*Official* NZ Domestic Season

[marc71178]

From commentary Ive heard on the radio, it seems parts of his game are agricultural.

Get him in then!

He scores 6s.

 

[Ming]

james marshall opening the batting is tests for NZ is a joke, he is a middle order batsman fullstop, he has enough trouble opening the batting in domestic cricket, fulton should play the next test - although i've seen they have retained the same 12 which means that wiseman will more than likely be a straight swap for o'brien, heck if anyone deserves to open against the aussies because the selectors think flems not up to it then i find it hard to go past chris gaffeney, also on a side note i think chris martins time in test cricket is done(despite the rip-snorter he got ponting with) but i find it hard to see an immediate replacement other than the spinners wiseman and martin, not to mention shane bond

Yeah, I agreee. James is a middle order batsman now, much like his brother.

Chris Gaffaney? He hasn't been the most successful opener around, with How, Cumming, Horne and Jones. Gaffaney has only scored 1 100 and 2 50s, and he hasn't scored as consistently as he did in the earlier part of the season.

 

[Smudge]

It seems there wasn't too much wrong with the Uni Oval pitch - at least, according to Glenn Turner.

Otago, bowled out for 203 and 222 runs on a "batter-friendly wicket", should have done better, coach Glenn Turner said.

Despite 18 wickets tumbling on day two, Turner said there was nothing wrong with the wicket and his side should have been able to bat out the final day for a draw.

"We should not have been bowled out, particularly in the second innings, for that total on what was a batter-friendly wicket," Turner said.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/otago/0,2106,3217919a6665,00.html

 

[anzac]

Yeah, I agreee. James is a middle order batsman now, much like his brother.

Chris Gaffaney? He hasn't been the most successful opener around, with How, Cumming, Horne and Jones. Gaffaney has only scored 1 100 and 2 50s, and he hasn't scored as consistently as he did in the earlier part of the season.

I was thinking of James as a stop gap measure because of his experience in that role (as much as I hate the idea), and thinking that if his game is the same as Hamish's then he might find the going easier on the better pitches at intnl level................

I agree that at domestic level he's more suited to the middle order as his scores this season suggest, and if he was to be used as opener I'd certainly not be basing his future on that performance........

as for Gaffaney as opener we'd be doing a Flem - he seems to bat 1st or 2nd drop in a full strength Otago in the Championship when Cumming is available, but opens with him in ODIs.............

 

[anzac]

so far as seam bowling alternatives go I guess they'll be looking at Mills & Adams as possibles for the 3rd Test...............and then Butler for SRL................and Tuffey if he gets his action sorted...........

although as I said IMO Wilson & Hamilton could be better suited to the longer game, but I don't know if either are playing atm.................

and there's always the possibility of resurrecting Walmsley and Canning both had a good run in the early part of the Championship................and Aldridge is taking wickets atm.............

O'Brien shouldn't be discarded after 1 outing & I'd hope he'd get another go v SRL...........

I'm not so much concerned about the ages of the likes Wilson. Walmsley & Hamilton etc as they are unlikely to be looked at as long term prospects..........but they are no older than their AUS counterparts & if they can do the job long enough until Bond's future is more apparent & the likes of Sherlock, Davis & Burtt(????) break thru' then well enough...........

 

[Tim]

Im not sure where Mills is. He didn't play for Auckland over the weekend & it's extremely unlikely that NZ would pick Adams considering he's now been out of action for a month.

And we shouldn't even be discussing Sherlock & Burtt in the slightest because they didn't even play 1 game for Canterbury this season. Davis only played 2 or 3 for N.D. So it'll be another season or 2 before we see any signs from them.

Im against the idea of Aldridge because I feel he's just another medium pacer for the Australians to deal to. If they're going to replace any of the bowlers I think it's got to be Kerry Walmsley that comes in.

 

[Tim]

And I think its time we stopped looking for stop-gap players & started selecting some batsmen that we want to see there for the long-haul.

