Your New Zealand World Cup Squad if selected today...

[Jezroy]

I just don't understand Boult not playing any of the ODI's in the UAE if he was always likely.

I also don't get it BUT if they did say "Trent, we know you haven't played a lot of ODI cricket, but you're a great test bowler, you were very good with Southee for ND at the CLT20, and you were quite good vs SA in the ODI's in NZ. But we think we need to rest you at some during the season. So how about we put you in the World Cup squad, and rest you for the Pakistan series knowing that you have a number of ODI's vs SL and PAK to prove yourself as being better than 4th or 5th cab off the rank?"

 

[Grasshopper]

Neesham and Henry are unlucky to miss out, but happy they've picked Milne.

Is this squad strong enough to win the big prize? I honestly think it is, given a bit of luck along the way.

 

[straw man]

Echo the general sentiment that Henry is very unlucky to miss out. I would have omitted Boult. And if we were not saving Henry for the WC he doubly should have been playing the test against SL like I was harping on about.

Elliott I think just lacks a certain amount of genuine class or quality, though appreciate the other contenders for that spot are also questionable.

 

[Blocky]

Given the way Henry bowled and looked in the UAE I'm quite shocked that he didn't make the 15.

His performances in the UAE obviously didn't count for much then.

Listening to the press conference, I actually think we're guilty of theory crafting too much and not paying attention to good hard performances.

The press conference was very much about "We've got combinations that allow us to adapt and adjust our playing style based on our conditions and give us different options and gameplans"

i.e Grant Elliott vs Jimmy Neesham, Milne/Boult vs Henry. We're picking "types" rather than "performances" - it's something NZ has been guilty of for a tonne of years and something I thought we'd gone past.

 

[Zinzan]

Yeah I must say as disappointed I am in Henry's omission, I'm stoked about Milne!

 

[RossTaylorsBox]

Ugh, don't like the Boult selection but hope he proves me wrong.

 

[SteveNZ]

Neesham and Henry are unlucky to miss out, but happy they've picked Milne.

Is this squad strong enough to win the big prize? I honestly think it is, given a bit of luck along the way.

I don't think we have the runs in us, to be honest. I'd like to be proven wrong and if we post 300s, we'll defend them.

I like the Elliot selection. It's form and experience over reputation and relative inexperience. Jimmy will be a hell of a cricketer but I think they realised his chances of contributing greatly weren't erm, great.

 

[James]

Agree, such a tease. He gets his chance, nails it & then a guy who doesn't even need to play with a rubbish ODI record in 10 matches cruises in. Boult must be pinching himself.

Totally. I think we'd all agree Boult is untouchable in the Test form of the game but ODIs is just completely different and he's shown up to now that he has a lot work to be done in that form of the game. Surely if he was who they were looking at, he should have played in the UAE because as we've said Henry bowling his heart out and getting the rewards wicket wise in the UAE obviously didn't matter in the grand scheme of things World Cup selection wise.

What I hope doesn't happen is that if Boult happens to have a poor World Cup that he doesn't lose confidence and it affects his Test game.

Hopefully now that he's been selected he plays most of the ODIs against Sri Lanka to help tune his ODI performances.

 

[vandem]

How stiff is Henry? Unbelievable.

Unlucky, but it happens. He's young enough to get a 2nd and 3rd chance. Some good ODI players didn't make it. Chris Pringle (64 ODIs) didn't play in a World Cup. Bryan Young (74 ODIs) didn't play in a World Cup, despite being incumbent ODI keeper and then ODI opener the seasons before the 92, 96 and 99 cups.

 

[Blocky]

I don't think we have the runs in us, to be honest. I'd like to be proven wrong and if we post 300s, we'll defend them.

I like the Elliot selection. It's form and experience over reputation and relative inexperience. Jimmy will be a hell of a cricketer but I think they realised his chances of contributing greatly weren't erm, great.

Personally I've always liked Elliot and feel he's hard done by to not have had more chances for NZ considering some of his performances but I still think it's hard on Jimmy considering he really only got in jeopardy because he dared to open the batting for his side and try to give them an option.

