*Official* New Zealand 'A' v Sri Lanka 'A'

[Loony BoB]

Meanwhile, NZA win by a decent amount, and while SLA were bowled out, Bond picks up no wicket, finishing up on 9-0-45-0. How bowled one over for 14 runs and was put out (fair enough!), Bruce Martin managed 39 runs and 3 wickets from his ten overs, with only Kyle Mills bettering him, with very nice figures of 8-2-23-4. Harris also does it again, with 9.4-1-27-3, gotta love that eco rate, not to mention his contribution of 44 with the bat only being bettered by How's 53.

NZA: 224/9, 50 overs.
SLA: 178/10, 45.4 overs.

 

[Craig]

Interesting that Chris Nevin seems to be out of the selectors book totally.

Not surprising as he is hardly good enough for NZ...

 

[Mingster]

I don't think Bond's figures should be too discocerning, as long as he came through this game unscathed is what mattered.

Good to see Mills do well after his horrendous summer.

 

[anzac]

IMO they just wanted Bond to get thru this one allright and get it under his belt...........if he pulls up ok for the 3rd match then I'd expect them to try to extend himself a bit to see what his pace & control are like, then see how he pulls up again b4 making the tour selections...........

 

[anzac]

Mills has certainly put in the effort in the 'A' team since being dropped from the full ODI side...........Mason has not been able to keep on par with him as Mills keeps taking wickets for less when they are head to head...............Mason has a lot of work to do if he wants selection for the ODI series ahead of Mills, esp if Bond is fit!!!!

 

[anzac]

great to see B Martin finally get some wickets at this level - hopefully his confidence will improve - as will his selection prospects for the tour.......

Harris provided a good 'allrounder' performance with bat & ball & was also a winning Captain, however I do not see him regaining full squad selection after what happened v RSA...........IMO he is ideal to lead the 'A' team with his experience.........

 

[anzac]

Anzac, I know you don't get to see many games, but Marshall and How are not at all good bowling options even if it is a 6th one.

not getting to see many games is an understatement - cable will show an international match if OZ isn't playing or if there isn't a higher profile series on somewhere else.............so far as NZ domestic cricket is concerned - forget it.................

I wasn't promoting either Marshall or How as the next big thing regarding their bowling, just curious as to why Marshall bowled so much in the 2nd innings (& did well),

was wondering if the selectors could have been looking at their options for players to have similar 'allround' contributions like Symonds, Lehman, Clarke & Katich - primarily bat but all capable of being called upon as options for a couple of slow overs.............as I've said earlier IMO the NZ teams lack these type of options outside a genuine spinner now that Astle has been ruled out of bowling todate & Harris is no longer a starter.....all out other options are all medium seam or better........they could have been checking on their current options b4 looking elsewhere.........Barnes, Nicol etc??????

 

[anzac]

just as an aside - while the validity of this series has been questioned by some IMO 'A' type series are going to play an increasingly important part in the future of those countries that do not have either strong domestic resources or competition........

my reasoning for this is simple - the amount of international cricket being played and the more frequent number of player injuries..........

in professional football the top clubs have strong enough squads that they can try to overcome this by squad rotation - IMO the only int cricket teams that can afford to do anything like this is OZ & perhaps RSA - the rest would struggle...........

so the 'A' series becomes a viable option not only to develop player talent coming thru', but to also give match practise to potential squad members, and to develop options regarding team strategies and player roles for the full int squads....

 

[Mingster]

not getting to see many games is an understatement - cable will show an international match if OZ isn't playing or if there isn't a higher profile series on somewhere else.............so far as NZ domestic cricket is concerned - forget it.................

I wasn't promoting either Marshall or How as the next big thing regarding their bowling, just curious as to why Marshall bowled so much in the 2nd innings (& did well),

was wondering if the selectors could have been looking at their options for players to have similar 'allround' contributions like Symonds, Lehman, Clarke & Katich - primarily bat but all capable of being called upon as options for a couple of slow overs.............as I've said earlier IMO the NZ teams lack these type of options outside a genuine spinner now that Astle has been ruled out of bowling todate & Harris is no longer a starter.....all out other options are all medium seam or better........they could have been checking on their current options b4 looking elsewhere.........Barnes, Nicol etc??????

Barnes has retired and Nicol isn't scoring any runs to command a place in the team.

I personally don't give a dam about these part-time bowlers anzac, if the bowlers do their job and the batsmen do theirs we should be fine. Astle said on Cricket Company that he will continue to bowl, so he and Styris are enough options. This isn't something we should be worried about IMO.

I want Bruce Martin to play ahead of Vettori in Tests and possibly ODIs.

And anzac, you said that Harris doesn't deserve to play in England after his performances against SA? What? He scored a 50 in his comeback match...

And what's up with all these comebacks. Martin. Sinclair and Harris...

 

[Loony BoB]

Eh, I don't think Sinclair having a comeback will save much. He got a huge start and ever since he's never been up to scratch on the international scene, imho. Harris is more consistent and can bowl to boot. But then again, Harris is old, too.

 

[Craig]

And what's up with all these comebacks. Martin. Sinclair and Harris...

They do it to make the NZ selectors lifes difficult.

