NZ names squad

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

The decision to include Hitchcock did come from leftfield..especially since they took Adams to Sri Lanka & not Hitchcock.

Its a matter of whether they want a player in India who can turn a game on its head with a quickfire innings and take several key wickets or a bowler who is almost deadly accurate who can mix it up & slow the run-rate down.

Now obviously most people would chose Adams, but he comes at the price of inconsistency and you never know he could play brilliantly for all the ODI's or completely bomb out.
Hitchcock is more likely to be consistent because he sticks to the basics.

Hitchcock's bowling should be quite effective in Indian condition in the shorter form of the game. I expect that he may get a few wickets with the batsmen trying to force the pace. Around the wicket to the left-handers he can be particularly hard to dispatch.

 

[lord_of_darkness]

I dont know why they keep giving Nevin the boot... especially for ODIS hes the right kind of opening batsmen new zealand need..

Hes aggressive and gets new zealand going for the start and gives flemming the kind of confidence to keep him going.. see the near past results for yourself..

 

[Tim]

I think its the end of the road for Chris Nevin & Matt Horne.

Nevin is still only 28, but if the selectors aren't willing to take him on this tour especially after letting him play in Sri Lanka then thats danger signs.

 

[Tim]

Plus I reckon we'll see a new batch of younger players coming through this season during the home series against Pakistan & South Africa.

I'd think those players would probably be Tim McIntosh, Rob Nicol & Bruce Martin. And possibly Peter Fulton & Jesse Ryder if they progress well for their provinces over November/December/January in time for the South African series.

 

[Tim]

I notice alot of people think Hitchcock is similar to Gavin Larsen, but thats not the case.

Hitchcock does actually run in quite quickly and against India earlier this year he reached 140 km's.

 

[lord_of_darkness]

Yea true that !

 

[Craig]

I think it is ludercious that Astle is batting at three and they believe he is better not facing the new ball. What I cant understand is that the bloke has scored over 5000 runs and made 13 ODI centuries, so I dont know where they dug that piece of rubbish out of.

Astle is an opener in the ODI team, always has been (ok not at the first couple of games in his ODI career)) and should always continue to be.

I have no problems with Fleming opening.

 

[Tim]

There is an important fact in NZ ODI cricket and that is, that when Astle gets a good score NZ have a very high win rate...so what they've realised is that to maximise Astle's output they've got to bat him at 3 because he can be vunerable to the new ball at times.

Now of course there will be times Astle will have to come in early due to a quick wicket but I can see the logic in this.

 

[Craig]

Fair enough wouldnt there be any point in opening with McMillan and giving him the licenise to go for it.

 

[Tim]

McMillan has said he wants to bat in the middle order.

I think the NZ selectors are really trying to sort out the mess they created last year where they didn't really define batting roles for players like McMillan & Vincent..who I think batted in every position from 1-6.

Apparently Vincent has been told he'll play as an opener only, unless there are injury problems.

 

[Craig]

Well the mess New Zealand is into is always choping and changing its openers unnesscarly. You know I thought Astle and Fleming could become our permanent openers and have Astle where he has always batted and Fleming who has opened on occasions.

I mean Astle has had Vettori, Cairns, McMillan (I think), Spearman, Nevin, Horne, McCullam, Vincent, Fleming, Sinclair, open with him in the last couple of years.

It is time the selectors decided who is our permanent openers and stop choping and changing. They will save themselves a lot of effort. For enough changing openers when Astle has been injuried, but not just for the sake of it.

 

[marc71178]

Plus I reckon we'll see a new batch of younger players coming through this season during the home series against Pakistan & South Africa.

Are they playing on proper wickets this year Tim or following last year's example (this is a serious question, not a dig by the way)

 

[Tim]

I don't think we'll see that problem again with the pitches.

Last season Fleming suggested to the groundsmen in the media that they prepare good seaming conditions..but the groundsmen took it a little further and made pitches that even NZ struggled to play on.

 

[thierry henry]

It's very embarrassing that we still have Lou Vincent in the squad. Never has a player enjoyed a longer international career without ever doing anything in either ODI, test, or even first class cricket.

I don't even think the guy averages 30 in any form of the game.

As for Shane Bond, sure he's injured and you can't blame him for it, but at this rate he looks like being a shooting star across the international cricket sky (HAHA!), disappearing from view after about 30 seconds.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Vincent scored a century against a fairly ok-ish slighlty mediocre Australian team :rolleyes: .... on debut. I would call that something.

 

[Craig]

But two FC 100s?

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

My point is not that he's a top player. I am just contradicting the suggestion that he has never done anything at Test level.

 

[Tim]

Vincent was picked on the basis that he had been up through the ranks of South Australia, the NZ selectors obviously thought that was something and disregarded his averages which at the time were both in the mid 20's for FC & OD...I think a couple of weeks prior to his first ODI against Pakistan he hit 130* against Northern Districts in an OD match and that was his one BIG innings for the season.

 

[Craig]

Well scoring 130 before a ODI series will always get the selectors to notice. I mean Vincent is the quickest in the NZ team and probably the best fielder. So he is useful for New Zealand.

I know he played in the New Zealand 'A' v Pakistan 'A' when Paksitan 'A' toured New Zealand in the 1998/99 season. Two of the one day matches were played in a town called Mt Mounganui in the North Island (for those that dont live in NZ). I should know, I used to live there.

 

[thierry henry]

The fact is he's utterly hopeless and his records and performances over the course of his career prove it.

He stinks, there's no way around it.