*Official* World Test Championship Final 2021

[Flem274*]

well yeah opening is the hardest job in cricket. some batsmen have a stronger bias towards it than others though. hate starting against spin? open the batting. snail scoring with a strong d game? open the batting. too slow to get your name on the batting card before the game? congrats son you're opening.

opening the batting is the 'so who would like to come into work on saturday?' of cricket jobs.

 

[Noumenon]

Going to be a stop start affair in the final per weather forecast.

Meanwhile BCCI twitter handle has left the fans restive with curated clips and scores.

 

[CodeOfWisden]

Tom Latham
Devon Conway
Kane Williamson
Ross Taylor
Henry Nicholls
BJ Watling
Colin de Grandhomme/Will Young (pitch dependent, adjust batting positions accordingly)
Kyle Jamieson
Tim Southee
Neil Wagner
Ajaz Patel

This is the team. This is not the team NZ will select, but it is the right team. Harsh on Boult, but he looks very short of a gallop. Harsh on Henry, but 3 specialist right arm outswing bowlers is silly. This side has variety and the only selection decision remaining depends on the pitch. If it's flat, go with the extra bowling of the allrounder. If she's green, stack the batting.

Not selecting Boult against an Indian lineup filled with batsman who have difficulties against left arm pacer will be a huge mistake and I don't think Kane will do that

 

[sunilz]

How will combined IND-NZ look like for WTC final ?
(Ignore Conway bcz only 2 tests )

 

[CodeOfWisden]

Remember a few posters mentioning that Conway is very susceptible to off-spin early on in his innings. Doubt India would bowl ash or jaddu early because a)Kohli has never done that, Rahane was the one bringing ash on early and B)Latham and Kane are both very, very good players of spin, and bringing them on early May feed them runs and let them set it. Still a good idea imo.

Kohli did the exact same thing last time in England, to get rid of Alaistair Cook, starting with Ashwin is a trick we often use when left handers are batting

 

[CodeOfWisden]

How will combined IND-NZ look like for WTC final ?
(Ignore Conway bcz only 2 tests )

Latham
Sharma
Kane
Kohli
Nicholls
Pant
Jadeja
Jamieson
Southee
Ishant
Bumrah

 

[honestbharani]

Remember a few posters mentioning that Conway is very susceptible to off-spin early on in his innings. Doubt India would bowl ash or jaddu early because a)Kohli has never done that, Rahane was the one bringing ash on early and B)Latham and Kane are both very, very good players of spin, and bringing them on early May feed them runs and let them set it. Still a good idea imo.

TBF, Virat did bring Ash on for Cook in the 2018 England series.

 

[Bahnz]

By the way, are the crowds for this game still restricted to 1/4 capacity? Would be a real shame after the roll the Birmingham crowd’s played over the past few days.

 

[straw man]

Tom Latham
Devon Conway
Kane Williamson
Ross Taylor
Henry Nicholls
BJ Watling
Colin de Grandhomme/Will Young (pitch dependent, adjust batting positions accordingly)
Kyle Jamieson
Tim Southee
Neil Wagner
Ajaz Patel

This is the team. This is not the team NZ will select, but it is the right team. Harsh on Boult, but he looks very short of a gallop. Harsh on Henry, but 3 specialist right arm outswing bowlers is silly. This side has variety and the only selection decision remaining depends on the pitch. If it's flat, go with the extra bowling of the allrounder. If she's green, stack the batting.

I would lean very strongly in this direction too, providing the thinking persists that a spinner is needed at the Ajaz Bowl.

They won't go in with just the four bowlers though, particularly with the reserve 6th day to ensure the fully 450 overs are bowled if needed for a result.

 

[_Ed_]

By the way, are the crowds for this game still restricted to 1/4 capacity? Would be a real shame after the roll the Birmingham crowd’s played over the past few days.

Yeah, haven't seen any updates since the reports in May of a crowd capped at 4000 per day.

 

[Magrat Garlick]

New UK govt announcement in 36hrs, I guess they're waiting on data on delta

 

[Noumenon]

More rumor from twitter. Siraj bowled the most overs on day 1 of match simulation, Bumrah the least. Siraj was asked requested to bowl by batsmen because he was the trickiest to face.

Now it's all adding up for Kohli to pick Shami and Saha over Siraj and Pant.

 

[harsh.ag]

Tough break for Shami if he gets dropped. Wouldn't mind either selection.

 

[hendrix]

For me there's 2 spots up for grabs, and they're being contested by:
Boult
Ajaz
Mitchell
CdG

(Wagner is undroppable, and no Henry hasn't leapfrogged anyone)

If it's Boult and Ajaz, that's 5 bowlers and a rather long tail.
If it's Ajaz and Mitchell/CdG, we're missing out on Boult's potential for a meme swing bowling spell. I also think India could try to dominate Ajaz, and given his lack of white ball cricket that could prove a liability for us.

If we don't pick a spinner and go Boult and Mitchell...do you think we'll struggle to take 20 wickets? I can't think of many games in the last 20 years in which we struggled to take 20 wickets.

I also think a) Jamieson being a legite strike bowler and b) Wagner being able to bowl long spells that you might normally request of a spinner means we really don't need to play a spinner. Even if it spins.

I'm leaning towards Boult and Mitchell.

 

[hendrix]

Re: Boult.

Negatives:
- mostly right handers in India's lineup
- clearly not bowling at his best
- struggles without swing

Positives
- Dukes ball should swing through most of innings
- always a chance for a meme spell
- haven't checked the stats but suspect he has a good record against India
- Good fielder

I'm just not sure that Ajaz brings more than that. Yes, it's good to have a spinner, yes the pitch will likely turn a bit. It's still more likely that Boult will take wickets than Ajaz, IMO.

 

[OverratedSanity]

I'd be happy as an Indian fan if Boult wasn't picked. Has his form actually been that bad that dropping him is a possibility?

 

[hendrix]

I'd be happy as an Indian fan if Boult wasn't picked. Has his form actually been that bad that dropping him is a possibility?

His form isn't terrible but he's certainly been overtaken by Jamieson and Wagner IMO.

He's bowling to a level where you wouldn't be surprised by a 35-40 average over a series, for example. So probably not the type of thing that would cost you a series, just not someone really demanding a spot.

 

[OverratedSanity]

Tough break for Shami if he gets dropped. Wouldn't mind either selection.

Would prefer Siraj but yeah wouldn't be a tragedy of Shami was picked. His mediocre returns in the 2018 series did have a little to do with the Ishant-esque unlucky length but also some genuine bad luck. If there's a possibility of reverse on that Southampton pitch he'd be a huge asset.

 

[Noumenon]

Surprised there's even talk of breaking up NZ's best bowling partnership ever.

 

[Meridio]

Yeah I really can't see us dropping Boult. Will not happen.

Right now, I'm leaning towards the four seamers plus Ajaz. I really think we'll need a spinner there, and KW won't do it. What I worry is they'll bring Santner in as the allrounder, which I think would be the worst move of all available.