*Official* New Zealand in Bangladesh Thread

[shaka]

It would be great for Vettori to get five wickets in the innings. Franklin will do well in ODI's if he does replace Tuffey.

 

[Mingster]

And Vettori takes a 6-for. excellent bowling effort.

 

[Isolator]

Vettori bowled well, sure, but I can't imagine another team, say Australia, allowing him time to settle, get his rhythm, etc.

I dunno, I don't think there's much reason to get all chuffed up about anyone's performance against Bangladesh. You can call it good preparation for playing Australia or whatever, personally, I don't think there's anything to be got out of this series (other getting Marshall into the test team).

 

[Craig]

Well it's Vettori's first five-for in the best part of three years and Vettori seems to do a lot better against Australia (compare his Test and Test record v Australia will prove that), so it is good to see him get some confidence with the ball.

 

[JASON]

Even if its against Bangladesh, one hopes it can restore his confidence in his bowling and be a sign of his return to being the wicket taker he once was for NZ.

 

[Neil Pickup]

And hopefully a five wicket haul for him.

What's with Bangladesh's practice of picking teenagers in their XIs, is it really that bleak for them?

The current crop of teenagers are those that benefited from the improved funding/coaching from 99 onwards once International status came about. The majority of older players (Rafique, Bashar, Mashud excepted) are no better than the kids.

 

[anzac]

I see no need for Wiseman either Anzac, I think Marshall will have to play the 2nd Test. Otherwise there is no real point in bringing him over.

even tho' Wiseman reportedly bowled well as a foil for Vettori & took 3 wickets and a run out, I still feel his 64 runs are very expensive for the #2 spinner in the team - unless it was a part timer...........

so far as Marshall goes he was primarily picked for the ODIs & I suppose they'll be wanting to use both him & Sinclair to put pressure on Astle & Styris & Macca.........it seemed to work in the warm up game but normal service resumed in the Test.............

to this end I'd like to see Fleming open in the 2nd Test with both Sinclair & Marshall playing in the middle order in a 6-4 split ahead of AUS........

similarly I'd have to bring in both Mills & Martin for the same reasons you've outlined re Marshall, and possibly leave out Wiseman, Oram, Butler - selections depending on the pitch type.........

although I'm a Butler supporter (hoper????), I'd not use him v AUS if he's still bowling back of a length - unless he's able to get plenty of swing / seam - as anything short is going to go to the fence or over it from the AUS batsmen.......

 

[anzac]

The current crop of teenagers are those that benefited from the improved funding/coaching from 99 onwards once International status came about. The majority of older players (Rafique, Bashar, Mashud excepted) are no better than the kids.

just read an article on cricinfo about keeping the NZL victory in context etc.........in it it says that BAN cricket season only lasts 2 months tops re monsoon, has only recently gained 1st class status (post Test status????), and that because of INT scheduling most of the current crop of Intnl players have NOT played in the domestic comp for 3 years!!!!!! furthermore the team could not train leading up to this series because of stagnant water at their facility!!!!!!

to hell with keeping the NZL victory in context - why & how the hell did BAN get & keep Test status???????? must be plenty of pressure & influence from other quaters.................IMO it's a pathetic joke

 

[anzac]

Agreed...Vettori was outstanding. Even though it was Bangladesh, he still would have troubled most sides with the loop & dip he was getting.

McCullum took his opportunities unlike the rest so well done to him on scoring a century.

Might I add, that NZ are only doing enough to win this test...it hasn't been outstanding cricket.

yep - a victory by an innings & 99 runs inside 4 days is good enough for me...........what the comparisson to others that have toured there recently - ENG????

 

[anzac]

Even if its against Bangladesh, one hopes it can restore his confidence in his bowling and be a sign of his return to being the wicket taker he once was for NZ.

hasn't it been his movement thru the air that's been missing untill now?????

 

[anzac]

Franklin will do well in ODI's if he does replace Tuffey.

I'm a fan for him in the longer game - but so far as I'm aware his stats suck in limited overs & not just ODIs...........unless ENG signalled a BIIIG turn around.......

 

[anzac]

this may be slightly out of context, but what sort of a batsman is Fulton????

I know he's tall and bats in the top order, but is he good technically? does he use his height to get over the ball & play shots, or does he use his reach & leverage to try & get under it??????

if he's the former & thinking of his contributions in RSA - he may be suited to batting in AUS conditions....................

 

[Kent]

It's nice to see Vettori bowl us to victory in a second innings for once, but my favourite aspect of the test was the maturity McCullum showed coming in at 139/5. Rather than hitting out or stonewalling, he just naturally turned Oram (who I'm sure there's a bit of rivalry with for the #6 spot) into the junior partner.

With McCullum just turned 23, I think upstaging the older specialists is something we'll start to see from him a lot more often than just this match. He was a teen prodigy with the bat, but I guess in hindsight we're lucky he didn't just choose to field in the covers and risk still being stuck in provincial cricket.

If the odds are good, I might actually take a darkhorse punt on him being our top runscorer in the AUS tests. He likes to cut and pull, is confident moving his feet to play spin and has an Aussie-like approach to the game. That clearly helped a guy like Vincent when playing there, so hopefully McCullum will follow suit.

 

[Kent]

this may be slightly out of context, but what sort of a batsman is Fulton????

I know he's tall and bats in the top order, but is he good technically? does he use his height to get over the ball & play shots, or does he use his reach & leverage to try & get under it??????

if he's the former & thinking of his contributions in RSA - he may be suited to batting in AUS conditions....................

I don't think I've really seen enough of him on quality tracks or against quality bowlers to put labels on him yet.

In Fulton's own words he's mostly been a front-foot player, but has since worked very hard on his back-foot play. He said he was pleased with his progress when that was put to the test in SA conditions.

 

[Mingster]

Fulton is a very elegant right-hander, Martin Crowe said a while go, and Fulton reminded him of Stephen Fleming. I think it will be between Fulton or Sinclair for the number 4 or 5 spot in the ODIs. Hopefully McCullum can get more chances with the bat in the 3 ODIs as well, bat him at 6 and break up the "Styris-Cairns-Oram-McMillan" chain.

 

[Tim]

I hope Fulton doesn't take 8 years to score runs like Fleming though!

 

[Tim]

I've seen Fulton bat a few times & i've definately been impressed. He's one of the few batsmen in domestic cricket to score runs pretty much all over the country. And if people don't know, the pitches tend to go from one extreme to the other from the North to the South Island.

 

[James90]

Bangladesh are really looking for another batsman and another fast bowler. They have a decent under 19s team who can challenge any other u19's team and won the second div thing in the WC beating Australia in the final. It's because of those performances that Nafis and Aftab have been picked, that and the England series. Bangladesh are looking for a young player to come in and take on the opposition but the thing is they're too immature and give their wickets away (Ashraful) or have a woeful technique (Faisal). I do however believe that Nafis can become world class, it's just a matter of time. He hit 118 in a tour match against England last year and has scored many hundreds in the Bangladesh domestic comp and for the u19's. Nafis Iqbal is also Akram Khan's nephew

 

[Neil Pickup]

I wouldn't just stop at one of each.

 

[bashar]

hey good to see James man.

Anyway congratulations to the Kiwis for a well executed game. No better example of a team that can bat deep down, is there?

Unfortunately for us my predictions about Franklin came true in a most disappointing manner. Uninspired batting from Bangladesh which really needs to be addresed but on the other hand a solid pair of spinners in the form of Rafique and Rana.