*Official* New Zealand in India Thread

[gibbsnsmith]

Lol! and to think hes one of AAAS....

 

[masterblaster]

As much as I back Agarkar, I was just being a realist rather than an idealist for a change.

 

[lord_of_darkness]

For New Zealand id rather see

Mark Richardson
Stephen Flemming
Lou Vincent
Nathan Astle
Craig Mcmillan
Scott Styris
Jacob Oram
Robbie Hart
Daniel Vettori
Paul Wiseman
Daryl Tuffey

i dont think they will opt to give richie a bowl as they would like to keep the top batsman away from getting any injury or fatigue of any sort.. and i would think he would perform quite well in the sub continent.. and i dont think we need mason for the 1st test seeing that either styris or oram can fill the 2nd opening bowlers role .. i would like to see Oram do that.. hes got good control , and since the Sub continent favours spinners later on Wiseman and Vettori will come in handy later on..
We have Macca and Astle aswell to bowl partimers so thats plent of option of med pacers..


For India Id want to see it as

Virendar Sehwag
Gautam Ghambir
Sachin Tendulkar
Sourav Ganguly
Rahul Dravid
Rohan Gavaskar / Shridhiraman Sriram
Parthiv Patel ( Keeper )
Anil Kumble
Harbajan Singh
Zaheer Khan
Avishkar Salvi

id stick with the opening pair of sehwag and ghambir as sehwag is a good opener gets india of too a good start..but needs to switch into test mode right away :P ... Ghambir is a newbie im sure he can try and do something opening for india..
Sachin at 3 because he always seems to do well batting against the new ball and always wishes to play the new ball so instead of him opening leave him at 3..
Ganguly at 4 because i WONT have him opening and scare the whole batting order after him.. at this number he might be playing beside sachin or with dravid .. 2 people who are sure to give him some confidence..
Dravid at 5 hes always doing rescues for india .. and number 5 would suit him as if India was 100/4 im sure Dravid would go into shell mode to settle things back

And i dont think laxman should be brought back.. instead we should give some new dudes a chance at 6 ppl who are showing some promise at fc eg Rohan Gavaskar and Sriram who are in form..

and the rest speaks for itself

 

[Tim]

There's no way NZ should open the bowling with Styris..honestly that is going back to the days of 1993/1994 & it would seriously sicken me to see that happen.

NZ must pick 3 strike bowlers and then somehow fit the 2 spinners in if thats required. Lets not forget that both Wiseman & Vettori are very handy with the bat, so presuming NZ use two spinners i'd go with this lineup:

Richardson
Vincent
Fleming
Astle
McMillan
Oram
Hart
Wiseman
Vettori
Tuffey
Mason

That lineup to me, looks a little weak in the batting..basically because the jury is still out on Oram as to whether he can bat for long periods..Hart is a gutsy performer, but is he able to score a decent amount of runs?

Wiseman & Vettori could probably score 50 runs between them, but they shouldn't be required to do much more than that.

 

[lord_of_darkness]

mate you forgot Styris is really handy with the bat.. he was one of the top run scorers in west indies..
i dont think we should omit him.. as i think he might get into the run making in India

 

[Tim]

Well it'll come down to either Styris or Oram...I think Oram offers more as a bowler, whereas Styris offers more as a batsman..so I guess it'll depend on whether NZ want the better bowling or batting.

 

[Craig]

If New Zealand open with Styris, Fleming should get his head checked and take a drug test.

 

[anzac]

On current Test form the opening seam attack for NZ will be Tuffey & Oram. Both are accurate and both proved to be good foils to Bond in the Home series v India - each has had a go with the new ball now they just have to work on doing it together.

Styris is not a new ball bowler and now considers himself to be a batsman who sometimes bowls, much like McMillan. On current form I would select Styris ahead of Macca both as a batsman & the bowling depts.

Butler is the only seamer in the squad with pace, so why would Mason get to share the new ball if picked (which I can't see happening unless thru injury as he hasn't represented NZ at this level yet whereas Butler has).

