University Oval - Most Runs and Highest Averages.

After the great win today I went and reviewed the University Oval stats.  I have worked with the stats and placed two tables, The Most Runs at the ground and based on those figures the highest Averages.

What a great run of form for Ross  Below is the two tables highlighting his prowess with the willow only at University Oval:-

Batsman	Runs	Highest Score	Average
Taylor	436.00	181*	87.20
Williamson	314.00	97.00	52.33
Ronchi	195.00	170*	97.50
Guptill	192.00	70.00	27.40
Elliot	154.00	104*	154.00
Jayawardene	139.00	100.00	46.33
Bairstow	138.00	138.00	138.00
Dilshan	137.00	116.00	45.66
Shenwari	134.00	96.00	67.00
Latham	130.00	71.00	43.33

At University Oval by Averages

Batsman	Runs	Highest Score	Average
Elliot	154.00	104*	154.00
Bairstow	138.00	138.00	138.00
Ronchi	195.00	170*	97.50
Taylor	436.00	181*	87.20
Shenwari	134.00	96.00	67.00
Williamson	314.00	97.00	52.33
Jayawardene	139.00	100.00	46.33
Dilshan	137.00	116.00	45.66
Latham	130.00	71.00	43.33
Guptill	192.00	70.00	27.40

ODI's in New Zealand 2017/18 and the Kane/Ross battle

Starting soon are the first of 13 ODI's on our shores.  And inside those ODI's is the pecking order for our 26 ODI 100 getters.

Ross has had 179 innings for his 17 x 100's
Kane has had 111 innings for 9 x 100's

Be nice to see Ross break 20 x 100 and Kane to increase his tally.

Yes will be a great summer.

First up are the Windies following their test series. If their form in the longer form is anything to go by it's gonna be a tough ride for them.  The team is young but it's fair to say their short form records are different and will mean they have a chance.

Next cab off the ramp is the ever competitive Pakistan.  They land on our shores in January with recent ODI form.  And you can always count on Pakistan to rattle the cages.

Will be a tough series (5 ODI's) for Blackcaps but one we should win.

If they are in your city, go and watch them.

England in March - 5 ODI's.  Leading up to the tests are 5 ODI's.  Both teams have played T20 prior to these matches so should be in cracking form.

Time for Blackcaps supporters to deck out in Black (or Beige) to drown out the Balmy Army.





So what do we want to happen in these ODI's?  If there are needs to blood someone then the Windies matches are good. Fair to say form players in top tier be given all the backing they deserve.

Bring on the Calypso Kings - Windies Downunder (And Basin Stats.)

Seems to be a recurring theme these days, Windies on our shores before Christmas. Well seems that way, in reality it's not the case.  With the first test on 1st Dec and 2nd on 9th Dec, plenty for both teams to chase.

So what of this series?  2 tests, 3 ODI's and 3 T20's (which is also the format for the England series in March) is enough for the cricketing purist yes??

Well this is the first time the Windies have played a test in Basin Reserve since 2013, and before that in 2006.  Both times Blackcaps won by a goodly margin. Fair to say back then the Windies were a fractured team and we won't know how they will fare this time there.

If one were to go back in history of Windies teams at The Basin we'd find the test results are even. 7 Windies tests,-  3 won, 4 lost and 2 draws.

In the last 20 tests at The Basin overall, we (Blackcaps) have won 6, lost 8, drawn 6.

There have been 60 tests in all at The Basin - 17 won by us, 26 drawn, and 17 lost.

So what of this West Indies team? As stated earlier, they have been fractured and were sliding down the rankings in all forms.  But over the past 18 months there appears to be a resurgence in the Calypso Kings with some talent starting to shine.  And they played test cricket in August. something the Blackcaps can't attest to doing. I'm thinking this tour will be a watershed for them.  And for us!!

Yes what about us?  Last test cricket was in March so we will go into this series very much underdone.  And if we lose any of the two tests our ranking is likely to slide (Currently at 4, WI 8) and  even more so if series loss (be nice to stay ahead on Australia in test rankings)  I'm picking a drawn series, one test each.

The pajama stuff I don't usually follow too much, but if the Windies come to play, I'll certainly come to watch.

