*Official* New Zealand in India 2010

[vcs]

What is the point of playing Zaheer Khan ? India have done quite well without him, and more importantly, they need him fully fit for the test series against South Africa.

Resting Raina is an indication that he will play the first test against South Africa

AWTA. Nehra should play all the games, he's our ODI specialist anyway and doesn't have Test duties. Sree can also play, it seems the extra bowling is helping his rhythm. The last thing we need is for Zaheer to get injured before the SA series.

 

[Hurricane]

If I was an Indian fan I would not want Zaheer playing.

 

[Blaze 18]

Well Zaheer's injury prone so resting him makes some sort of sense but on the other hand, you don't want him underdone either. There are no warmup games in South Africa so having him go in cold probably wouldn't be the greatest idea.

Will a couple of ODI's in India really help Zaheer prepare for a test series in South Africa ? I reckon he would be better off playing a couple of domestic matches.

 

[Prince EWS]

Will a couple of ODI's in India really help Zaheer prepare for a test series in South Africa ? I reckon he would be better off playing a couple of domestic matches.

.. in which he'd have a greater chance of getting injured. Having him bowl his ten overs a couple of times is probably the agreed balance between "don't risk injuring him" and "don't send him in cold with no bowling."

 

[Hurricane]

^^ Even if this decision pays off - I don't think it was the right call.

 

[Blaze 18]

.. in which he'd have a greater chance of getting injured. Having him bowl his ten overs a couple of times is probably the agreed balance between "don't risk injuring him" and "don't send him in cold with no bowling."

Okay, that is a fair point. Maybe India are doing the right thing.

 

[lockton2skipper]

nz bowled absolte pap, mccullum and vettori except. these young guns pacers may be be in sooner than later. southee looks to have gone back compared to his debut against england. what happend to 140 k andy mckay ? 135 tops nowadays.surely accurate brent arnel would be a better bet.

 

[Hurricane]

nz bowled absolte pap, mccullum and vettori except. these young guns pacers may be be in sooner than later. southee looks to have gone back compared to his debut against england. what happend to 140 k andy mckay ? 135 tops nowadays.surely accurate brent arnel would be a better bet.

This is an interesting question Arnel is so accurate - I would back you up on him being selected for ODIs. Wouldn't have him open the bowling though or bowl at the death.

 

[Flem274*]

Arnel just got pasted in the HRV Cup and I don't think his List A record is crash hot anyway (off the top of my head). Wouldn't be the best timing to bring him over.

 

[Blocky]

And Vettori hasn't led the the team to semi finals?

Bugger off mate that team was fine, Franklin was an excellent foil to Bond and was playing some of his best cricket. Styris was in the form of his life. Vettori has led us to plenty of victories and if just chopping him because of a handful of losses over the past few months is bloody ridiculous.

Don't act like this stupid performance is a new thing, considering we just sacked a coach recently based on our lack of performance on the international stage and ever since then, we've done much much worse in both forms of the game.

When are people like you going to realise, Vettori may be the best player in the side, but he's a dud captain.

 

[Halfpast_Yellow]

I am sad for Jamie How

 

[straw man]

You NZ fans are all looking at this the wrong way...

Consider... What was by far NZ's best World Cup performance? There wasn't just one innovative tactic from the 1992 World Cup employed by NZ in the last game... there was another...

Clearly the NZ team's 'think tank' has correctly identified the key elements from that nearly successful campaign. I'm not entirely sure if the 1992 team had a 'think tank' or what this might have looked like, but I'm sure it was impressive. Of prime considearion is the need to be so utterly abysmal leading up to the tournament that the team receives an all-round panning from every section of the local and international media prior and are written off by all and sundry. If anyone in the media so much describes us as 'dangerous', 'an opponent to be wary of' or worst of all 'dark horses' going into the tournament then we are immediately doomed.

Phase 2 requires a rearrangement of the team. A formerly defensive left-handed test batsman will come out and start clobbering sixes first up (that can be you, Tim McIntosh) while someone needs to take a hammer to Ross Taylor's knee so that he will bat like Martin Crowe. We should bat the prematurely balding Andy McKay in the top order and get him to bowl his dibbly-dobblies through the middle overs, while even ****kins might be able to rise to the occasion and average an Ian-Smith inspired 15 with the bat (might be a bit optimistic there). Darryl Tuffey might make a decent Gavin Larsen/ Willie Watson if he lifts his pace a bit.

With this approach, we are a sure thing to speed through the group stages slaughtering all in our path. Place your bets now while the rates are good! We will be UNSTOPPABLE like we almost were in 1992... but better. What's different?

This time... the fat guy who can't be bothered running is on OUR SIDE.

 

[lockton2skipper]

very harsh on jesse, plus that 1992 world cup team walks all over the present lot. a world cup new zealand would have won bar the weather allowing pakistan to scrape through to the semis with an abandonment against england.if my memory is correct.

 

[Blocky]

A: Martin Crowe was an inspired tactician and probably the best tactical captain NZ has ever had, a guy who rates amongst some of the very best captains in the game for his ability to formulate plans. Had he been on the field during that semi final in 92, I think NZ would have won.

B: We had a team who realised they weren't actually world class performers and they worked freaking hard to make up for it. Someone needs to tell McCullum et all that world class performers do it more than once every ten innings.

 

[NZTailender]

B: We had a team who realised they weren't actually world class performers and they worked freaking hard to make up for it. Someone needs to tell McCullum et all that world class performers do it more than once every ten innings.

Tbf, since Baz started opening again in ODIs (vs RSA, 2007), he's passed 50 once every 4.15 (approx) innings.

Is having an abysmal 2010 though. Someone tell him to not face the first ball.

 

[Athlai]

Don't act like this stupid performance is a new thing, considering we just sacked a coach recently based on our lack of performance on the international stage and ever since then, we've done much much worse in both forms of the game.

When are people like you going to realise, Vettori may be the best player in the side, but he's a dud captain.

Look at teams around the world and look at the players we have available, great captains like Fleming aren't the norm.

 

[Blocky]

Look at teams around the world and look at the players we have available, great captains like Fleming aren't the norm.

I'm still of the mind that Vettori simply doesn't offer enough as a captain to keep him in that position, considering how much leverage he has been given to try and make him effective. He's witnessed the biggest regression of the NZ team since Hadlee retired, after Stephen Fleming spent a decade taking us from being an occasionally competitive side into a side that mingled in the Top 4 in the world for quite a few years.

Vettori has luxuries that young Fleming didn't have, he's got six batsmen who have all proven themselves to be capable performers against decent attacks, he's got young bowlers and a bowling attack who all average in the 135-140 area when they're firing and apparently he's got two of the best ODI bowlers of the past 5 years in his side (himself and Mills)

Where are the performances? They're not coming through. His captaincy is uninspired, he seemingly works on the idea that leading from the front is all he has to do. I wonder if he's a little too self focused to get the best out of this team, nothing wrong with that, world class performers generally are self focused - but in this instance, NZ can't afford a Ricky Ponting to captain them.

 

[Athlai]

And all the Jardines of the world are just knocking the door down?

 

[Flem274*]

Make Sinclair captain.

 

[Blocky]

And all the Jardines of the world are just knocking the door down?

No, but there are guys with potential out there who have shown the way in leading a young side into becoming a very competitive unit. I'm thinking of the guys at Otago and Central Districts who have managed to make leaps and bounds with their young bowling stocks.

How seriously anyone could take the return of Cumming to the test side is beyond me, but he isn't the worst opening bat NZ has had in the last 5 years and he's a darn sight more effective as a leader than Vettori.

(ps, could be worse, we could be Aussies!)