Both Tuffey & Oram get bounce, Styris will be the 3rd seam option, and Vettori & Wiseman will round out the attack, the rest of the team will be Hart, Richardson, Vincent, Fleming, Astle & McMillan, with some variations on this theme re pitch or injury.

 

[anzac]

hey I forgot that Mason has been over at Lillee's bowling clinic so maybe he has got a shot at selection depending on how he has gone.......

he would be my 12th man, but maybe he could get the 3rd seamer's spot if the pitch offered enough to warrant 3 specialist seamers.

In that case it would be a toss up between Styris & Macca for a batsman's spot, presuming they still wanted a 5 man attack with 2 spinners, and I'd still favour Styris on his form since making his debut in the WIndies.

 

[lord_of_darkness]

If the tossup was between Maca and Styris.. Styris would surely be a better option seeing he is in form and can be handy with the bowl... in terms a better allrounder than Maca would be.. although everyone would say Maca has experience

 

[Darrin]

*official* New Zealand in India Thread

I remember the past tours where vettorri has been asked to be half of the attack...the result, stress fractures. We need 2 spinners, bowling in partnership. I think this will aid vettori and make him a better bowler.

The question is whether you take macca in or the 3rd paceman. I personally prefer macca, but at number 6.

The lineup, then looks like:
Lou Vincent
Mark Richardson
Stephen Fleming(c)
Scott Styris
Nathan Astle
Craig Mcmillan
Jacob Oram
Robbie Hart(wkt)
Daniel Vettori
Paul Wisemen
Daryl Tuffey

Don't forget these tracks are going to suit spinners, I personally don't see the need for a 3 man pace attack when you have the back-up of astle, styris, and macca.

 

[Tim]

the question is whether India will find facing Mason or Wiseman harder.

I don't think NZ should play a 2nd spinner, just because thats what other teams have done in the past...lets be honest..the pairing of Vettori & Wiseman will not make many shake in their boots.
Mason is a little more unknown to the Indian batsmen & if anything you know he'll bowl 5 or 6 consistent overs because he's basically done it season after season for Central Districts.

 

[Tim]

Out of interest, why are you batting Styris ahead of Astle & McMillan?

 

[Craig]

Styris would be more effective at 6.

I will throw in this question, would you have Hart 'keeper for NZ, or would you go for Brendon McCallum?

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Hart is a very solid 'keeper and from what I've seen of McCullum he's okay 'keeping-wise. A wicketkeeper's job is glovework. Any batting which he may add is essentially a bonus.

 

[Anil]

A wicketkeeper's job is glovework. Any batting which he may add is essentially a bonus.

That is the traditional way of thinking in cricket, but it's changing and all sides seem to prefer a decent keeper and a good batsman, if he is really good with the gloves, that is being considered a bonus!

 

[Tim]

McCullum is as good as any keeper in World Cricket at the moment..its just very unfortunate for him that he dropped that sitter off Dravid in the World Cup.

As he develops, McCullum will be without a doubt technically one of the best keepers, however his batting hasn't come along very well. He was sensational for the NZ U19's but that hasn't transformed yet at the highest level.

 

[anzac]

until McCullum's batting becomes more consistant and he is able to contribute, Hart will keep the Test keepers spot as he is a known commodity and his defensive style is good supoort for the lower order & tailenders, whereas McCullums more aggressive style could expose the tail earlier at this stage.

I've also read an article lately referring to a possible NZ new ball attack as being Tuffey & Butler, with Oram as the 3rd seamer. The logic was the Butler would be ablr to provide pace, he bowls with Tuffey for ND, and he has bowled for Bracewell in England.

 

[Tim]

I don't know what the standard of club cricket in the Northern Territory is like..but last season McCullum hit 200 odd off just 75 balls for one of the premier teams.

I think he just needs to back himself some more..Oram needs to do the same.

 

[lord_of_darkness]

I really thought when MacCullum first came to the scene to play NZ cricket he came as a specialist batsmen?

Well he is turned into a very good keeper of late..but shouldnt let his batting talent disappear..

I reckon he just lacks a bit of self confidence when he's batting..?