*Official* New Zealand in England 2015

[Bahnz]

Order of preference (mine anyway) for third seamer would be Henry, Wagner, Bracewell, but yeah knowing McHesson's belief in giving players an extended run (which has no doubt served the team well) it's likely to be Dougeh.

Still, they were willing to drop Rutherford to give Latham a debut in the first Windies test llast year and it turned out well. So there's hope for the Matt Henry camp yet.

Nah, I'm almost 100% convinced that Henry will play, and if he misses out, it'll probably be Wagner who picks up the spot over Doug.

 

[Zinzan]

You guys are cute. As if New Zealand win this series.

Nah, even with your bully-boy scheduling conflicting with the IPL in the knowledge our top 4-5 players will be undercooked won't save you.

 

[Zinzan]

Anyone packing a semi already, just over 48 hours from the first ball?

Mate, absolutely pumped...Just finished an intense 7 week contract between the world cup and this tour... Now 2 weeks off before the next... life is bliss

 

[Furball]

Nah, even with your bully-boy scheduling conflicting with the IPL in the knowledge our top 4-5 players will be undercooked won't save you.

Yeah how dare the ECB schedule matches during the cricket season.

 

[GIMH]

2-0 to England quite easily

 

[Zinzan]

Yeah how dare the ECB schedule matches during the cricket season.

Was banter mate, hence the smiley face, chill.

 

[Cabinet96]

Nah, even with your bully-boy scheduling conflicting with the IPL in the knowledge our top 4-5 players will be undercooked won't save you.

Pretty sure test matches in England existed before the IPL

 

[GIMH]

Pretty sure test matches in England existed before the IPL

That was then. Get in the present.

 

[Zinzan]

Pretty sure test matches in England existed before the IPL

Pretty sure IPL preceded W.G.Grace.

 

[Moss]

Nah, I'm almost 100% convinced that Henry will play, and if he misses out, it'll probably be Wagner who picks up the spot over Doug.

Wondering, if Henry does play, who was the last NZ test cricketer to debut to such fanfare? Thanks to his ODI exploits and the recent attention drawn to NZ's fast bowling riches, there's been quite a bit anticipation even among Indian and English observers. In India, for example, he's become (somewhat) notorious as "the guy who bowls like Bond". Williamson in 2010 maybe? Or Southee in 2008 and Vettori in 1997 though I can't recall the latter situation so easily.

Yeah how dare the ECB schedule matches during the cricket season.

This leads me to a question: has the ECB ever considered scheduling one-dayers to kickoff the tours that take place in the first half of the summer, to avoid the tests clashing/dovetailing with the IPL? The teams which seem to end up with this slot (SL, Windies, NZ) almost always end up having this problem of arriving sans best players, or underdone. Thought it would be in their best interest that each team plays its best possible side, considering tests are their biggest priority? Or is this a sort of mandated way of sticking two fingers up at the IPL?

I definitely enjoy watching tests staged in the early English summer (more bowler-friendly the conditions the better for test cricket), but can't help thinking back to how the ODI's that were played prior to the Ashes in 2005 turned out to be the perfect build-up to that series (contrast this with the meaningless ODI's that were staged after the Ashes in 2009 and 2013).

 

[Furball]

2005 was a tri-series involving Bangladesh.

 

[Moss]

2005 was a tri-series involving Bangladesh.

Oh yeah, the Natwest series, forgot all about it. But there were an additional three ODI's scheduled before the Ashes in that 2005 series IIRC. Worked a lot better than having ODI's after the tests like in the subsequent Ashes.

Used the example more to illustrate how ODI's before the tests provide a bit more context than the other way around.

 

[Cabinet96]

Sri Lanka played their ODI's first last year. But that was because their players genuinely wouldn't have even played the test matches, let alone arrive late.

Given we lost both series that might have been a bad decision.

 

[Scaly piscine]

England still favourites, even if no-one particularly fancies them to do well.

Boult is NZ's best bowler, but over the last few years Jimmy is a little better.
Southee and Broad are a pretty similar level, both capable on their day but can be innocuous.
The third seamer is going to be an unknown.
Stokes is a better 4th seamer than Corey Anderson.
Despite Moeen's pie-fest in the West Indies he's a better bowler than Craig.

England's batting overall is stronger although nobody would particularly fancy either lineup to do well barring the odd individual.

 

[hendrix]

nah Southee's still NZ's best Test bowler and at this point he's better than Jimmy, but Jimmy in England with the Duke is a different proposition.

Both Southee and Boult should be better than Broad but you never know when Broad can have one of those games.

 

[Fuller Pilch]

England still favourites, even if no-one particularly fancies them to do well.

Boult is NZ's best bowler, but over the last few years Jimmy is a little better.
Southee and Broad are a pretty similar level, both capable on their day but can be innocuous.
The third seamer is going to be an unknown.
Stokes is a better 4th seamer than Corey Anderson.
Despite Moeen's pie-fest in the West Indies he's a better bowler than Craig.

England's batting overall is stronger although nobody would particularly fancy either lineup to do well barring the odd individual.

Henry, Wagner and Bracewell are all better than Jordan who wouldn't make a NZ contract list of 20 players. Craig is better than Moeen.

 

[Athlai]

England still favourites, even if no-one particularly fancies them to do well.

Boult is NZ's best bowler, but over the last few years Jimmy is a little better.
Southee and Broad are a pretty similar level, both capable on their day but can be innocuous.
The third seamer is going to be an unknown.
Stokes is a better 4th seamer than Corey Anderson.
Despite Moeen's pie-fest in the West Indies he's a better bowler than Craig.

England's batting overall is stronger although nobody would particularly fancy either lineup to do well barring the odd individual.

Man for man England are worse at the moment. The only reason you might be favourites is that you're playing at home.

 

[Jarquis]

So ergo man for man we're better for the conditions?

 

[Athlai]

So ergo man for man we're better for the conditions?

"Might be"

I disagree, we're better because your conditions are similar to our conditions.

 

[jcas0167]

Waddle on radio sport saying Guptill batted number 7 in the order in the nets, which he took to mean he might not be opening. Might hinge on Anderson's fitness.