He doesn't bowl to a plan.Incredibly harsh on Wood, I'd happily give him 6. Looks like an international cricketer to me
Probably not helped by having a captain who doesn't have a plan.He doesn't bowl to a plan.
Good side. Personally wish Soult get used sparingly in the series.My side for the 1st ODI..
McCullum
Guptill
Williamson
Taylor
Elliott
Anderson
Ronchi
NcCullum
Henry
McClenaghan
Boult
31 byes looks bad on the scoresheet, but to be fair to Ronchi, more than half of those were from balls that he couldn't possibly have stopped (think Trent Boult's wonder ball early on day 3). His keeping was a little untidy at times, but he took all the chances that came his way (including a really good one off Stokes on the last day) and that's the most important thing.2nd Test XI
1. A Cook
2. A Lyth
3. R Taylor
4. B McCullum
5. BJ Watling
6. L Ronchi
7. J Buttler+
8. M Craig
9. T Southee
10. S Broad
11. T Boult
The Composite 2-Why-Isn't-This-Actually-3 Test XI
1. A Cook - Back to his best, edges Watling for batsman of the series though both had completely different roles.
2. T Latham/M Guptill - can't separate them but would rather one of them over Lyth even if he did have one good century.
3. K Williamson - one excellent century (except for the final 20 runs or so ) but dose 3 wickets! Getting Cook who played for Craig's turn, shrewd captaincy well executed by Kane.
4. J Root - 1st Test gets him in. 2nd Test proved he is mortal somewhat
5. BJ Watling - what do we need to say? God. Couldn't really consider him for keeping duties due to his 1 session of it.
6. B Stokes - First match still gets him in, was superb.
7. J Buttler+ - Perhaps a surprise choice but his 1st Test 50 was crucial I thought and I was thoroughly impressed by his 2nd second innings effort even if he did get out leaving. Wasn't huge fan of his glovework but neither was Ronchi (30+byes on debut) even though the latter bludgeoned a vital 88.
8. M Craig - haters gonna hate but the windy conditions dried out the pitch and he capitalised. Also some very vital runs in the 2nd Test. Performed better than Ali in both departments imo.
9. M Wood/T Southee - this was tricky. Southee's 4 in the first innings of the 2nd was important but wasn't at his best and Henry had a gunnish 1st test but went mostly missing in this one, that superb delivery to Ali aside. Wood was a wicket taker (SR of 48) and a decent find, not too shabby with the bat either!
10. S Broad - kept taking wickets even if it was the most expensive 5fer in history, but he still bowled well in the 1st Test and hit a determined NZ batting outfit in the 2nd.
11. T Boult - consummate professional even if his line was off in whole spells; would just adjust in the next one and come back swinging.
Why? He has played 2 tests...Good side. Personally wish Soult get used sparingly in the series.
I am a huge fan of Adam Milne but I am already resigned that he should become a pjyama cricketer solely. Too many injuries to be a test prospect long term. Prefer a decade of him in pyjama cricket than a couple of tests.I am genuinely surprised in a good way as to how the blackcaps performed. 1-1 in England is very credible.
We are ranked 4th in the world, and if you had told me we would be that high 4 years ago I would have said you are dreaming.
Quality performance in this series. I think we might take Australia at home. Australia in Australia might be a bridge too far unless we were to select Adam Milne and he proved to be a revelation. Raw Pace seems to get rewarded there if you are wondering why I have brought Adam's name into the conversation.
Good questionsWhy? He has played 2 tests...
Its not like we're England or Australia who play probably 5 more tests than us a year - and Aussie probably plays a lot more one dayers too. Its not like he just played a 5 test match series either.
He cannot be exhausted from playing 7 IPL games in two months. That is only 28 overs.
Sometimes CW doesn't let me like a post so I am replying to say good post.I am a huge fan of Adam Milne but I am already resigned that he should become a pjyama cricketer solely. Too many injuries to be a test prospect long term. Prefer a decade of him in pyjama cricket than a couple of tests.
He needs to learn to bowl aggressively and accurately with short stuff to be a threat in Australia against Australians - which I have no doubt he will learn. But at the moment - he bowls too nice to be effective in the whites.
His pace is a weapon he needs to unleash more often.
I repeat that I am a massive fan of his and loved it when he had Younis Kahn (who had just pummeled Australia) in all sorts of bother.
He would be in my starting ODI XI over Mclenahan and Henry bowling as third seamer ala World Cup.
I would never select McClenahan unless there was a pandemic.
Th World Cup is ODI cricket - like one maybe two games a week. Like 10 or 20 overs a week?!Good questions
I guess they have been on the treadmill for a while here even before the IPL with the world cup etc.
What? That is a weak attitude. Can you imagine the All Blacks saying oh look we don't really care about this series? Just because you prefer test cricket to ODI cricket does not mean ODI cricket is not important. It probably still gets higher ratings. The fans still care. Test cricket may be the pinnacle for the players, but ODI cricket pays a lot of their salaries too.I could care less about winning this bilateral ODI series and would rather we used some of our other very capable seam bowlers.
If I have to watch McClenahan bowl instead of Boult I will be upset and borderline furious.Aotearoa is rich in the seam bowling department and at the end of the day ODIs are a batsman's game anyway. So long as Kane Ross, Brendon and Martin play then we will hold our own anyway.
Piss poor argument. It should have always been Vettori (and was).Glad to hear NMac is back. He arguably should have played ahead of Vettori in the World Cup.
Yeah don't get this at all. Even on one leg Vettori is a better bowler than NMac, and while his batting isn't what it used to be he still played a vital role in helping us get to the final with his trademark squirts and smears.Glad to hear NMac is back. He arguably should have played ahead of Vettori in the World Cup.
@Grumpy - I am not responding to you as there was nothing to respond to you in your post. You basically just said I disagree with you hurricane and didn't give any reasons.Yeah don't get this at all. Even on one leg Vettori is a better bowler than NMac, and while his batting isn't what it used to be he still played a vital role in helping us get to the final with his trademark squirts and smears.
I could care less
Yeah - I have had enough of the Vettori or McCullum debate because there was not one in my view and Vettori's World Cup performances vindicated my stance. His economical and classy bowling is a thing of beauty that not only New Zealanders will no longer see, but his legions of fans around the globe. he really was widely respected in all cricketing circles for being such a class act at economy.@Grumpy - I am not responding to you as there was nothing to respond to you in your post. You basically just said I disagree with you hurricane and didn't give any reasons.