Run wise, we're highly dependent on McCullum and Taylor being able to score in excess of 100 strike rate and do it consistently and almost need Williamson to bat until the 35th over and get out so Ronchi, Anderson and co can come in and finish for us. The other real concern/consideration is Guptill's current form at international level being so bad, who do we put up to open with BMac if he completely ****s the bed? Do we promote Williamson? Is it Anderson? Elliott?

 

[Days of Grace]

I rate Henry a 50% chance of playing some part in the World Cup.

Some bowler might get injured. And can't we fake an injury?

 

[James]

The other real concern/consideration is Guptill's current form at international level being so bad, who do we put up to open with BMac if he completely ****s the bed? Do we promote Williamson? Is it Anderson? Elliott?

Would be Ronchi wouldn't it?

 

[SteveNZ]

Personally I've always liked Elliot and feel he's hard done by to not have had more chances for NZ considering some of his performances but I still think it's hard on Jimmy considering he really only got in jeopardy because he dared to open the batting for his side and try to give them an option.

Run wise, we're highly dependent on McCullum and Taylor being able to score in excess of 100 strike rate and do it consistently and almost need Williamson to bat until the 35th over and get out so Ronchi, Anderson and co can come in and finish for us. The other real concern/consideration is Guptill's current form at international level being so bad, who do we put up to open with BMac if he completely ****s the bed? Do we promote Williamson? Is it Anderson? Elliott?

I'd forgotten about the opening with Jimmy, good point. But I think his bowling contributed to it as much as anything.

 

[Blocky]

Would be Ronchi wouldn't it?

After a second viewing of the squad, I'd guess Latham.

 

[Blocky]

I rate Henry a 50% chance of playing some part in the World Cup.

Some bowler might get injured. And can't we fake an injury?

Well, that is a point - bowl Milne and Boult in every match until the world cup and "injure" the one who isn't performing.

 

[vandem]

i.e Grant Elliott vs Jimmy Neesham, Milne/Boult vs Henry. We're picking "types" rather than "performances" - it's something NZ has been guilty of for a tonne of years and something I thought we'd gone past.

In Elliott over Neesham they're picking performance, both in ODIs over the last 5 years, and in domestic List A / T20 this season.

 

[Blocky]

The core of our team is pretty obvious

1. BMac
2. Guptill
3. Williamson
4. Taylor
5. (Latham/Elliot)
6. Anderson
7. Ronchi
8. Vettori
9. (NcCullum/Mills/Milne/Boult)
10. Southee
11. McCleneghan

 

[Blocky]

In Elliott over Neesham they're picking performance, both in ODIs over the last 5 years, and in domestic List A / T20 this season.

Performance in Test Cricket/ODI vs Performance in domestic cricket. If Elliott was truly in the running, why was he not in the UAE? That's why I say it's theory crafting. They'll have looked at it and thought "What if we get on a low slow wicket, who can we go to outside of Mills, Vettori and NcCullum while giving us some runs"

 

[thierry henry]

Mills has a tremendous record but do we select on records or on conditions/potential? Are there likely to be many slower tracks that would suit Mills more? What is Mills' record like for the past five years on NZ pitches?

Is Mills even a slow-pitch bowler though? I've always seen him as being better on a pitch that has pace and bounce. His strength is immaculate back-of-a-length bowling with the new ball, which imo looks more menacing on faster pitches. He's all about awkward bounce from a good-ish length with a hint of away movement.

If anything he's more likely to get hit on slower pitches as suddenly 125kph-130kph offerings can look like cannon-fodder without the awkward bounce.

 

[vandem]

Performance in Test Cricket/ODI vs Performance in domestic cricket. If Elliott was truly in the running, why was he not in the UAE? That's why I say it's theory crafting. They'll have looked at it and thought "What if we get on a low slow wicket, who can we go to outside of Mills, Vettori and NcCullum while giving us some runs"

Disagree totally. Neesham had the inside running. If Neesham had made some ODI runs in UAE, and Elliott hadn't played a series of 100+ SR innings in domestic T20 and list A, Neesham would be in the squad.