** Official ** Sri Lanka in New Zealand tour

[Tim]

They'll probably take 14 to Zimbabwe, and then maybe add 1 more for the South African leg.

At this stage, I think the 14 they will take will be (presuming nobody is injured):

S.Fleming
N.Astle
H.Marshall
J.Marshall
S.Styris
J.Oram
S.Bond
B.McCullum
C.Cumming
D.Vettori
J.Franklin
C.Martin
L.Vincent
B.Martin / D.Tuffey

Martin & Tuffey is close to call..I think it'll be one of them anyway.
Lou Vincent is a capable wicket-keeper & certainly against Zimbabwe he could do the job if required.

Chris Cairns will replace someone in that squad for the ODI series with Zim & India that follows the tests.

How, Fulton, McMillan & co will have to settle for 'A' spots against Sri Lanka 'A'.

 

[Zinzan]

They'll probably take 14 to Zimbabwe, and then maybe add 1 more for the South African leg.

At this stage, I think the 14 they will take will be (presuming nobody is injured):

S.Fleming
N.Astle
H.Marshall
J.Marshall
S.Styris
J.Oram
S.Bond
B.McCullum
C.Cumming
D.Vettori
J.Franklin
C.Martin
L.Vincent
B.Martin / D.Tuffey

Martin & Tuffey is close to call..I think it'll be one of them anyway.
Lou Vincent is a capable wicket-keeper & certainly against Zimbabwe he could do the job if required.

Chris Cairns will replace someone in that squad for the ODI series with Zim & India that follows the tests.

How, Fulton, McMillan & co will have to settle for 'A' spots against Sri Lanka 'A'.

no butler? any updates on his injury?

 

[Kippax]

This was the latest I've seen -

Copyright Independent Newspapers, Ltd. Mar 30, 2005

Injured Black Caps Ian Butler and Jacob Oram are both running and are expected to be available to tour Zimbabwe in August.

Butler (with a back disc compression injury) and Oram (back stress reaction injury) will both be 3-D ***essed to determine whether changes are needed to their bowling actions.

Others who are expected to be available to tour Zimbabwe include Chris Harris (shoulder surgery), Daryl Tuffey (bicep muscle strain), Michael Papps (finger surgery) and Shane Bond (back surgery).

 

[shaka]

that is if they decide to go, Helen Clark wants the team to boycott the tour to Zimbabwe.

 

[meatspx]

Here's my NZ Starting line up if everyone was fit

Cumming
J.Marshall
H.Marshall
S.Fleming
N.Astle
S.Styris (I really like lou vincent as well but Styris is still ahead for me)
J.Oram
B.Mccullum
D.Vettori
S.Bond
C.Martin

12th man- L.Vincent

You could squeeze in another medium-fast bowler (Franklin or Tuffey), drop a batsman and have Oram batting at 6.

Oram is not a natural bowler, rather a batsman - he should be eazed into the role of the 3rd seamer. His back won't last otherwise if we expect him to bowl in tests & ODIs contiuosly for the next 8 or so years. Forcing Oram to bowl 20 overs a day isn't too good IMHO.

 

[Smudge]

that is if they decide to go, Helen Clark wants the team to boycott the tour to Zimbabwe.

No, she doesn't - Green Party co-leader Rod Donalds wants them to.

 

[anzac]

well done Chris Martin for coming to work today and rubbing my nose in it!!!!!!!

I hope like hell that this is not just a 1 off, and I am really interested as to what the pitch was like - me thinks it may have provided a certain level of assistance but perhaps not to the level of being labelled a 'green top' as neither Franklin nor Mills appear to have troubled the batsmen...............

I have just remembered a comment Cairns made in commentary with Smith v AUS - to the effect that he thought that not only was Martin very much a confidence bowler, but that he thought he needs plenty of work at the crease to get into form..............his point being that at the start of the AUS series Martin had only bowled about half the number of overs in comparison to the start of the RSA series..........& Cairns considered him to be very underdone for the AUS series.............

perhaps todays goes some way to validating his point..............

 

[anzac]

yet again we have a hit & miss performance from the NZL seam attack - 1 bowler performs & the rest fail to show up!!!!!

very disappointed that Mills started ahead of O'Brien - even more so with Mills continuing to fail to show anything.................

so I guess this means that O'Brien has to hope he gets the nod for the 'A' series.............I'm not trying to paint the picture that I'm a fan of his or anything, I just think that he was on a hiding to nothing v AUS (particularly with no leadership in the attack or any other bowler performing consistantly), and deserved a go v SRL to see if he could produce anything...............esp at The Basin........