After the Blackcaps finish their T20 duties on the sub-continent I'll add my teams for he three forms of the game to play the Windies (After perusing the Plunket Shield games. There is very much an open palette for all three forms.

Latest Rankings, some slots to play for.'

ICC Test Rankings.
10 October 2017 Team	Matches	Points	Rating
India	36	4493	125
South Africa	34	3767	111
England	43	4497	105
New Zealand	32	3114	97
Australia	34	3294	97
Sri Lanka	39	3658	94
Pakistan	34	2988	88
West Indies	30	2260	75
Bangladesh	23	1651	72
Zimbabwe	10	0	0
ICC ODI Championship
29 October 2017 Team	Matches	Points	Rating
South Africa	53	6386	120
India	53	6379	120
Australia	52	5948	114
England	54	6156	114
New Zealand	49	5432	111
Pakistan	46	4560	99
Bangladesh	34	3114	92
Sri Lanka	64	5322	83
West Indies	40	3077	77
Afghanistan	30	1618	54
Zimbabwe	41	2129	52
Ireland	25	1028	41
ICC Twenty20 Championship
29 October 2017 Team	Matches	Points	Rating
New Zealand	13	1625	125
Pakistan	23	2843	124
West Indies	20	2395	120
England	17	2029	119
India	22	2545	116
South Africa	20	2238	112
Australia	15	1665	111
Sri Lanka	24	2177	91
Afghanistan	25	2157	86
Bangladesh	17	1289	76
Scotland	11	737	67
Zimbabwe	13	842	65
UAE	16	827	52
Netherlands	9	441	49
Hong Kong	13	599	46
PNG	6	235	39
Oman	9	345	38
Ireland	15	534	36

Blackcaps teams going forward. My Picks.

The Blackcaps are going through changing times.  So what is the team you want?

My (educated) picks.

Test Cricket

 Latham (VC)
Raval
Williamson (C)
Taylor
Guptill
Nichols
Watling+
Anderson
Santner
Southee
Boult
Henry 12th Man

ODI & T20

Guptill
Latham VC
Williamson  C
Taylor
Broom
deGrandhomme
Anderson
Seifert or Phillips (has ability to Open)
Craig
Milne
Boult
Ferguson 12th Man.

Blackcaps Short Form wicketkeeper- who is next

With the retirement of Luke Ronchi a hole has appeared in Blackcaps ranks for a wicketkeeper in short forms of the game of cricket. In the past wicketkeepers have been pretty much a simple choice and by and large have a certain career longevity.

One could suggest someone out of Domestic Cricket step up, but if one looks at the stocks there doesn't appear to be many standing up (Based on last Ford Trophy 2017 Jan to Mar.).

The Blackcaps build a team out of batting ability (and bowling) but rarely does a wicketkeeper get in for his wicketkeeping ability alone, quick scoring batsmen and a closer has to be in his resume.  So with that in mind I have scoured the Ford Trophy scores from this year and present the stats here.

Auckland Aces

GD Phillips opens the batting for the Aces and his scores were 0,5,41,33,102 - 181 runs at 36.2

Northern Knights

Seifert  1,12,40,104, 56,38  - 251 Runs at 41.8

Central Stags

Cleaver  0,9,9,10,7,77  -  112 runs at 18.8

Wellington Firebirds

Blundell  36,21,32 - 89 runs at 29.7
Ronchi  63,22,31  - 116 runs at 38.6

Canterbury

Latham  3,59 - 62 runs at 31.0
Fletcher  8,8,5,13,10  -  44 runs at 8.8

Otago Volts

de Boorder   2,4,3,31,43  -  83 runs at 16.6


Interesting stats. Many fans have their pick but Blackcaps need to pick on form and ability and with that in mind there are three options, Phillips, Seifert and Latham.  Latham would be the front runner for me, is already indoctrinated in the A Team's game plan. I would be inclined to bring in Phillips as an apprentice under Latham and to get the vibe that goes with the team. And a bonus is he can cover opener if injury/etc.

