A pretty inglorious line-up to be fair. Might be useful to select more than 3 batsmen at some point.A rather inglorious end for Wellington today lol
Kippax sitting quietly in a darkened room somewhere, stroking a black cat, saying 'ahh yes, the minions are onto it now...'Will Young's two dismissals again a little worrying. I rate him still, but any bowlers nipping it in are really gonna lick their lips against him.
Yeah, if KW is absent for the first test, you'd have to suspect that Anderson's inswinger is going to be giving Young's front pad a fair working over.Kippax sitting quietly in a darkened room somewhere, stroking a black cat, saying 'ahh yes, the minions are onto it now...'
To be fair he's been saying it for months, that Young plays around his front pad. And it looks like a significant technical flaw that international attacks in particular are going to run all over.
yeah i really don't like nzs desire to make him open. he bats like a kane/ross hybrid. #4 at the highest, #3 in an emergency.Yeah, if KW is absent for the first test, you'd have to suspect that Anderson's inswinger is going to be giving Young's front pad a fair working over.
I'd class that Napier pitch as disappointingly green for March.Younghusband playing as a specialist bowler in T20s and a specialist bat in FC is rather odd.
I don't think we need to make anyone open.yeah i really don't like nzs desire to make him open. he bats like a kane/ross hybrid. #4 at the highest, #3 in an emergency.
Bracewell did bring himself on for 3 cheap overs at the end of CD's first innings.I'd class that Napier pitch as disappointingly green for March.
Ajaz didn't bowl first innings.
Younghusband and M Bracewell didn't bowl first innings.
No spin at all until the fag end of the 3rd innings of the match, when Bracewell and Younghusband came on to bowl 4 overs each during the declaration batting stage.
Fun match, though.
But for development's sake, with crap scheduling of Plunket Shield, need the March pitches to be quite different to the November pitches.
Blundell is going to be the No.7 post WTC probably, presuming Watling will retire and coach. Raval isn't going to be reselected unless he's scoring a mountain of runs, and Rutherford's days are probably numbered too. Then Ravindra was moved down to 6-7 in a move that looked purposeful in terms of grooming him to be a middle order bat and spin option.I don't think we need to make anyone open.
Pick the best performing domestic opener to bat with Latham and be done with it. They might do ok, they might do crap, they might average low 30s which is fine. Got 4-5 other middle order slots and 2 opener slots so not really sure why there's this obsession with converting high talent batsmen to openers.
Will Young/Conway/whatever of the other domestic middle order bats vie for whatever permanent (Taylor retirement) or injury slots crop up.
In any case Tom Blundell, Jeet Raval are two OK enough openers. Even Rutherford looks to be having a decent season - just pick whoever is doing OK rather than wasting a middle order bat.
This approach sounds great on the surface until you realize your second best bat (Devon Conway) is sitting on the bench and running water to Hamish Rutherford in the starting XI.I don't think we need to make anyone open.
Pick the best performing domestic opener to bat with Latham and be done with it. They might do ok, they might do crap, they might average low 30s which is fine. Got 4-5 other middle order slots and 2 opener slots so not really sure why there's this obsession with converting high talent batsmen to openers.
Will Young/Conway/whatever of the other domestic middle order bats vie for whatever permanent (Taylor retirement) or injury slots crop up.
In any case Tom Blundell, Jeet Raval are two OK enough openers. Even Rutherford looks to be having a decent season - just pick whoever is doing OK rather than wasting a middle order bat.