***Official*** Zimbabwe in New Zealand 2012

[KiWiNiNjA]

The long range forecast for Napier looks awesome, will definitely make the trip over next week.

Anyone else going?

 

[sunilreddy]

Great. Andhra Pradesh born player doing well in Newzealand. Hope Tarun perform well in the tour game and improve his chances of being selected in the National side...

 

[Nigel Benjamin]

looks like cricinfo won't be doing live commentary on the warm up. I wasn't feeling like staying up all night anyway

 

[SilentOne]

17/2 | NEW ZEALAND XI vs ZIMBABWE

 

[Chewie]

Not going too well for the NZXI... 3 down already

 

[Mike5181]

52/3 nz.

 

[HeathDavisSpeed]

The long range forecast for Napier looks awesome, will definitely make the trip over next week.

Anyone else going?

Yep. The missus and I will be heading to Napier for the Zimbo test for sure. Only if the weather's looking sweet though, but sounds good at the moment. Especially as the forecast has it pissing down in Wellington next weekend.

 

[BeeGee]

So failures for Kruger van Wyk, Williamson and Taylor. Looks like Vettori is doing a rescue job yet again.
With Kruger's failure, Watling has a perfect opportunity to secure the Test keeper's spot (he probably had it anyway).
No stand out Zim bowler. Four chipping in with a wicket each, so far.

 

[Woodster]

Like both the Zimbabwe opening bowlers, Kyle Jarvis and Brian Vitori, bowl with decent pace and impressed against Bangladesh, Jarvis bowled well from what I saw against New Zealand last time out aswell.

 

[Sylvester]

Every team could use a Vettori.

 

[_Ed_]

With Kruger's failure, Watling has a perfect opportunity to secure the Test keeper's spot (he probably had it anyway).

Yep. And I hope he does well. But I'm seeing a few costly slipups with the gloves coming up over the next few matches.

 

[KiWiNiNjA]

Yep. The missus and I will be heading to Napier for the Zimbo test for sure. Only if the weather's looking sweet though, but sounds good at the moment. Especially as the forecast has it pissing down in Wellington next weekend.

Nice. The weather is looking pretty awesome. Fine and dry for all 5 days.

Might come and say a quick hello if I see ya.

 

[KiWiNiNjA]

Hmmm, looks like we will be playing Watling, huh?


Batting behind or in front of Vettori?

 

[Athlai]

Would bat him behind Vettori, Vettori is just so damn positive with the bat that he is best coupled with genuine bats.

 

[KiWiNiNjA]

Yeah, I would hope so too.

 

[Flem274*]

Watling doing himself a big favour here, but he still has to hold his catches with the gloves.

 

[straw man]

Twatling!!!!!

Back to the world of cricket after holidays and can't believe we only get one test v Zim and then have to wait months until the SA tests. TRsYTdfgRYWTWsdgsdf!!

Think Reece Young slightly hard done by though I'm pretty meh about our wicketkeeping options at the moment. The four options available each seem like they might be able to do the job to a moderate level though unlikely to grow into particularly amazing players (admit I've seen next to nothing of De Boorder though). Still taking the word of some people on this forum who said Young is the best keeper of the bunch, which is why I think he's a little unlucky. Still, Wright is always right.

Also find myself incredibly meh about T20s (as usual) and ODIs (which I usually like). We win one test against a top nation and it goes straight to the head. Feel like being a **** and advocating that anyone who could be half decent at tests should sit the ODIs/T20s out - Bracewell, Boult, Southee, Williamson, Ryder, Brownlie etc. Fill the ODI team with guys like Bates, Hira and Nicol instead. After the Aus win I really want to get a better feel for where we are against Zim, SA especially and then the Windies.

Last comment is that I really want to see Williamson actually score some runs this summer. He's been the young golden boy for a while now, but hasn't really done much (tests) to deserve it barring his century on debut and generally looking promising at the crease.

 

[_Ed_]

Watling doing himself a big favour here, but he still has to hold his catches with the gloves.

True. Wright said this game was a chance to see how good van Wyk and Watling were at their "weaker discipline", so hopefully his keeping will be taken into account.

 

[Mike5181]

Hmmm, looks like we will be playing Watling, huh?


Batting behind or in front of Vettori?

Yeah, John Wright said most likely the wicketkeeper will be filling the number seven spot.

 

[Flem274*]

Talk of a green top. Won't believe it until I see it knowing Napier.

New Zealand captain Ross Taylor is expecting a grassy pitch for the one-off Test against Zimbabwe in Napier, starting on January 26. The pitch at McLean Park is one of the country's finest for batting, but New Zealand may prefer playing to their strengths - pace - following their success in the Hobart Test against Australia where they played four fast bowlers.

"I think there's going to be a lot more grass left on this wicket than there has been in the past," Taylor said. "We saw how we played in Hobart in seaming conditions. It's not easy with the bat but it's a nice test of our mindset.

"We'll have to wait and see. Napier's weather is pretty good, but I'm sure whatever wicket we get will be a little bit different, or a lot different, from the last one."

The previous Test at the venue, in December 2009, ended in a draw, with both New Zealand and Pakistan scoring over 450 in the second and third innings respectively.

New Zealand played a one-off Test during their tour of Zimbabwe and managed to sneak in a victory on the final day as the hosts fell 34 short in their chase of 366.

New Zealand surprised Australia in seaming conditions in Hobart, thanks to their four-pronged seam attack comprising Doug Bracewell, Trent Boult, Chris Martin and Tim Southee. Taylor, however, wasn't sure yet if they would serve out seaming pitches against South Africa later in the summer.

"We're not thinking too far ahead. They [South Africa] are pretty good on any conditions really," Taylor said.

Taylor expressed concern over his own batting form ahead of the one-off Test. He managed one fifty in four innings in Australia and began the HRV Cup (Twenty20) in New Zealand with 95 for Central Districts. He hasn't scored a fifty in six innings since. He is battling a calf strain but is expected to be fit.

"We've got a lot of cricket coming up, but I thought that where my game is at the moment I wouldn't mind spending a bit of time on my feet," Taylor said. "It's hard to get a gauge [on my form]. Twenty20 is all about momentum - not only how you're playing, but how the team's playing. With Central Districts, we didn't play too well and I had an average campaign. There's still a long season ahead and I still feel okay."

With the Twenty20 season on in New Zealand, Taylor volunteered to captain the New Zealand XI in the three-day match against the Zimbabweans starting on Saturday to get himself Test ready.

"People say it's easy to change up from Twenty20 to Test cricket. But I disagree. It is a lot harder than you think. It's more a mindset change than technique.

"For me, personally, you get into bad habits playing Twenty20. Little things creep into your game. That's the good thing with a warm-up game and the nets with the red ball. You get a chance to iron out those flaws."

Zimbabwe in New Zealand 2011-12: Seaming pitch expected for Napier Test | Cricket News | New Zealand v Zimbabwe | ESPN Cricinfo