Yes, they provide a reasonable explanation for picking him. I guess other candidates could have included Tom Bruce or Rob O'Donnell but Chapman's experience and record against spin stands out. Williamson is getting to the Crowe stage where he is increasingly injury prone it seems. By the same age Crowe had of course already retired due to his knee issues.He's done his time and earned the right to be considered for potentially being selected in certain circumstances if senior players are unavailable.
Chapman, who has become a mainstay in the BLACKCAPS white-ball sides, averages 41.9 in first-class cricket, with six centuries, including 114 for New Zealand A against India A at Bert Sutcliffe Oval in 2020.
He featured in three of the Aces Plunket Shield fixtures last summer, notching 245 runs at 40, including 123 against the Otago Volts in Dunedin in February.
Wells said Chapman possessed the right skillset for Test cricket in the sub-continent.
“We believe Mark is one of our best players of spin and has a proven track-record in the sub-continent,” said Wells.
“Mark has displayed an ability to play spin proactively in the international arena, and combined with his excellent first-class record, we see him as someone who can succeed in the type of conditions we expect to encounter in India.”
He doesn't play because the pitches are deliberately made to nullify him.Hmmmmm
Williamson has a habit of missing test matches while we tour India, England and Australia…
Will young batsmen get a chance or will Will Young play ?I like Chapman, and I'm glad someone else is getting a chance ahead of a Nicholls recall, but it still seems that there's this magic age barrier beyond which selection becomes comparatively easier.
Can slightly modify to 'Will young batsmen get a chance or will young batsman gets a chance?'Will young batsmen get a chance or will Will Young play ?
"Black Caps selector Sam Wells was hopeful Williamson could play a part later in the series but confirmed he would miss the first Test."....Has it been confirmed Kane misses the first Test? I haven't seen that officially
Latham is actually quite a good player of spin. I definitely think he can go big given he survives vs the initial Bumrah.Kiwis need rachin and Mitchell to do bulk of scoring in kane absence if they got to win in india even latham too
Don't see anyway how it won't be 3-0 tbh. India's upgraded from the 2021 series massively.It was going to be hard enough to beat India with Williamson let alone without him but hopefully we can still be competitive even if he doesn't play.