**Official** New Zealand Domestic Season 2013/2014

[straw man]

I have a sneaking suspicion that M Bracewell will be the next in the long line of promising, but ultimately unproven players to be drafted into the team ahead of proven domestic performers.
It kinda makes me hate him already, tbh.

Young, hits the ball hard, has a bit of style, has a cricketing last name - I agree with your prediction.

 

[hendrix]

Nah. Now that we actually have A tours. They will be used as stepping stones. Cachopa performed on A tour, so he is ahead of Bracewell.

Bracewell (and Raval) should now be a shoe-in for next A tour, assuming form doesn't die away during the HRV window.

They took Devcich and Daryl Mitchell on the last A tour and made Cachopa open rather than picking Raval. Devcich was batting 3. Sodhi leapfrogged Astle into the test team despite poor returns.

Somehow I don't have any faith that they're going to have any type of consistency in the process now that Mr Pie Chart has left.

 

[Mike5181]

Not a bad return for Bennett so far:

2/27, 2/49, 4/102

 

[Bahnz]

They took Devcich and Daryl Mitchell on the last A tour and made Cachopa open rather than picking Raval. Devcich was batting 3. Sodhi leapfrogged Astle into the test team despite poor returns.

Somehow I don't have any faith that they're going to have any type of consistency in the process now that Mr Pie Chart has left.

Mitchell was justifiable from a development point of view (averaged 50 when he was selected). But yeah, otherwise you're right.

 

[Mike5181]

They took Devcich and Daryl Mitchell on the last A tour and made Cachopa open rather than picking Raval. Devcich was batting 3. Sodhi leapfrogged Astle into the test team despite poor returns.

Somehow I don't have any faith that they're going to have any type of consistency in the process now that Mr Pie Chart has left.

Sodhi legitimately outperformed Astle last season, and was only marginally worse on the A tour. Daryl Mitchell was averaging 45+ when he went over there and was only 22 years of age so I'm not sure why you'd complain about his selection.

Raval should have been there, and Devcich shouldn't be near any first-class team obviously.

 

[hendrix]

TBF, and I only recently thought of this and mentioned it before, Raval played cricket in India until the age of 17 so it's not beyond the realms of plausibility that the selectors didn't think he'd gain much from a tour of the SC.

In which case they still should've taken some actual openers…but there might've been a bit of thought behind it anyway.

 

[hendrix]

Mitchell was justifiable from a development point of view (averaged 50 when he was selected). But yeah, otherwise you're right.

Daryl Mitchell was averaging 45+ when he went over there and was only 22 years of age so I'm not sure why you'd complain about his selection.

Nah not complaining about his selection, just making the point that the A team is not a "stepping stone", but a developmental side.

A-team performances are good but they're for player development, not for selection into the test side, if that makes sense. So I have no problem with them chucking in all the 21yo promising players we've got, just so long as they understand that they can't do the same thing with the test team.

Sodhi shouldn't have been selected (for the test side) ahead of ANY domestic spinner. He hadn't taken the number of wickets that demand selection. Happy for him to go on the A tour though.

 

[Mike5181]

How was Mitchell not worthy of spot in a developmental side again?

 

[Prince EWS]

How was Mitchell not worthy of spot in a developmental side again?

He wasn't saying that; he just explained that. He was just saying that the fact that Mitchell was in there suggests that it was a development side - because he was a fair pick in that - and not that it was a general second XI stepping stone side because he wouldn't be ready for that yet.

 

[hendrix]

another failure for Brownlie. Hmmm.

 

[hendrix]

Yeah what PEWS said, sorry it was so unclear.

 

[Bahnz]

Yeah, I reckon he'll probably still get picked anyway, but he hasn't done himself any favours.

Ryder and Bracewell's innings now look pretty impressive in the context of the match.

 

[Kippax]

Nah not complaining about his selection, just making the point that the A team is not a "stepping stone", but a developmental side.

"This is a genuine A side, in terms of the next best players" - Bradburn

 

[Flem274*]

A teams need to be at least a mix of your next best and whoever you feel like, though I'd prefer to err on the side of next best unless you're really lacking in positions. And they need to be balanced, which our A side wasn't. A cricket definitely has to be used as a stepping stone as well, since it presents the opportunity to both test fringe players to overseas conditions and filter the lesser ones from the guys who are better. A final examination of sorts.

Anyway I had to grin at Hendrix' Macewell complaint considering he's a huge fan of an unproven young batsman with the right last name. Craig Cachopa, Jeet Raval and Daryl Mitchell have more Plunket success than Latham ftr. Interestingly both Latham and Bracewell are former age group keepers who have moved up the order. Looks like Bracewell is set to be a specialist number three batsman, whereas no one has decided what they want from Latham yet (well the NZ selectors have tbf, but Canterbury would rather he take the gloves and bat at five which makes sense with Fulton and Worker in the side).

Mitchell deserved to be in a second eleven based on performance.

I also think you're giving the selectors too much credit Hendrix. These are the guys who left Flynn and Raval out, opened with every middle order player they could find (though tbf it looks like Broom is keen on opening now) and took Devcich along on merit. It was just parochialism and playing favourites as per usual. I don't think it's any coincidence one of Bradburn's favourites from ND is a surprise bowling inclusion in the NZ XI squad.

 

[Hurricane]

MB's ball striking is fundamentally flawed although his shot selection and temperament are good.

It is not a surprise to me that his FC average is better than his list A average as he can get away with just flicking his wrists/forearms and pure timing in FC.

So far I have a good track record of picking out provincial players with potential - I backed Latham but jumped on Munro.

 

[Flem274*]

i swear youve made that post once a week

 

[Hurricane]

i swear youve made that post once a week

Immenso was questioning me on it. So I felt compelled to re-post/recycle

 

[hendrix]

"This is a genuine A side, in terms of the next best players" - Bradburn

This guy is just a massive ****. That's just such a big slap in the face to players like Butler, Jeets, Flynn, Raval, Redmond, Papps. etc.

Anyway I had to grin at Hendrix' Macewell complaint considering he's a huge fan of an unproven young batsman with the right last name. .

I'm a huge fan of Latham in that I think he'll succeed, but I don't think he's done anything to prove he should be in a test squad at the moment. I can be a fan of him without wanting him to be selected.

It's the process that annoys me. Players can show potential, yes, but you have to have consistency in selection and that only really comes from players proving there worth.

I can say that I think Colin Munro will fail at test level but I won't have a problem with his selection on the back of a mountain of domestic runs.

 

[Bahnz]

All of Tastle's wickets were pretty good. Even Jesse was deceived by the flight. Given that he was by impartial accounts the better spinner on the A tour, and the solid start he's made to the FC season Sodhi's promotion is starting to look a little silly. Also good to see Bennett looking sharp, especially with the delivery that bowled Craig.

At least Brownlie can claim that he was out to a ripper in this innings. Fulton certainly can't say the same.

 

[Blain]

Soper doesnt look that slow? Seems nippy enough. Plus he has the mullet and beard combo, which makes him at least 5km quicker.

I watched most of MBs hundy in Wellington, looked very impressive. He was playing some beasty straight drives. Should get a go at NZA this season if he can keep up his consistency.