Im not convinced we should have our best batsmen (Fleming) opening, I would like to see him further down with Cumming opening with either Papps or How.
I just cannot believe the selectors dropped McMillan for the series against Bangladesh claiming he was in no state to be playing international cricket..yet a month later they recalled him for the toughest tour a team can make to Australia & then on top of those failures picked him again against Australia here. It makes no sense. The selectors must drop him for good at this stage & look at either James Marshall, Peter Fulton or give Lou Vincent another crack.

On form this season, you'd have to think that it would be How & Fulton being selected. Papps has only averaged 13 in 6 matches for Canterbury which isn't really good enough.
While How's form in the second half of the season has been disappointing..he's still got some of the best stats in the competition.

Fulton has racked up 800 runs with a game to go without anybody really noticing until he got his double century...thats the sign of a good player I think.

 

[Ming]

I noticed.

I read that Andre Adams and Kyle Mills are making their returns to the Auckland team for this round of State Champs. Our middle order looks VERY weak. We had Young and Walker batting in at 6 or 7. Not a pretty sight even though those two have scored first-class centuries. We need to replace Vincent with another specialist batsman, not another bowler.

 

[Tim]

Auckland are in trouble IMO...they're starting to lose form just when Wellington are starting to gain some momentum. I'd be backing Wellington at this stage to retain the State Championship.

No wonder NZ cricket is struggling when the likes of Walker & Young are holding down middle order positions.

 

[Ming]

And Aaron Barnes (who has retired 3 times now....) batting at 4....and Canning at 6....

My State Championship Form XI so far (excluding Black Caps):

1 Jamie How
2 Aaron Redmond
3 Peter Fulton
4 Michael Parlane
5 Jesse Ryder
6 Jarrod Englefield
7 Gareth Hopkins+
8 Kyle Mills
9 Bruce Martin
10 Warren McSkimming
11 Kerry Walmsley
12 Andre Adams

I picked Redmond there, because of his consistency with the bat, 6x50s out of 14 innings isn't that bad. McSkimming and Walmsley have had an outstanding with the ball. Adams has taken over 20 wickets as well, and bowled with good pace from what I have seen of him bowling for Auckland.

 

[Kippax]

That's why I cannot believe the selectors would be considering James Marshall over Peter Fulton, when Marshall only averages 27!

Fulton (excluding current match): 34 matches, 4 hundreds, 14 half centuries at an average of 46.07

Marshall (excluding current match): 66 matches, 4 hundreds, 17 half centuries at an average of 27.73

Im not saying J.Marshall would not be worthy of a test spot, but lets face it..I find it difficult to see why he would be selected ahead of Fulton.

I think you've highlighted something that really concerns me about NZ cricket lately. The cream isn't always rising to the top, and domestic stats are so haphazard that even a superb performer like Fulton can't use his record as a mandate for international selection.

Tama Canning has a FC ave. of 23, Shane Bond's is 28. Which do you want bowling for NZ?
Chris Harris has a FC ave. of 46, Hamish Marshall's was 27. Which do you want batting for NZ?
Fulton has a FC ave. of 50. Given the examples above, is it worth the paper it's written on?

If Fulton was averaging 50+ in the Pura Cup for example, I don't think even the most conservative fans or selectors would argue about his merits. That's one of the reasons I think we should perhaps look at trying to send 4 or 5 'exchange students' to play for Australian states each season, even if the ACB charges us a considerable fee.

Good pitches & tougher opposition = more reliable stats = confident selections = a better national side IMO.

 

[anzac]

Im not sure where Mills is. He didn't play for Auckland over the weekend & it's extremely unlikely that NZ would pick Adams considering he's now been out of action for a month.

And we shouldn't even be discussing Sherlock & Burtt in the slightest because they didn't even play 1 game for Canterbury this season. Davis only played 2 or 3 for N.D. So it'll be another season or 2 before we see any signs from them.

Im against the idea of Aldridge because I feel he's just another medium pacer for the Australians to deal to. If they're going to replace any of the bowlers I think it's got to be Kerry Walmsley that comes in.

So far as the likes of Davis, Sherlock & Burtt goes I was thinking of them as being prospects for the 06/07 season - as I'm sure they'd want to have them ready for the WC.......hence the likes of the 'older' brigade doing the job until then..........

