Tim said:
Nope.
It'll be interesting to see who the selectors go for when Sri Lanka arrive late December. I reckon if the Marshall brothers don't fire in the next 2 ODI;s, they'll be out of the team. Possibly Franklin too because he's not really an ODI bowler it seems.
Fleming will return, and then I think we could see Jesse Ryder & Peter Fulton introduced which would be a nice change because they're both attacking batsmen who are developing good records.
Bowling is a big concern. Butler is out for the season, Tuffey is still struggling with injury and there just doesn't seem to be too many more options about right now.
Spin bowling is ok with Vettori. Patel is decent but I rate Bruce Martin higher and I reckon Tim Lythe is a player to watch this season, he is a good off-break bowler who hasn't got a chance because Brooke Walker was Auckland Captain.
Do you know how old Tim Lythe is? I know he's the captain of his club side, but I haven't been able to find his age anywhere on the net. Certainly made an impressive first class debut, made some handy runs with the bat and two useful wickets.
I'm optimistic that Hamish Marshall will return to some kind of form during these next two games, and finally break his lean trot. I like the look of Jesse Ryder, and he would be a good addition to the middle order of the ODI side, if McCullum is promoted. Fulton deserves another chance, his sole opportunity was against Bangladesh opening the innings, a position where he hadn't play much if any at first class level before.
I think we will have enough quality bowlers for both ODIs and Tests for the summer, the issue is more than batting. Chris Martin I think should be given the nod in Bond's absence, and his 'similarity' to Bond in that he swings it away from the left handers is handy. His accuracy has also improved since his last appearances in the one-day arena. So the Test attack will probably have Bond and Martin opening, with Franklin and Mills competing for the 3rd seamer spot assuming Oram will be the batting allrounder at 6 or 7. But of course, it's still wide open over who will open the Test batting, with my belief that Fleming should open simply because there is no one else.
I've always liked the look of Tim McIntosh, adds abit of solidarity to the top of any batting order. He would be my dark horse at present to open alongside either Fleming or Cumming. And please don't open with Vincent, because he is a bloody middle order batsman and he has proved that with big scores batting at 4/5/6.