Black Caps vs England Series
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Think this deserves its own thread, 1st Test starts on Thursday (reminder for @MN5) in Christchurch
The Squad we have selected is the following, Will be interesting to see where Kane slots in given Young's player of the series performance when we trounced minnows India at home.
Tom Latham (c)
Devon Conway
Kane Williamson
Will Young
Tom Blundell
Daryl Mitchell
Glenn Phillips
Ravin Ravindra
Nathan Smith
Jacob Duffy
Tim Southee
Matt Henry
William O'Rourke -
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Thanks old mate for the reminder, great timing as I’m on leave all week and as long as I get my chores done I can catch some of this.
The team that I would choose would be……
Latham
Conway
KW
Young
Ravindra
Mitchell
Blundell
Philips
Henry
Southee
O’RourkeHowever ( and have just read the post by @Bovidae to confirm this ) the team they will probably pick will have one change, one of those debutant pace bowlers neither of whom I know about in for Young. Harsh on a guy who was player of the series vs India but dare I say it an indication of some depth…..then again, is Young a chance to take Conways place ? ( who did get some useful runs when needed in India too ).
Philips more than handy enough as the main spin option with backup if needed from Ravindra. It’s a shame KW has given up turning the arm over as he goes ok.
Santner and Patel placed in the cabinet labeled “break glass when we play in the sub continent”
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@Cyclops said in Black Caps vs England Series:
Santner comes into the squad for games 2 and 3.
I wonder if there's any consideration to dropping Blundell, pushing Conway down and keeping and opening with Young.
It’s easy to blame Adam Gilchrist for the batsman/keeper phenomenon but it really started earlier with Alec Stewart.
I’m certainly no expert but I think keeping in the shorter forms part time is a lot easier than doing it at test level. Very few guys bat high AND keep at test level ( Gilly batted seven but opened in ODis, Sangakkara/Stewart batted in the middle order etc )
Blundells spot is more than likely safe despite his woes with the bat of late.
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@Cyclops said in Black Caps vs England Series:
Santner comes into the squad for games 2 and 3.
I wonder if there's any consideration to dropping Blundell, pushing Conway down and keeping and opening with Young.
Spin being more likely in Wellington and Hamilton it makes sense to include Sat Nav
Though it might be nice to give Patel a chance to take his first wicket at home.. -
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@dogmeat said in Black Caps vs England Series:
Opening and keeping in test cricket is a tough gig.
Farohk Engineer did it a lot but was an average bat. Alec Stewart was a much better batsman without the gloves. McCullum hmmm
Setting Young up to fail - in both disciplines
The game has changed.
Back in the day a keeper averaging early 20s or even in the teens was acceptable as long as he kept well.
Our own Smithy was a terrific keeper ( maybe our best ever ) and handy with the bat every now and again.
Alec Stewart has the most test runs with the lowest average ( under 40 ) but as you say averaged 46 as a specialist opener as opposed to 34 when he was keeping but they picked him over Jack Russell because he was a better bat. Excellent player for England.
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@Cyclops said in Black Caps vs England Series:
Sorry, needed an oxford comma. I'm suggesting Conway bat 6 and keep (since he keeps in white ball and Blundell's keeping hasn't really set the world alight), Young would just be opening.
How is Conways keeping compared to Blundells ? ( I haven’t seen enough to comment )
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You absolutely cannot get away with a part time keeper in tests, wickets mean so much more in the longer format. T20s and to a lesser degree ODIs you can, but in tests you almost always regret having a part timer put down crucial chances.
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@No-Quarter said in Black Caps vs England Series:
You absolutely cannot get away with a part time keeper in tests, wickets mean so much more in the longer format. T20s and to a lesser degree ODIs you can, but in tests you almost always regret having a part timer put down crucial chances.
…….and that’s what made Gilly, Sangakkara and Andy Flower such legends. Incredible batsmen and very good keepers too.
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@Bovidae said in Black Caps vs England Series:
Stead has basically said that Young will miss out, and it will be a choice between Smith and Duffy for the fourth pace bowler.
Smith can hold a bat so I would choose him.
I would go with the following even though Young deserves a spot.
Tom Latham (c)
Devon Conway
Kane Williamson
Ravin Ravindra
Daryl Mitchell
Tom Blundell
Glenn Phillips
Nathan Smith
Tim Southee
Matt Henry
William O'Rourke -
@Canes4life said in Black Caps vs England Series:
@Bovidae said in Black Caps vs England Series:
Stead has basically said that Young will miss out, and it will be a choice between Smith and Duffy for the fourth pace bowler.
Smith can hold a bat so I would choose him.
I would go with the following even though Young deserves a spot.
Tom Latham (c)
Devon Conway
Kane Williamson
Ravin Ravindra
Daryl Mitchell
Tom Blundell
Glenn Phillips
Nathan Smith
Tim Southee
Matt Henry
William O'RourkeHenry bats ahead of Southee but yeah I reckon that is the exact team they’ll go for.
Just googled Smith, yeah those are some good numbers alright. He deserves a shot.
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@MN5 said in Black Caps vs England Series:
@No-Quarter said in Black Caps vs England Series:
You absolutely cannot get away with a part time keeper in tests, wickets mean so much more in the longer format. T20s and to a lesser degree ODIs you can, but in tests you almost always regret having a part timer put down crucial chances.
…….and that’s what made Gilly, Sangakkara and Andy Flower such legends. Incredible batsmen and very good keepers too.
Sangakkara is my all time favourite player, modelled my batting and keeping on him. Class bloke off the field as well. Another whose batting improved after giving up the gloves though, it's a tough gig doing both in test cricket.
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@No-Quarter said in Black Caps vs England Series:
Sangakkara is my all time favourite player, modelled my batting and keeping on him.
Gary Stead read this and said to tell you that if you deliver a packet of whitebait to his room at the Rydges Hotel in ChCh you'll play in Thursday's test!
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@Canes4life was at their training yesterday.
They were in a huddle before and there were two cheers. As if two players were making their debuts. That’s how it came across.
I didn’t see Tim Southee there or Tom Blundell. So I would say both Smith & Duffy are making their debuts. There was a guy there who I had no idea who it was. Looking at provincial profiles , it looked like Mitch Hay. -
@chchfanatic said in Black Caps vs England Series:
@Canes4life was at their training yesterday.
They were in a huddle before and there were two cheers. As if two players were making their debuts. That’s how it came across.
I didn’t see Tim Southee there or Tom Blundell. So I would say both Smith & Duffy are making their debuts. There was a guy there who I had no idea who it was. Looking at provincial profiles , it looked like Mitch Hay.If that's the case, did you see who was keeping? Maybe Mitch Hay is on debut alongside Nathan Smith.
