13.3
Batham to Leopard, no run, a massive and ugly hoick. Full outside off, Leopard tries to slog this down the ground but no contact
13.4
Batham to Leopard, no run, steered to point
13.5
Batham to Leopard, SIX, gets a hold of it this time does Leopard. Sticks to his technique and goes after a massive swipe, gets enough contact and clears the long-on boundary
13.6
Batham to Leopard, 2 runs, goes after another one but a thick inside edge rolls towards third man
New Zealand Under-19s 37/4 CK Leopard 16* (16b 1x4 1x6)
15.1
Batham to Leopard, 2 runs, swiped away in the gap at midwicket for two. Not really required to go all out on all deliveries
15.2
Batham to Leopard, no run, full and wide outside off, he backs away and tries to cut but the ball beats him
15.3
Batham to Leopard, no run, length again outside off, Leopard tries to steer to third man but no contact
15.4
Batham to Leopard, no run, another one, poor shot that. Full delivery outside off, he tries to steer but the ball goes past again
Glenn Phillips too. A bit of a back-foot hero with a funky stance, sure, but the power and fast hands mark him out as someone I'd think will play a lot for NZ.So Rachin Ravindra, Josh Clarkson, Christian Leopard, Nathan Smith, Zak Gibson and Ben Sears are the ones everyone is optimistic about from this lot yeah? i like the little i've seen of all bar rachin who i haven't watched yet.
Only Sarfaraz Khan (for Royal Challengers Bangalore) is a regular at IPL level. Ricky Bhui is in the squad of Sunriser Hyderabad but I think is more like a prospect so far. Other 9 in the starting line-up are not in any teams. I guess everyone (including ones in the bench) could be angling for future opportunities whether be in their association side or an IPL team (provided they meet the requirements).Can't expect our guys to compete with sub-continent sides, and good ones at that with IPL experience (yes no?) in their side and in their conditions. Good learning experience if nothing else
I liked what I saw tbh. Obviously he's got a wee while to go as he's only 18 but I wouldn't describe him as raw as such, he just needs to get his action a little more synchronised. That will come over time as he moves through the ranks and gets more game time under his belt.Zibson pretty much just muscles the ball down. Gets good lift and seemed to hurry the indian batsmen. Very raw at this stage.
Trent Boult was mid 120's during his Under 19 day's, as was a guy like Matt Henry. Pace can develop pretty quickly for these kids, especially for the really athletic ones like Zak Gibson.Gibson's much vaunted pace registering in the high 120's. :/
Sears' loss and Gibson's opportunity. I'll have to say the commentators at times appear clueless. They over hyped some of the bowlers but barely much was said about Nathan Smith. I though Nathan Smith was the skillful of the lot both teams put together. Some rubbish shots by the Indian lads was lauded as great. They honestly weren't and truth be told I can't see anyone in the Indian side that can go on to become greats. There is some hope in one or two but they require plenty of development still. The same is true with NZ as well. The skills I thought between the teams is not that massively different as the score would make you believe.Trent Boult was mid 120's during his Under 19 day's, as was a guy like Matt Henry. Pace can develop pretty quickly for these kids, especially for the really athletic ones like Zak Gibson.
I've never seen him bat in my life but the ZCF guys have compared his batting to Sean Williams in style, which would more or less make the answer to that question "yes".
Murray with 123* against Bangladesh in Chittagong a week ago. He's also "extremely bright", according to a ZCFer.
One of those Zim wicket-keepers who sweeps a lot and is pretty gun in these conditions, Cribbage?