebottom, there isn't much else to that England bowling attack. It's a shadow of their Ashes bowling lineup.
We just need to hold our own in the batting department, and make sure our bowlers get good use of the Duke ball.
You may argue English bowlers will utilize it better, but they are out of sorts Hoggard, Anderson and Harmison. Thats three bowlers out of sorts from that squad.
On the other hand we have Martin, while not genuine world class, bowls with accuracy, and with Duke ball in English conditions, I don't see why he can't get more wickets. Southee has impressed, and he's economical if he isn't swinging the ball. Kyle Mills is a genuine swing bowler, and he's accurate to boot. It's not rocket science. If you can put the ball consistently in a channel (which all NZ bowlers do to make up for that lack of penetration) you will get a lot of batsmen out in English conditions.
Hopefully we'll win at least one test out of three. That's being optimistic, but it's not as hopeless as a lot of people who rely on stats and pedigree might think. If we can hammer them in ODIs, I don't see why we can't do it in tests. It's essentially the same bowlers and batsmen facing each other. It's a closer series between these two sides than a lot of punters think.
Then again, if Hoggard comes back to form with Sidey and Broad together, it's a whole different story.
I hope How will solidify the opening berth and make it his own. He's been touted with a lot of potential, and at 27, it's that time to come of age.
Ross Taylor must have a big series and Jacob Oram, while dissappointing, must show why he's worth that much in IPL. Bring back some of that form, and if Kyle Mills and Chris Martin bowl with the same venom as the first test in New Zealand, we'll win.
Oh, if I haven't said it enough. I hope Southee, Flynn and Marshall become a nucleus of the test side as much as Vettori (ND), Taylor and Oram.
Flynn will be a revelation in the first test, as he's been through the nervous debut period with his brief stint prior. Captain of the 2004 U19s, he will form the core of the batting for years to come. It's not a matter of if he gets in, its a matter of when. He's had the same wraps on him as Taylor when he first arrived at the domestic scene.
Key aspect about Flynn's game, he scores big tons. Hard man to get out once he gets to 50. A hard-nosed, nuggety batsman.
Let How bring his A game while he captains, and bring that form into the test, and with Marshall at 3 (at this stage I think Vettori will pick Marshall ahead of Fulton) plus Flynn at 4 I think we have a big chance of cementing our batting lineup. Middle order has never been a problem with our side, it's the top 3.
Edit: Rant / blind optimism biased. :P
