With KW gone It's back to New Zealand Batting Plan A Since 2008 - Taylor goes huge and 6-11 come to the party.
Maybe McCullum will prove me wrong, and if he tons up tomorrow on the perfect pitch for two spinners then I will certainly zip it, but he needs more than his double ton and the other day as pressure knocks. I realise only CW thinks McCullum skiis downhill and the media think he's our second best batsman (lol) but as much as I would like to say otherwise the results back us up, and I really want that to change since he is a specialist batsman and skipper now.
Anderson shouldn't be troubled by his weakness on this, and luckily will see lots of spin. This situation is made for Watling's temperament and he showed in Bangladesh he's much improved against spin, so hopefully he can save us as he so often has since coming into the side.
Anyway, this massive **** up with the pitch cannot be allowed to happen again. While I am all for New Zealand batsmen improving in conditions they're not used to, that's what international test and A tours are for. At home we play to our strengths without being cynical about it, which is the pitch we saw at the Basin. Foreign sides come here to face our conditions, not see their own.
I don't know how to play Narine if you're not picking the bloke. What did India do? Best method I can think of is play for the conventional offie or come down the pitch and turn it into a full toss since he doesn't use flight and hit it to hell provided they start with most of their men around the bat which they will, and then hopefully when the men go back you've ****ed with his head enough he errs in length to give you more time to read it off the pitch.
Actually, better plan - we should have broken his fingers when he batted.
no obviously I am not. He obviously thought he would create an interesting pitch. I just wish he had've done that in a FC match instead.
