NZ v West Indies

[Tim]

Well it appears NZ are going to try & surprise the West Indies.
Fleming on the radio this morning hinted this:

Astle
Vettori
Fleming
Cairns
Styris
Vincent
Harris
McCullum
Oram
Adams
Bond

Now..Vettori opens for Northern Districts in the One Dayers & this may look like a risk, but Vettori can give you a good run-rate in the first 5 overs & if he edges & mis-times then it doesn't matter as long as he gets NZ off to a good start.

So with this lineup, NZ are going to bat right to 11. Hopefully they'll do a better job than they did on Monday.

 

[Anil]

Well it appears NZ are going to try & surprise the West Indies.
Fleming on the radio this morning hinted this:

Astle
Vettori
Fleming
Cairns
Styris
Vincent
Harris
McCullum
Oram
Adams
Bond

Now..Vettori opens for Northern Districts in the One Dayers & this may look like a risk, but Vettori can give you a good run-rate in the first 5 overs & if he edges & mis-times then it doesn't matter as long as he gets NZ off to a good start.

So with this lineup, NZ are going to bat right to 11. Hopefully they'll do a better job than they did on Monday.

Whether they bat down to 11 or not, the West Indian batting lineup is stronger. NZ's strengths IMO are bowling and fielding and if they do well in those departments and restrict the Windies, then their depth in batting might have a role to play.

 

[Tim]

Yeah agreed.
The West Indies have been rampant lately and by the talk of the pitch it seems whoever wins the toss will bat first because it will get slower & slower & that may assist NZ better to bowl at the end with the likes of Harris, Vettori, Styris & Astle.

 

[Gotchya]

I dont know, Vettori at the opening slot ? against dillon and collins ? Astle if gets going is dynamite, maybe they are asking toom much of vettori. As with all slog offs, if it pays off it will be the best decision but otherwise Fleming would come out looking naive.

 

[Langeveldt]

After seeing them against RSA, I would say West Indies will win it, but only just. I see runs for Chanderpaul!

 

[full_length]

Astle, Chris Harris and Styris are probably the key players for NZ both with bat and ball.
Isn't the Vettori experiment a little late in coming? Fleming should have tried it out in the NZ home series. Has Vettori ever opened?

It will be very interesting to see how Lara, Powell, Hooper and Sarwan handle the slow stuff.
Attacking batsmen can at times get impatient with the nagging accurate slow stuff the kiwis dish out when playing on flat tracks. Larsen and Harris have done it well in the past.

 

[Tim]

The whole idea of Vettori is for him just to play shots, sometimes when you send a guy out to bat who doesn't feel the pressure he knocks up a good score & Vettori is capable of doing that because he's hit a couple of fifties for N.D this season.

I don't care if Vettori makes only 15 or so as long as he gets a good run-rate going rather than NZ being 1 wicket down for 2 runs after 3 overs.

 

[full_length]

rather than NZ being 1 wicket down for 2 runs after 3 overs.

Exactly the problem..

Why dont NZ try Chris Harris or someone like Oram?

Ideally, there should be specialists or very talented nonspecialists doing the job in the top of the order. NZ should probably back their specialist batsmen or atleast someone like Harris. It will be interesting to watch - Vettori is a capable player.

 

[Tim]

Well this is where the selectors must take some of the blame, they've been obsessed with the bowling lately & have not placed enough emphasise on batting.

The NZ team is far too imbalanced with all-rounders & to think that they've been forced to open with Vettori is not a good sign. It doesn't help either when some of your leading batsmen are out of form i.e. Nathan Astle & Craig McMillan.

Of course I do also blame the pitches here in NZ, not ideal preparation for the World Cup. I know Fleming wanted to beat India, but I think the pitches should have been more flat so they had a better chance of reaping the rewards a month later at the World Cup..and with no dis-respect to India, worrying more about the World Cup would have been better.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

The WI selectors appear to be dropping Collins for McLean. I don't like this move. Yes, Collins didn't bowl well (generally) on Sunday, but he did bowl a great penultimate over. Yes, Collins will not contribute runs which McLean occasionally does, but they are playing 7 specialists anyaway! I think that Collins is a very good bowler and he has bowled well against NZ in the past.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Regarding Vettori......hehe....can't wait...

 

[Tim]

Yeah I recall last year when NZ was in the West Indies that Collins really troubled them with his left-arm.
So the West Indies are still going in with 3 main bowlers, thats about as interesting as it is with Vettori opening.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Yep. I don't mind that tactic for this game though. The pitch should support the slow bowlers bowling second (naturally Hooper will win the toss ) and Gayle and Hooper are very effective in ODI's. Also, Powell can turn the ball and could be a useful bowler if given some bowling time.

 

[Rik]

Exactly the problem..

Why dont NZ try Chris Harris or someone like Oram?

Ideally, there should be specialists or very talented nonspecialists doing the job in the top of the order. NZ should probably back their specialist batsmen or atleast someone like Harris. It will be interesting to watch - Vettori is a capable player.

Harris struggled at number 3 when he's played there. He's better coming late. Vettori has some shots, should be fun. I can't understand why he didn't play in the 1st game though...

 

[Tim]

Well NZ came up with a reason. They said that Sri Lanka struggled in Australia against lifting pace bowling & also said that Sri Lanka have done well against Vettori in the past.

I agree with some of that although Vettori has been in very good form in the little amount of time he has played in the last 6 months & I disagree about looking into the past, if you're a good bowler you can easily pull it around.

 

[marc71178]

Well, Vettori is opening, but with Fleming!

WI still look a bowler light, but then again NZ look a batsman light!

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Wavell Hinds did an excellent job for WI today. That will be very encouraging.

Re: Vettori, he didn't really get the ball away did he...

 

[luckyeddie]

<quack> why didn't they let Vasbert Drakes bowl from the Duckpond End? It would have been like a home match for him.

 

[Tim]

Well NZ win by 20 runs.

I think at the World Cup a win is a win & despite NZ having W.I 45/5 on this big stage you've got to expect some rear-guard action & Sarwan & Jacobs batted very well although I didn't really think they were going to pull it off when it came to the crunch.

NZ's fielding was the best display I have certainly ever seen, I know there have probably been others but Jacob Oram the biggest man in world cricket taking a swirling catch in mid-air will be one of the best in the tournament.

Shane Bond bowled with excellent pace, I think he got to 151 km's & was unlucky not to get a wicket.

I think Brendon McCullum is a superb wicket-keeper & now that he is also starting to learn the art of batting at the highest level he will really develop into a fine player.

Again NZ were subjected to a crucial umpiring decision this time on Astle which almost turned the match but luckily they scored enough runs to make sure it never became relevant.

 

[Anil]

Who is the man of the match: Adams?