*Official** New Zealand in England

[tooextracool]

Question, is Gareth Hopkins good enough to play as a batsman?

I'm leaning toward's no.

im surprised he didnt get a chance to bat in the 2nd innings...either NZ have already made up their mind about their batting order(without hopkins) or they're already convinced from his performance in the 1st innings that hes good enough to play in the next test.

 

[Loony BoB]

im surprised he didnt get a chance to bat in the 2nd innings...either NZ have already made up their mind about their batting order(without hopkins) or they're already convinced from his performance in the 1st innings that hes good enough to play in the next test.

Is Leicestershire (excuse my guess-spelling) really that good? I've found them to be easy pickings for most of our players, so I don't see how Hopkins' single half century would have made the selectors think that he's more capable of smacking Harmy, Hoggard and Jones for as many fours and sixes than any other batsman in our side.

At the same time, I wouldn't be surprised either way if he does get in.

 

[luckyeddie]

Is Leicestershire (excuse my guess-spelling) really that good? I've found them to be easy pickings for most of our players, so I don't see how Hopkins' single half century would have made the selectors think that he's more capable of smacking Harmy, Hoggard and Jones for as many fours and sixes than any other batsman in our side.

At the same time, I wouldn't be surprised either way if he does get in.

Leicestershire can be quite competitive - blokes like Snape, Daffy, Nixon, Masters, Maddy, Brad Cheaty-Hodge can be pretty good

 

[MoxPearl]

i wonder if taylor will get called in for the ODIS.. hes only 20.. but i seen him play a few times.. hes SUCH a good player.. maybe even for the 3rd test ?

 

[Isolator]

Well, Vettori's wound up with 9 in the match. I hope he'll get a bit of confidence from it.

 

[Isolator]

John Maunders = best name ever.

 

[Kent]

McMillan's finger has been re-broken. He's still not definitely out of the 2nd test, but Sinclair is now on standby for both him and Oram.

 

[SpaceMonkey]

McMillan's finger has been re-broken. He's still not definitely out of the 2nd test, but Sinclair is now on standby for both him and Oram.

I'm not sure if i should be pleased or not about that news

 

[southern man]

does mccullum have any experience in domestic cricket as an opener?if he does i think he should open the batting with richardson with fleming down at 3.

Yes has a century and two have centuries opening, Has also opened in a test match innings.

 

[Langeveldt]

John Maunders = best name ever.

Why?

 

[anzac]

Didn't he start as a batsman who could bowl? Even as of now, his hard-hitting batting seems more effective than his same-old-medium-pace bowling.

yeah but his bowling is so effective at keeping it tight and picking up a couple of wickets...............

by the same token it will depend on how the injury & discomfort level is........I'm picking if it's just his bowling that is affected then they will play him as a specialist batsman...............

 

[anzac]

does mccullum have any experience in domestic cricket as an opener?if he does i think he should open the batting with richardson with fleming down at 3.

nice idea but it won't happen - if they were thinking along those lines we would have seen him open v Leicester with Papps or Fleming...............

however I'd not be surprised to see him at #3 or #4...............depending on the makeup of the team.................

 

[anzac]

Well, Vettori's wound up with 9 in the match. I hope he'll get a bit of confidence from it.

to go with a 71 with the bat.................jeeez if he didn't feel confident after those figures he may as well give it away!!!!!!!

 

[anzac]

McMillan's finger has been re-broken. He's still not definitely out of the 2nd test, but Sinclair is now on standby for both him and Oram.

and re-broken in the same place to boot!!!!!

IMO he should not be selected for the 2nd Test....................he can't be 100% & NZ need to go after a win................

 

[anzac]

I'm not sure if i should be pleased or not about that news

despite Headingly traditionally being a seamer's wicket, someone posted earlier than spin had taken the majority of wickets at the ground this season.......

if that's the case then if Sinclair was to bat at #4 then his early innings vulnerabilities may not be so much of a problem...............

 

[anzac]

with Sinclair called in as cover for both Macca & Jake, then I'd say it's safe to say he'll lineup for the 2nd Test - I don't think either Papps nor Styris have shown enough to warrant selection..........

I think they'd be feeling a bit more comfortable re the prosepct of doing without Styris & / or Oram now that Cairns & Vettori have shown some form with the ball...........

the question will be will Big Jake be able to take the field as a speicalist bat??? if not then we may see both Mills & Hopkins join Sinclair in the playing IX........

Richardson, Fleming, Astle, Sinclair, McCullum, Cairns, Vettori, Hopkins, Tuffey, Mills, Martin???????

with Astle, Sinclair, McCullum to be interchangeable re order, as all have experience as openers in ODIs, & Sinclair & McCullum have opened in the longer game at domestic level (Sinclair for NZL 'A')..............

Sinclair at #3, McCullum at #4 & Astle at #5 would be my pick - Sinclair to anchor the top of the innings, McCullum to provide some impetus if required (& utilising their experience at the top of the order), and Astle's nous to work with the all rounders & lower order / tail................

 

[anzac]

Question, is Gareth Hopkins good enough to play as a batsman?

I'm leaning toward's no.

not as a specialist but as a 'keeper why not???????????

his FC stats with the bat are slightly better than Robbie Hart's - for me the question is one of is his 'keeping up to it!!!!!

I'm picking Sinclair will already be a starter, and that Hopkins will have the gloves if Oram can not take the field................takes some of the pressure off McCullum so he can concentrate on his batting................

 

[nibbs]

whatever happened to Chris Nevin...lol

 

[Arjun]

the question will be will Big Jake be able to take the field as a speicalist bat??? if not then we may see both Mills & Hopkins join Sinclair in the playing IX........

Richardson, Fleming, Astle, Sinclair, McCullum, Cairns, Vettori, Hopkins, Tuffey, Mills, Martin???????

Mills in a Test team? He bowls at less than medium pace and bats at 11. He goes for lots of runs between wickets. Why not go in for the faster Butler instead? He goes for a lot less.

 

[Kent]

with Sinclair called in as cover for both Macca & Jake, then I'd say it's safe to say he'll lineup for the 2nd Test - I don't think either Papps nor Styris have shown enough to warrant selection..........

I think they'd be feeling a bit more comfortable re the prosepct of doing without Styris & / or Oram now that Cairns & Vettori have shown some form with the ball

It's very hard to see Styris being dropped, with the injury concerns making it even less likely. He's had a very poor tour to date, but I doubt they'll just dump a player who's averaged 46 in his first 2 years of test cricket (without any Zim or Bang inflation). He's also recognised as having the only bowling action in the NZ side that lends itself towards reverse-swing.

I've heard suggestions today that Oram could play with a minimal bowling role, so I think the most likely batting order would look something like this:

Rigger
Flem
McCullum
Styris
Astle
McMillan
Oram
Cairns

The Macca situation is still a bit of a mystery, but there's a chance the team will let him make the call, and I'm guessing he'll choose to play on.