***Official*** West Indies in New Zealand

[Ming]

Oh right. Sorry, my mistake.

Harris has bowled well lately, and he should only come into consideration as a slow-bowling option only because his batting is only a bonus. Patel is still a mixed bag I think, even though he bowled well against SL, his domestic performances have been disappointing.

My World Cup squad without Cairns...

1 How, 2 Vincent, 3 Fleming, 4 Fulton, 5 Styris, 6 Marshall, 7 McCullum+, 8 Oram, 9 Vettori, 10 Mills, 11 Bond, SS Astle, 13 Taylor, 14 Harris, 15 Franklin

 

[Blaze]

My World Cup squad without Cairns...

1 How, 2 Vincent, 3 Fleming, 4 Fulton, 5 Styris, 6 Marshall, 7 McCullum+, 8 Oram, 9 Vettori, 10 Mills, 11 Bond, SS Astle, 13 Taylor, 14 Harris, 15 Franklin

I wouldn't take Franklin unless he improves his consistancy with ball dramatically. Patel would be in my squad instead of him due to the nature of the West Indian wickets.

Harris I am not sure about. He looked really good over the weekend and the WI pitches should suit him but he is getting really old.

Taylor I agree with, although I doubt he will be picked unless they select him in the upcoming series against WI.

 

[roseboy64]

I'm actually more confident in Ganga in the middle order than I am with regard to Hinds at the moment and Smith ever. I promised myself I'd never be this vulnerable again, but I think he could do well.

 

[Ming]

Franklin has promise as a change bowler, he's shown he can bowl a very good second spell. I would like to see him start and finish at that stage. Could be used as a super sub as well.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Ganga > Jamaica.

Ganga is a poor international cricketer.

@ Jamaica.

 

[meatspx]

It's going to be interesting to see whether the selectors use Harris again....he might not be a option to bowl at the death but he does clog up the middle overs better than Patel. He also has historically bowled well in tandem with Vettori in the VB series, so he might impress if selected in that 2007 series.

I'm not sure what the selectors will do with Astle, one option is to drop him from the test team. But if he isn't consistently selected for the ODI squad then he might hang up his boots before the WC. I would rather play Oram as a batsman than Astle in the test side.

How is on the fringes of selection atm, and other players should be given the opportunityto impress. No harm in giving Taylor a shot....and remember sometimes its beneficial to have someone that not many bowlers have seen before (aslong as he's in form).

My WC squad:
Vincent
Fulton
Astle
Fleming
H Marshall
How/Taylor/Ryder/Sinclair
Styris
Oram
McCullum
Vettori
Patel/Harris
Mills
Bond
Franklin
Adams

 

[Don]

this could just be my love for ganga but i think hes gonna cement his place in the team after this tour

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

this could just be my love for ganga but i think hes gonna cement his place in the team after this tour

I share the vibe. He's undoubteldy a better player now. The sad part is that a better Ganga still isn't very good (at Test level). We'll see how it goes...

I heard a very interesting comment by Anthony Gray on a show called Total Sports last night. He said that he thinks that the lack of ODI cricket hurt Ganga, especially as he wasn't picked for ODI cricket after those two tons against Australia. He commented that Ganga was starting to find himself then by playing more positive cricket. A run in the ODI team just them may have helped to culture such play and acted to his benefit. I tend to agree. He wasn't doing too badly in ODI cricket until a little while before he was sacked.

 

[Tim]

It'll be interesting to see how the loss of Cairns affects the make-up of the side. There really isn;t anyone else except Jacob Oram in NZ right now that could come slightly close to fitting the bill of Cairns...for once, we seem to be lacking another genuine all-rounder in domestic cricket.

Cairns said at his press conference that James Franklin has the ability, but I think in terms of batting talent..he's a notch or two below that of Cairns and even Oram. But hopefully Franklin will develop a little quicker now that Cairns has left the door open.

Bracewell seemed reluctant to introduce 2 new players (How & Fulton), I can't seem him being pushed to select either Taylor or Ryder now for the World Cup. I think Franklin is going to be heavily used in the next while to see whether he has what it takes.

 

[Tim]

Also, I wouldn't be surprised if Daniel Vettori got a chance higher up the order either.

 

[Smudge]

this could just be my love for ganga

I hope you mean the player...

 

[meatspx]

Also, I wouldn't be surprised if Daniel Vettori got a chance higher up the order either.

Vettori is capable of being a test no. 7, though I would be more comfortable with him batting at 8.

In ODIs I would have tried him up in the top order for a good period of time, but that opportunity has passed.

 

[NZTailender]

Hope Mills and co return soon from injury. Otherwise we could be looking at one of the worst bowling attacks for quite some time?

 

[Kippax]

Just come back after a few weeks away (including my grandfather's funeral in Sydney, the old coot who called me 'Kippax' when I was little).

All the Papps fans will be pleased to hear he's made a much quicker recovery from his injury than expected, and is fit to play out the rest of the SS according to The Press.

I know I'm always a harsh critic of Papps and he has done extremely well in the SS, but it's kind of funny the way fans were cursing an injury to a guy with a FC average of 14.4 for the last 18 months. Especially when he's based on consistently the best batting pitches in the country.

With the logjam of middle-order options, the thing I'll be most interested to see is whether the new panel try to make Fulton into an opener, or whether they deem that too close for comfort to the Sinclair debacle (i.e. choosing someone known for his long innings as almost a sacrificial shield, who as a bonus might anchor the innings if he survives the first half-hour.)

I think they were trying to give Fulton a nudge in that direction when they selected him to open for the Major Associations XI last autumn, and now that he's had some international success, I wouldn't be overly surprised to see Fulton and How walking out together as debutant openers.

 

[SouthernMan]

Hope Mills and co return soon from injury. Otherwise we could be looking at one of the worst bowling attacks for quite some time?

Well not a long time, barley even a year, But it's pretty easy to forget that series against Aussie isn't it

 

[_Ed_]

Well not a long time, barley even a year, But it's pretty easy to forget that series against Aussie isn't it

Jeff Wilson, Tama Canning and Lance Hamilton. Takes some beating...although maybe Kerry Walmsley in South Africa in 2000 beats it.

 

[Natman20]

Backups? Mason or Aldridge? Thoughts?

?
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[NZTailender]

Jeff Wilson, Tama Canning and Lance Hamilton. Takes some beating...although maybe Kerry Walmsley in South Africa in 2000 beats it.

If the ones injured don't return for the Twenty/20 (when exactly is that?) it'd probably look like Cairns, Vettori, Franklin, Martin...+ whoever.

 

[Natman20]

Maybe we should try a 'c' line up against the West Indies. I would definately play Patel in the squad and the two bowlers I mentioned earlier.

 

[Kippax]

Backups? Mason or Aldridge? Thoughts?

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?

I know Bracewell will be on the lookout to replace his "premier outswing bowler in NZ" if Mills doesn't recover, but has Aldridge actually done anything yet this season? I've been a bit out of the loop.

I wonder if we'll soon get another appearance of the mysterious "donaldduck" with a thread titled 'Mark Gillespie for the Black Caps'. Or perhaps "Crickey" with 'James McMillan for the Black Caps'.

Heard someone say McMillan's been up into the mid-140's this summer, where they were taking that figure from I'm not exactly sure. Not that sheer pace is everything of course.