I certainly don't think the selectors will look at Aldridge for this series as his success has come in Limited Overs this season........

Wilson, Canning & Hamilton have been the other seamers used at intnl level this season (admitedly in ODIs) and should be on the list for any immediate alternatives, along with the likes of Tuffey, Butler, Mills & Adams - form & injury providing..........

 

[anzac]

And I think its time we stopped looking for stop-gap players & started selecting some batsmen that we want to see there for the long-haul.

Im not convinced we should have our best batsmen (Fleming) opening, I would like to see him further down with Cumming opening with either Papps or How.
I just cannot believe the selectors dropped McMillan for the series against Bangladesh claiming he was in no state to be playing international cricket..yet a month later they recalled him for the toughest tour a team can make to Australia & then on top of those failures picked him again against Australia here. It makes no sense. The selectors must drop him for good at this stage & look at either James Marshall, Peter Fulton or give Lou Vincent another crack.

On form this season, you'd have to think that it would be How & Fulton being selected. Papps has only averaged 13 in 6 matches for Canterbury which isn't really good enough.
While How's form in the second half of the season has been disappointing..he's still got some of the best stats in the competition.

Fulton has racked up 800 runs with a game to go without anybody really noticing until he got his double century...thats the sign of a good player I think.

I'm sure the reason that neither Fulton nor How have had the tap on the shoulder as yet has been as a result of their report card from the 'A' series in RSA..............

IMO Papps got the start v AUS by default as a result of How's comments about not being ready, and Cumming being out of favour at the time...............the result is now history and Papps' domestic form has taken another dive since his knock - he can not be considered for this, the SRL series or even ZIM/RSA until both his form & technique improve dramatically...........

with How having ruled himself out & McIntosh as much in the doldrums as Papps, that leaves us with the likes of Jones as a specialist opener, or converts such as Fleming, Sinclair or J Marshall..............

 

[anzac]

I don't consider either Cumming or J Marshall as stop-gap players (a bit hard considering J Marshall isn't in the Test squad), but I'd consider trying him as an opener as a stop-gap measure - not v AUS (Flem will have to tough it out or convince the selectors/coach to 'sacrifice Macca), but worth a shot v SRL IMO...........

 

[Ming]

I would never consider Tama Canning for Tests. Never....

 

[Kippax]

I'm sure the reason that neither Fulton nor How have had the tap on the shoulder as yet has been as a result of their report card from the 'A' series in RSA..............

Perhaps, although it's hard to imagine how Fulton was NZ's 2nd-highest runscorer on that tour, impressed SA cricinfo reporters, yet then received a poor report card from Ashley Ross and co.

 

[Tim]

Maybe he was involved with a milkshake & a video camera aswell?
jeez...Doesn't Ashley Ross realise that we cannot be picky with the amount of depth we have?.

 

[anzac]

it's just supposition on my part, but I'm sure they expected both Fulton & How to be more dominant on those tracks.............and against the 'A' team seam attack..............

 

[anzac]

I would never consider Tama Canning for Tests. Never....

maybe - maybe not - his FC stats are good - Av = 24, SR = 59, Econ = 2.4.........

however all I'm trying to say is that players should not be discounted for both forms of the game..........and team balance in both batting & bowling is important..........

 

[Will Scarlet]

Perhaps, although it's hard to imagine how Fulton was NZ's 2nd-highest runscorer on that tour, impressed SA cricinfo reporters, yet then recieved a poor report card from Ashley Ross and co.

Fulton was injured for a few games in the middle of that tour. He was called up for the BAN ODIs and was dropped after one game, after being forced to open!

As I've said previously, Bracewell wasted a perfect opportunity to trial new players on the BAN tour, before AUS, but instead chose to take a full strength team that predictably destroyed their opposition. It only served to improve Bracewell's win/loss ratio!

What was the point in this? Consequently, no new players were brought through in time for either the home and away series vs AUS. Hamilton, How (despite his poor form in SA), Fulton, and others could have been tested then, to provide potential backup when required.