CWC Game #7 Black Caps v Pakistan
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I've been up since 5 so have seen the last ten overs or so. When i wemt to bed we had just lost Latham so to wake up to a score of 238 and someone other than Williamson getting close to a ton was a pleasant surprise. Pakistan were 120-3, so i was optimistic. But in eyeballing the game situation as things have unfolded since, a few things have come into acute focus.
The main thing is selection. Blind Freddie can see Munro is a bag of arse holes in this format, and has to go. Today he's contributed significantly to an irrecoverably poor start. Latham is also terribly out of form. Today was made for him but he failed. Another 20-30 runs from the top five and this chase could still look dramatically different. That's not a lot to ask. Guptill has class so will come right, plus they can't all be replaced anyway. Even replacing Latham and Munro is problematic as we only have one spare batsman. More on that later.
We've badly mid-read the pitch today. I think setting a total was an ok call but we desperately needed an attacking spinner. Sodhi should have played, probably for Henry. We may not strike a pitch like this again but i hope if we do that Stead and Kane can be more flexible with selection.
So Australia next. Sodhi for Henry if we get another pitch of this ilk but otherwise it's just the batting which needs a rejig. Blundell and Nicholls should come in but this does shorten the order a tad as Blundell is a keeper who can bat as opposed to a batsman who keeps wicket like Latham. We could try him at the top in the dasher role but that's a lot of pressure especially under the conditions in which we'll face the form side in the tournament. But Blundell at five makes the order look a little light. I'm thinking Nicholls for Munro and Blundell to six with Neesham promoted especially given he now has form.
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Actually when i think about it, there's another option, assuming we don't need the second spinner. We could retain Latham at 5 as a batsman only and bring Blundell in as well at 7 between Neesham and CDG. Then Santner (or Sodhi as the need for the spinning 'all-rounder' diminishes with the lengthened batting), Ferguson and Boult. This does limit the bowling options though as Neesham and CDG would need to bowl 20 or close to it as the only other option would be Kane.
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Terrible captaincy from Kane. Why bowl himself for so many overs and give a part timer in Munro a bowl instead of utilising his front line bowlers? That period of play released the pressure that we had built and gave the Pakis the momentum they needed. If he has so little faith in Henry, why pick him in the first place? Munro and Henry have to go, they offer nothing. Bring in Nicholls and Ish.
