That average has nudged up 5 in the last one and a half seasons to clear the juicier prospects in the Cleavers and the Chapmans of the world, in which time we've been particularly unwilling to introduce new batting faces.
Bats at 5 so is seen as a bit of an engine room cash-in merchant I think.
You'd have to think he'd be in the equation anyway. Anyone who knows how to bat time is going to be of interest to test match selectors.
I think he is in the frame. Co-captained the A team tour to India late last year. He's probably behind Phillips who has a test 50 in his one test against Australia and an outstanding white ball record for the Black Caps. Then it would be between him and O'Donnell for middle order batting spots.
It is good for New Zealand isn't it? England's bazball policy is to always go for the win which NZ can use to their advantage. Lesser the overs, more they take risks to get that win.
You're forgetting that this is the Basin.
How the hell do they only manage 29 overs in a 2 1/2 hour session when Leach bowled ten of them?
Bracewell will be bowling. We’ve got enough already.
Sydney Smith and Clarrie Grimmett, apparently. And both of those played a lot of their cricket outside NZ. 1,402 of Grimmett's 1,424 wickets were outside of NZ and 692 out of 955 of Smith's were either in the West Indies or UK. Then Tom Pritchard (818) and Andre Adams (692). Most of these players had extensive time playing cricket elsewhere. Neil Wagner's the highest current player, I think (802 wickets)
| Most Career Wickets in Plunket Shield: | |||||
| Player | Province | Matches | Wickets | Average | Span |
| SL Boock | Otago /Canterbury | 101 | 492 | 19.82 | 1973/74-1989/90 |
| EJ Chatfield | Wellington | 79 | 370 | 19.06 | 1973/74-1989/90 |
| GW Aldridge | Northern Districts | 119 | 355 | 28.32 | 1998/99-2014/15 |
| BJ Arnel | Northern Districts / Wellington | 98 | 354 | 26.28 | 2005/06-2017/18 |
| RW Blair | Wellington / Central Districts | 59 | 352 | 14.73 | 1951/52-1964/65 |
| MR Gillespie | Wellington | 82 | 344 | 27.29 | 1999/00-2014/15 |
| N Wagner | Otago /Northern Districts | 81 | 344 | 26.40 | 2008/09-2022/23 |
If Wagner remains committed to the cause you'd have to presume he'll eventually slog his way past Chats to the number 2 spot.
Smith looks to have probably taken a not dissimilar number of wickets in NZ as Patel. Around 300 or so for Patel, around 250 for Smith. Really, the top NZ wicket takers are dominated by those who've plied some of their trade in the UK - given the scale of county cricket. The Plunket Shield list is probably a more relevant resource.
I dunno. Grimmett certainly developed his skills in New Zealand, and moved to Australia having already made a name for himself in the (limited) first-class game here. This was also before New Zealand played tests, so his only option to make a living from the game was to move to either Australia or England.