 

[anzac]

You could squeeze in another medium-fast bowler (Franklin or Tuffey), drop a batsman and have Oram batting at 6.

Oram is not a natural bowler, rather a batsman - he should be eazed into the role of the 3rd seamer. His back won't last otherwise if we expect him to bowl in tests & ODIs contiuosly for the next 8 or so years. Forcing Oram to bowl 20 overs a day isn't too good IMHO.

a good point but who would you drop - Cumming, J Marshall, Styris????
Oram has been performing not only as 3rd seamer, but even sharing the new ball!!!!!
IMO his ultimate role will be as 4th seamer..............shared with the likes of Styris & Astle...

but I still have concerns regarding the frailty of a middle & lower order of Astle/Styris, Oram, McCullum & Vettori...............it's ok if they play sensibly, but I'm concerned regarding the lack of a batting specialist at #6 such as Vincent has performed in his last 2 2nd innings digs..................

 

[Ming]

You could squeeze in another medium-fast bowler (Franklin or Tuffey), drop a batsman and have Oram batting at 6.

Oram is not a natural bowler, rather a batsman - he should be eazed into the role of the 3rd seamer. His back won't last otherwise if we expect him to bowl in tests & ODIs contiuosly for the next 8 or so years. Forcing Oram to bowl 20 overs a day isn't too good IMHO.

One back injury doesn't mean he can't be a frontline seamer in both forms of the game. Many a paceman around the world has come back from injuries and returned to their former workload.

 

[psxpro]

a good point but who would you drop - Cumming, J Marshall, Styris????
Oram has been performing not only as 3rd seamer, but even sharing the new ball!!!!!
IMO his ultimate role will be as 4th seamer..............shared with the likes of Styris & Astle...

but I still have concerns regarding the frailty of a middle & lower order of Astle/Styris, Oram, McCullum & Vettori...............it's ok if they play sensibly, but I'm concerned regarding the lack of a batting specialist at #6 such as Vincent has performed in his last 2 2nd innings digs..................

I think thats the best possible batting lineup we can hope for. Oram and styris have rescued us in the past

 

[Will Scarlet]

I think thats the best possible batting lineup we can hope for. Oram and styris have rescued us in the past

I wouldn't be throwing Styris back into the squad without any match practice. Especially the test squad, where his spot was under threat before the injury. Better for him to play the 'A' series.

It's not as though Zimbabwe will pose much of a threat, on the field anyway. Therefore we should be sending the likes of How and Fulton to try them out against the weakest test opposition. If they perform well then we have options for the SA series.

 

[Will Scarlet]

And people should stop seeing Styris as a bowling option in tests because Fleming never bowls him these days. Therefore he is simply in the test team as a batsman if selected.

Obviously Styris is a very handy ODI bowler and should be picked as an all-rounder for ODIs.

 

[shaka]

another test 50 for Lou Vincent.

 

[Zinzan]

Thank god Graig Cumming and Mark Richardson never opened in a test together.

Zzzzzzzz

 

[anzac]

another rescue act from Vincent.............aside from him so far none of the batsmen that prospered in the 1st Test are backing up this Test..........

Vaas has done well for SRL so far..........again I wonder how much is as a result of any early morning dew & cloud cover...............

 

[anzac]

when is the 'A' series to SRL?????
and when are they announcing the squad????
is there enough time for players from that series to be selected for ZIM/RSA??????

 

[JASON]

Black Caps on top at 4/210 . The bigger the lead the quicker the finish to this game !!
(* looks to the heavens and prays for Rain over Wellington soon* )

 

[psxpro]

I wouldn't be throwing Styris back into the squad without any match practice. Especially the test squad, where his spot was under threat before the injury. Better for him to play the 'A' series.

It's not as though Zimbabwe will pose much of a threat, on the field anyway. Therefore we should be sending the likes of How and Fulton to try them out against the weakest test opposition. If they perform well then we have options for the SA series.

I meant for the southafrican series. anyway playing styirs vs zimbabwe would be a good idea to get him ready for the sa tests.

 

[psxpro]

well played lou vincent , playing another valuable innings. He is truly a good middle order batsman. I know a lot of people don't rate him at all but as long as he doesn't open he is a very good batsman imo.