Looking at these stats there is a clear situation that we don't have a great deal of depth at Wicketkeeper in Domestic cricket.  Maybe Cricket NZ takes a leaf out of Rugby and foster talent.  There has always been a lot of (very) senior players hogging places in their teams better suited to youth.

NZC have a long winter/spring to find their man and they won't have any opportunity to pick from Ford Trophy form as ODI's start before that Trophy (based on last years competition format)

Winning in Black, over Gold, on Green Fields

Three ODI's down, two important tests to follow.  So what of this Aussie/Kiwi rivalry?  Well it's hardly surprising that just about any game between the two is bathed in controversy, and all are well documented.  My thoughts are this on all the matters.  Shit happens.  To err is human and more so when the Colosseum is heavily laden with two teams who hate losing and partisan crowds seeking that win as well.

And that leads to me writing about my team.  A winning team by and large at that.  In fact since Brendon McCullum was controversially handed the reins from Ross Taylor the Blackcaps have turned around from being a lower to mid table team in all formats to now being top 3 in most. And many players dot the player rankings as well.  It took a little while for them to draw the fans back but with a coach and captain  and a team driving the train on the straight and narrow and not losing often (yes I could have said Won many but that consistency still not at 100%).

So where to the future doth we ply our winning craft?  Common knowledge Kane will soon be the new captain with Brendon's retirement and the likely retirement of Ross in the coming years, where does this team go? Well to be honest I see only continuing success and giving the fans even more silverware and reasons to come to games.

And given the public has bought into the team.  Diehard fans have been vindicated.  The remainder nearly filling stadiums are a breath of fresh air.  NZ Cricket must be feeling great about the turnaround and so they should be.  And with Australia here and in fine form on matters not necessarily cricket related (whingers) we can now rightfully ride our wave and get the most from our game.

Test cricket??  The onslaught continues.  "Go Blackcaps!!"

Signs of the Time - the success and success of Hesson and NZ Cricket.

We have been waiting.  A long time, a very very long time.  New Zealand cricket has always been a hit or miss thing with the occasional hot patch (Hadlee and Crowe era), some creditable results especially under Stephen Flemings captaincy.  It's fair to say some players in the Blackcaps featured in top 10 stakes (the aforementioned two for example) and a handful since. If one was to compute under today's system for ranking points there would be a scant few. But there is currently something probably unheard of happening.  New Zealand and players across all formats litter those current rankings.

Let's start with team rankings. In tests we are slowly but surely climbing into the top 5. England, India, South Africa, Australia and Pakistan all ahead (though 5= with England) We are 10 points ahead of a Sri Lanka suffering player drain.  We are 7 points behind Pakistan.  In ODI's we are 4th with just South Africa, Australia and India ahead.  We are a clear 7 points ahead of 5th and 3 points behind 3rd.  The biggest move yet one that doesn't appear so, is T20 ranking.  They are 7th but India are behind them by 4 points, but 7th to 1st have 4 points separating all teams, so a very even contest.

But of wider interest is the players standing.  It's fair to say back in 2012 when Hesson started his tenure, the standings for our individual players would have been barren.  If one looks at the rankings today, New Zealand players litter all ranking lists.  So who and where!!

Test Batting

Kane Williamson  4th

Test Bowling

Trent Boult  7th
Tim Southee  9th

Test All Rounder

Oddly NZ prided itself on it's all rounders but it appears they have gone from that, possibly more due to injury to candidates and success of other options.


ODI Batting

Kane Williamson  4th
Martin Guptill  8th
Ross Taylor  9th

ODI Bowling

Trent Boult  2nd
Matt Henry  8th

T20  Batting

Brendon McCullum 5th
Martin Guptill  10th

T20 Bowling

Nathan McCullum 8th.

And it's a given that towards the end of the year these will change, and probably for the better. The only issues that could manifest itself through the year is the transition of captaincy, and also a capable replacement at 5 in the order.  And serious missing from the team after BMac goes is a batsman capable of floating up or down the order as the game dictates (Ryder???).

ODI - 10 wicket wins - stats.

There have been 48 10 wicket wins in all ODI's since 1970's.  The only two nations not to score a victory by that means are Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.  All other nations are represented.  Here they are by order with greatest exponent of that win format last.

1  Kenya

4  Australia
    Pakistan

5  India
    Sri Lanka
    England

6  South Africa

8  New Zealand  (1981 India, 2007 Australia, Bangladesh, England, 2011 Kenya, 2012 Zimbabwe, 2015 Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka)

10  West Indies

Times, they are a-changing - Thoughts on the West Indies

Since their inclusion in the senior ranks of International Test cricket, then ODI's and finally T20's, the Caribbean has supplied a team (or teams) that largely were very competitive and until 1992 won or drew more matches than they lost.  The player to left epitomised the success his teams enjoyed.  One look at the match results at Cricinfo show that that initial period was full of creditable performances.

One could, right through their history, name great players that performed and inspired, until recently. Looking back at that result sheet, which included Tests, ODI's and T20's one could see a leveling off of results.  It's not a sudden demise. From 1993 onward shows a sudden downturn in wins across all formats, though with the occasional success here and there.  But what is this sudden downturn aligned to?

Throughout the 1960's, 70's and 80's the Windies were in the top echelon of Test and ODI cricket.  Players were household names.  And for very good reason.  They lead by example and were the epitome of hard uncompromising players, on and off the field. And they had a cricketing conveyor belt. Someone retires or is not picked and there is a champion player to step in.

But alas, times changed as did the demographic in Caribbean sports and culture.  Believe it or not, the 1993 motion picture, Cool Runnings, signifies a change in sporting talent direction, showing how other sports were fighting for the athletes that always previously chose cricket.  An upsurge of Basketball and Athletics from early 80's, saw a downturn in talented junior cricketers progressing into senior international cricket.  Or if picked and not nurtured they were walking away from the sport and going elsewhere.  A lot of the downturn in talented cricketers was also attributed to poor administration and displayed also in the state of their main cricketing venues.

So what of that coincidence between Cool Runnings and downturn of WI cricket?  Well all is not lost.  The records showed that WI have continued to excel at T20 and they win when they play Zimbabwe and Bangladesh (both regularly home and away)  But with that movie, as stated, the emphasis on sporting pedigree shifted.  Cricket had adversaries.  Usain Bolt enshrines the DNA that has gone on before.  WI athletes know they have the genes to put themselves out for 10 or 20 seconds and earn greater glory and $$$.  Quicker and less stressful than a five day cricket test.  The USA NBA and NFL want speed and guile and in Caribbean athletes they get them.

Simply put, a group of islands that survived on 100+ years of cricket all year round, now had viable competition.  And it's struggling.  In the past 10 years there have been instances where facilities and grounds have been woefully inadequate.  To me, a sign that administration is struggling.  And the ICC knew about the issues and seemingly failed to step in. Then more recently, the players took a stand for themselves and stopped an ICC sanctioned tour to India over a pay issue.  Another indication WI cricket was in disheveled state.  And of course, when mothership is not functioning well, the crew show their sadder side.  And players come and go as administration fails to come to grips with selections and poor man management. The Performance drops even further.  The stark reality is if this state continues, then the only outcome will WI becoming an affiliate nation.

So what is the best fix for their current issues. A few things really.  Players have to allow wages that their board can play, let admin pay and organise, players play and smile.  Both have to bite the bullet on all accounts.  The cricketing world needs to help too.  Assisting with ground preparation and upkeep, and buddying up with administration.  Initially I wanted ICC to step in and bolster the management and finance sides, but if they do that then any cricket nation will have the rights to the same assistance.

In summary, WI cricket is skating on thin ice.   It is sinking into the cracks left by other sporting options. And you can't changed demographics that change a sporting landscape.  It's a sad thing yes, I love watching the likes of Big Bird, Master Blaster, Sir Garfield, Gayle, Richardson, Ambrose and all.  What the cricketing world needs to do is help WI cricket bring new names into the forefront for the good reasons.

The (Very Rocky) road to a CWC Final and beyond.

This journey for New Zealand Cricket started back in 2012 with the appointment of two key administrators of our home game.  David White as CEO and a little later, the much unheralded appointment of a nobody, Mike Hesson from Otago.  White set about setting in motion a plan to improve NZ cricket stakes, more especially the placings in the World Cricket Rankings and he felt Hesson was the man to do that.

Hesson's appointment was seen, amongst cricketing guru's, a temporary failure, more especially when he struck the first blow in culling Ross Taylor from the captaincy and installing his Otago protege, Brendon McCullum.  It is well documented how this split cricketing pundits in this country and the derision that went on (and in some cases still goes on).  But a lost test series in South Afirca followed by a rare ODI series win set in motion the Hesson/McCullum masterplan.  And backed by the appointment of Bruce Edgar as selector, the stone was set in concrete and the race up the rankings commenced.

But back in that South Africa series and Hesson's amalgamation with McCullum as leadership group, were they thinking Cricket World Cup 2015?  You'd have to suspect the planning started back then,  Since that series, especially in both test cricket and ODI's, the Blackcaps have gone about their business succeeding well, a few hiccups, but improving.  And a lot of that improvement came in selection consistency in both forms.  Sure both teams aren't 100% perfect and winning 100% of the time, but the rankings prove that improvement is indeed happening (4th in ODI's {about 8th/9th 2012} and 5th in tests (a deep 9th {almost 10th} in 2012)).  The plan was set, and it's now bearing fruit.

So what of controversy?  There are still those that feel happy to give Hesson a serve about selections (Rutherford in tests, Taylor in ODI's) but to be fair 90% of what Hesson and the Blackcaps have achieved in the past 2 years is bearing fruit across the nation (as can be seen by support at the grounds and the viewing public, in both tests and ODI's.  Cricket is back at the tips of everyone's tongues.

I prefer to call the Vettori/Taylor/Wright years The Dark Ages.  A time when history just stood still, nay regressed, and records tumbled downwards, especially with the rankings.  Sure there are still some dark moments in the current reign (3 zip loss in ODI's in Bangladesh) but as these are few and far between now let's concentrate on the way ahead.  Yes the CWC could be mentioned here before moving ahead, but why, we all have our thoughts.  I will say at the start of the competition I expected us to finish no higher than 3rd or 4th.

Ok so where to from here.  Damp wet England for a two test 5 ODI and a handful of god awful T20.  That's it I think until a short tour of South Africa for ODI's and T20, then a test series in New Zealand in November against Australia..  We are 5 points away from overtaking South Africa on ODI Rankings and a series win against both the Poms and Yarpies should see that achieved.  But for me the more important matter in hand is winning two tests in England and three in New Zealand to help elevate us over Pakistan (once again needing 5 points to surpass).

How are retirements going to affect this team ethic that is growing everyday?  Well it is fair to say the likes of BMac, Taylor and Mills are ready to move on (Dan's already gone).  Ok settle down, yes Taylor isn't all that bad, but for me there is something seriously holding him back from his full potential.  Whether it is the tinkering of his action, his closeness and sad situation with his mentor, or something completely different, the fact remains, Taylor is missing in action.  Sure he's fighting and builds solid innings, but as I see it, he doesn't seem to be buying into the team ethos.

It's now a very good time, post CWC, to get another young up and comer in the frame, to build further on the prowess of our top six.  Guptill, beyond my expectations, cements the openers berth (sorry world I was wrong), Bmac has a couple of more years in him, Kane is the rock and the future,  I'd like to see Nicholls brought into the fold at 4 ahead of Latham (Who should be retained as batting cover more especially at opener).  The rest of the lineup barring Mills is set in stone for years to come.  Except Ronchi!!  One good innings doth not maketh a summer.  I have always said having BJ Watling in the ODI team would be like having a Chris Harris or Michael Bevan at 7.  As seen with his record breaking partnerships in test cricket, he has the ability to not only stick around with the set top order batsmen, but be the anchor at run a ball for the lower order to feed off.

Make of that as you may.  The surety in all that come before us is that Hesson will still set lofty targets for the team, and the leader of that team will motivate and lead by example and bring more gold to the purse that is New Zealand Cricket and it's burgeoning adoring public.In 2012 I said Who?? to Hesson's appointment, I said Yes to Taylor losing the captaincy, and I appluaded loudly Bruce Edgar's appointment.  What I didn't ever get around to saying was Thank You The Blackcaps for the road to the final, sad you had to lose to the old foe, but next time will be a decider yes??