 

[anzac]

Barnes has retired and Nicol isn't scoring any runs to command a place in the team.

I personally don't give a dam about these part-time bowlers anzac, if the bowlers do their job and the batsmen do theirs we should be fine. Astle said on Cricket Company that he will continue to bowl, so he and Styris are enough options. This isn't something we should be worried about IMO.

I want Bruce Martin to play ahead of Vettori in Tests and possibly ODIs.

And anzac, you said that Harris doesn't deserve to play in England after his performances against SA? What? He scored a 50 in his comeback match...

And what's up with all these comebacks. Martin. Sinclair and Harris...

agreed that the onus is on the specialists to do their job - but sometimes you need another type of option - particularly on non responsive batting tracks................I wasn't putting Barnes & Nicol up as the logical choices, just as a couple of names to illustrate the point same as the Aussie names referred to...............

the last I had heard re Astle was that he was looking to have to give up bowling, and probably test matches.............good to hear that that isn't the case, but I still feel it would be handy to develop some other slow bowling options - a part time spinner like the afore mentioned Aussies or M Waugh etc.........

I doubt Harris will get the call on his batting alone - he has been too slow in recent times - the point I was referring to re the RSA ODIs was his bowling - he got tonked & NZ nearly lost the match as the advantage swung to RSA.............

 

[anzac]

Eh, I don't think Sinclair having a comeback will save much. He got a huge start and ever since he's never been up to scratch on the international scene, imho. Harris is more consistent and can bowl to boot. But then again, Harris is old, too.

Harris won't get back into the Test squad, whereas Sinclair can play both.............furthermore in Limited Overs they are using him this year as an Opener - squad backup / alternative for Papps & Flem?????

until they get the likes of Fulton & Co into the squad arena then I think they will retain the likes of Sinclair & Vincent as they are proving resiliant & adaptable - (not that we ideally want jack of all trades players who are master of none........)

IMO the players most likely to force a break thru into the squad will be a middle / top order batsman who is a consistant performer (not necessarily a BIG scorer), resiliant & patient at the crease, can accelerate the run rate as well as rotating the strike, and can roll his arm over as a slow bowling option...........

 

[Loony BoB]

In 36 or so starts for the Black Caps, I think he's only hit 50 five times and had a maximum of 10 runs twelve times over. That's the bit that bothers me. And people talk about McMillan being inconsistent... =P That's a third of the time that Sinclair can't manage more than 10, and to me, that's awful. People say he does incredibly in the domestic season, but he's always done well there - he just very, very rarely gives NZ a hand. Sure, if he hits 100, he does it in style - 150, 204* and 214 - but with his 50 and 74, that's only five matches he's given us a real hand in winning. Sinclair, for me, better do more than once good job in the next series he plays in if he wants to prove himself.

Sinclair's scores: 214, 204*, 150, 74, 50, 44, 43*, 35*, 34, 29, 27, 24, 24, 23, 23, 21, 20, 19*, 19, 18, 17, 17, 12, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 4, 3, 3, 2, 1, 1, 0, 0.

Average score: 38-39
Median score: 19

For a median score to be half your average, well... I dunno.

 

[Kent]

IMO the players most likely to force a break thru into the squad will be a middle / top order batsman who is a consistant performer (not necessarily a BIG scorer), resiliant & patient at the crease, can accelerate the run rate as well as rotating the strike, and can roll his arm over as a slow bowling option...........

Expect a pretty settled ODI unit in that case.

If Ross Taylor saw your ad in the paper, he wouldn't even apply!

 

[Tom Halsey]

Sinclair's scores: 214, 204*, 150, 74, 50, 44, 43*, 35*, 34, 29, 27, 24, 24, 23, 23, 21, 20, 19*, 19, 18, 17, 17, 12, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 4, 3, 3, 2, 1, 1, 0, 0.

Average score: 38-39
Median score: 19

For a median score to be half your average, well... I dunno.

Basically, if he gets in, he makes the most of it, which is good.

But it also means he is inconsistant.

Meh, it doesn't matter, then. :P

 

[anzac]

Expect a pretty settled ODI unit in that case.

If Ross Taylor saw your ad in the paper, he wouldn't even apply!

I was thinking more along the lines of the Touring party rather than either squad specifically, and it was also like a wish list as opposed to having any current player / prospect in mind................hence the at the end of the post...........

:saint:

 

[anzac]

Basically, if he gets in, he makes the most of it, which is good.

But it also means he is inconsistant.

Meh, it doesn't matter, then. :P

as I said in the earlier post, both Sinclair & Vincent can be used to cover a number of positions for both the Test & ODI squads........when considering a 14 man touring party (& not wanting to make wholesale squad changes for the ODIs) this becomes a big advantage in keeping the party settled etc......

a larger touring party would allow for more specialized selections.....and some choices could / would be different.........

 

[anzac]

match 2:

SRL wins the toss & puts NZL in to bat...........
NZL = 328 / 4 - Sinclair 107, Marshall 96 no,

 

[Craig]

match 2:

SRL wins the toss & puts NZL in to bat...........
NZL = 328 / 4 - Sinclair 107, Marshall 96 no,

That idea payed off didnt it?:rolleyes: