*Official* New Zealand in England 2015

[King Pietersen]

Bairstow better not play!

 

[Antihippy]

Buttler with split webbing. Maybe out of tomorrow's game. They've called up Bairstow.

You ask me it's ****ing ridiculous that Bairstow is called up. You've got a reserve wicketkeeper(Billings) and reserve batsman (Taylor). Pick them. They've basically got a 15 man squad for a one off game. Pick 13 men for a series and stick with them. If one gets injured replace them. 14 is just overkill for a home series.

They've said the result isn't overly important; It's more the processes at this point. If you have 13 and one pulls out on the day and the makeup of the team isn't exactly as you want well then deal with it. Having 14 or 15 man squads to leave lots of combinations of teams is fine and good and important if this was a world cup or champions trophy but this is basically a development series.

Bairstow missing out today for Yorkshire. Craig missed the Somerset county game. Taylor missing games aplenty for Notts. It's complete bollocks.

It's nothing against Bairstow I just feel they go into overkill with trying to cover the different options for the team when it doesn't really matter when in all likelihood Bairstow will not play tomorrow (after having to miss Yorkshire's game tonight).

Yeah what happened to taylor? I thought he did pretty well.

 

[theegyptian]

Yeah what happened to taylor? I thought he did pretty well.

As Hussain has said England probably wanted their best players Root, Morgan, Buttler to bat earlier and bat for a longer time and that doesn't leave a spot for Taylor in the middle order. He'll probably get some games on Asian wickets in the middle order but he's going to be hard pushed to get into this team as he is similar to Root(back foot leg side dominant, good runner, good against spin) but worse - and doesn't offer a 6th bowling option. He can't open because he doesn't have the boundary hitting options (and is defensively a little suspect against new ball) and he isn't explosive enough to bat 6 or 7 so that leaves 3-5 currently occupied by Root, Morgan, Stokes(who is the fifth bowler). Unless Root goes to open or players are rested he is gonna struggle to get into the team.

 

[Antihippy]

Hmmm, that's a shame then. I was thinking that he could take the place of billings but I guess england see him more in the anchor role?

 

[Niall]

Hmmm, that's a shame then. I was thinking that he could take the place of billings but I guess england see him more in the anchor role?

Billings was awesome last season for Kent, beastly strike rates so they want to give him a look which is fair enough. Taylor's best chance is maybe Root or Morgan get rested or inured, or I suppose if Roy was to have a horror run they could push Root up to open and Taylor bat at three.

 

[Howe_zat]

I'd still rather have Moeen than Roy, performs a similar role in the top order with more experience and ODI success, plus would be the only offspin option in a team short of bowling

 

[Skyliner]

Moeen Ali seems like a mediocre player; he looks the part, but his stats to date point to him as a bits and pieces cricketer.
After 11 tests his batting average in 28.9 , after 22 ODIs his average is 33.
His spin bowling seems reasonably ineffectual, he didn't cause NZ too many issues in the test.
The problem with these bits and pieces players - Shane Watson is another - is that their strengths are really an illusion. They seem to offer a lot by being able to do a couple of jobs for you, but they just end up doing neither particularly well.
I think England are doing the right thing is seeing how a wider group of players perform at international level. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

 

[Skyliner]

I conflated tests and ODIs a bit there...obviously Watson is a handy ODI player.
Where England are going with their ODI game, I don't think Ali and Taylor fit. They want players who can build an innings and get big scores but can do it at a strike rate approaching 100.

 

[Cabinet96]

His batting record in ODI's is good. In fact his ODI record at the moment is similar to Jayasuriya albeit it from a very small sample size. As for his bowling in tests, we've been through it all before.

 

[Skyliner]

What's his ODI strike rate?

 

[Spark]

I'd still rather have Moeen than Roy, performs a similar role in the top order with more experience and ODI success, plus would be the only offspin option in a team short of bowling

Yeah I don't really see the point of Roy yet; I'm not yet convinced that his breezy innings aren't just evidence of him getting swept up in the tide along with everyone else as opposed to actual class.

 

[Skyliner]

England should look for players with the highest possible S/R's, players who can hurt the opposition in that way. They have ample class already in Root / Morgan / Buttler.

 

[Bahnz]

Bit of an update on Boult's fitness: Cricket: Not your typical macho fast bowler - Sport - NZ Herald News

The only speed bump along that fast-track to No1 maybe his back. Boult first made the New Zealand squad as a callow 18-year-old and he would concede it was probably a step too far, too early. Until then his claim to fame was winning a national speed-gun competition as a sixth former at Otumoetai College and, anyway, his first steps into the the world of international cricket were curtailed by a stress fracture to his L3 bone.

An MRI in London after last week's second ODI against England cleared him of further damage to that vertebra "but there were a couple of other hot spots we need to get checked out".

 

[Pothas]

Vince is a much better player than Roy as well, admittedly he has had a dire Championship season but his Twenty20 form has been good, hope he plays next week.

Moeen will be back to open for the next series I am sure, they made a specific point of saying he was being released to play red ball cricket (not that this worked out at all) and not dropped. We really need the bowling options, I can see why they want Rashid in the side and you can keep him there this way.

 

[Cabinet96]

What's his ODI strike rate?

103.

 

[Flem274*]

craig cachopa did a thing in englands T20 comp overnight.

 

[Kippax]

I see he was getting quite a few games for the Sussex 2nd XI after averaging 15 in six Div 1 games. Some interesting names who have a passport to potentially leave the Plunket Shield, like Carl Cachopa and Leo Carter, also playing some 2nd XI cricket.

 

[Skyliner]

Bit of an update on Boult's fitness: Cricket: Not your typical macho fast bowler - Sport - NZ Herald News

Approximately 90-95% of cases of spondylolysis (back stress fracture) occur at the L5 vertebral level.

 

[CaptainGrumpy]

Approximately 90-95% of cases of spondylolysis (back stress fracture) occur at the L5 vertebral level.

So likeable for a fast bowler. I hope Tim doesn't lead Corey, Kane and Trent astray from their current lifestyle.

 

[RossTaylorsBox]

I'm sure Kane would only be lead astray if you dressed up a woman like a Gray-Nicholls.