Analyzing Future Tours Programme

Edited to Add:- Since writing this have found out Aussie are here early 2016 for a 3 test series.  I won't rewrite as I feel most of the comments are valid given current thinking.

Not often I see red, but looking at the future tours programme 2015 - 2017)  two things stand out.

1.  Too many 2 Test Match series we're involved in (5 out of 9 series)

2.  Australia aren't playing here (we go there twice and our last series with them here was on 2010)

With the first one there, I have issues with ICC and the top three (if India can still be considered in that group) and their demands on the game.  I've written elsewhere on the ICC's decisions and also the history of the game.  But ponder this.  England and Australia Ashes tests are set in stone, five tests and that's for the good of the game as far as an interest factor goes for cricket followers.  But how The West Indies, India and South Africa get 4 match series is beyond me.

I want to see a level playing field.  I want more test match cricket.  I also want all teams in the top ten play a 3 match series as a rule.  2 Tests doesn't reflect too well on how teams are faring, and I also think the minnow teams need to have more cricket to improve and be competitive.  That's not happening just now.  The argument against time to fit it all in is a weak one.  Proponents of ODI cricket say a 5 match series is ideal as far as results go, barring a tie, there is a result.  The same can work for test matches.

The other point about Australia playing here is a hoary chestnut.  The last time they played here in a test series was back in 2010.  At a time when New Zealand cricket is resurgent surely there is a demand from our public for that Aussie team to come here and face us on our ground.  Instead we have to be glued to our TV's in late 2015 for a 3 test only series (yes we get 3 tests) and then again in 2017 for our tour there to play 5 ODI's and 1 T20.  I think we should be striking while the iron is hot and do everything to get them here for a 3 test series, 5 ODI's and 3 T20's.  We have a right to ask for that otherwise it will be over 7 years since they traveled to our shores.

The future tours:

Away  May/Jun 2015  England  2 Tests 5 ODI's 1 T20
Away  Jul/Aug  2015  Sri Lanka  2 Tests 5 ODI, 1 T20
Away  Oct   2015   Zimbabwe  2 Tests, 3 ODI
Away  Nov/Dec 2015  Australia  3 Tests
Home  Dec/Jan  2015/16  Pakistan  3 Tests 5 ODI's 1 T20
Home  Feb/Mar 2016 Australia 3 Tests.
Home  Mar 2016  Zimbabwe  3 ODI's
Away  Oct/Nov 2016  India  3 Tests, 5 ODI's 1T20
Home  Dec/Jan 2016/17  Bangladesh  2 Tests, 3 ODI's 1 T20
Away  Feb 2017  Australia  5 ODI's 1 T20
Home  Feb/Mar 2017  South Africa  2 Tests, 3 ODI's 2 T20

And that's it, not sure if these fixtures are set in stone, but if we beat England in May this year and move ahead of them (or Pakistan) on the rankings surely we deserve some decent respect and action accordingly.  I think too with our improved performances and ranking points we have a case to change things at the ICC and get all our fellow teams a chance to play on a level playing field.

My choices for the coming cricket year - New Zealand Tests and ODI teams

Tests (3), ODIs (5) and T20 (2) versus Pakistan at UAE and CWC 2015.  (Edited to add there is a 2 test, 3 ODI home series here versus Sri Lanka in Dec/Jan) That's it for international cricket for our team until England Tour next year.  So an opportunity in UAE to finalise the squad for the CWC.

At first glance there seems to be a lot of players to choose from for all forms but on closer inspection the last year sees most places in both teams nailed in place for a good long time to come.  I have one surprise in both teams, the rest pretty much pick themselves these days.

Starting with the test team.

Cementing his place in the top is young Tom Latham.

Rudderless by and large since his debut, I'd still keep him in the team as I feel his partnership with Fulton wasn't working and this gives he and Latham time to build a relationship on and off the wicket and results will come.

Nuff said - Locked in bigtime for a long time.

Superb selection I must say.

Captain Courageous, hopefully he has had a good break to refresh the body.

Thought this could be a tough call for 6, but Anderson is missing with the bat and The Neesh has been frankly quite good with it.  I don't expect him to bowl much but could be useful for a few resting overs for the quicks.

Woohoo!! He's Back (well in my team anyway)  It seems his season in England has seen a change of behaviour and the results are showing on the field, with bat and ball and in all forms.  I've slotted him into the allrounders slot as it seems Jesse can bowl for long periods AND take wickets.  Asset - you bet.

Writes himself a long stay ticket as all facets of his game in all forms improves.

Yup!!

Craig gets in the team as The Spinner ahead of any pretenders. Will play all games in UAE unless seamer track so misses out to Wagner (with Kano's straight arm offering part time spin).

Yup again.  Bowling twinship with Southee world class.







Batting Reserve

Interesting call this.  The reason I have him there is so he covers Jesse or  Neesh's role as a batsman in the batting order and if any of the top five falter, bring Anderson in for Jesse and move Jesse to any of those top five positions.  I think it could work well.








Bowling Resereve
Covered by Anderson too, but Ish gets the nod also if two spinners required (Neesham goes, Jesse moves to 6, Watling to 7, Craig to 9 and Ish to 11.

The ODI squad is a bit more trickier but this series might be an experiment to get the team balance right for CWC 2015.  These are my thoughts.

Latham

Anton Devcich gets in as a pinch hitting opener.  Also provides a left hander right hander combination to kickstart the innings.

Big call but for me captain this series.  Mainly because I think McCullum's performances in ODI's is slipping away and we can't carry deadwood into a world cup.

Taylor again.

Jesse slots in Brendons slot, adds an extra bowling option.  Could also be utilised as a pinch hitter anywhere up the order if needed and in form.

What about it!!  They're my picks.  Ok why Colin Munro?  Well Neesh is gone and Munro is an ODI specialist.  And continues that lefty lineup.

Anderson slots into his favoured all rounder slot.  Hope he fires again (if he gets the chance?)

Sorry Luke (Ronchi) but I'm rocking the boat and saying BJ stays in both forms.  Down to his superior glovework and his ability to score runs at run a ball and not give up his wicket too easily ergo holding the lower order together.

Nathan calls this one simply - I'm the better at this form.

Inswinging yorkers - gotta just love the man.

Not expecting too much out of the big lefty too early and on sub continent decks he won't find any help, but needs to be match fit on the seaming wickets of home come CWC.









There you have it.  How about your selections?  Do you agree or disagree with mine?

Should BJ Watling be in the NZ ODI Squad

I know I recently posted an article on BJ Watling but trying to edit to add this post failed miserably so here are a few facts and thoughts further to that article.

BJ Watling is fast approaching a watershed moment for him.  Wicketkeeping in two forms of the game internationally.  Currently he is the incumbent Test wicketkeeper, but should soon cement a place in the ODI Squad, based on his recent form in the Ford Trophy.  With three matches gone, he, playing 4 in the order, has scored 72 off 85 balls, 83* of 88 balls, and in his last innings, 97* off 93 balls.  That's a staggering record, averaging 252 at a strike rate of 94.

If those figures are not telling enough when looking at future BlackCap squads I don't know what is?  Especially if one was to analyse the incumbent ODI wicketkeeper Luke Ronchi's record, not stellar!!  Highest score of 38, but many scores under 10.  Surely the inclusion of BJ warrants a decent look at.  And we know he can bat so why not?  Plus he can pace an innings if someone is going about the business at the other end (his shared 6th wicket partnership a world record with Brendon McCullum v India).

Come on NZ Cricket, and more importantly Mike Hesson and Bruce Edgar.  Be sad to see the potential of Ronchi go for sure, but Watling is carrying around much bigger guns than he at the moment and those guns would go well in a very competitive BlackCaps unit going forward.

Editted to add:  Just 3 minutes after writing this he goes for 5 off 13.

Revised figures are:

Average is currently, this season only, 128.5 striking at 92.

A Year Out from the CWC 2015 - Who is in the Frame

A Year Out from the CWC 2015 - Who is in the Frame

One Day Cricket, often lately as seen the lesser light of the three forms by cricketing pundits, is resurgent.  It's unfair to say the players don't like it as judging by recent matches, there is plenty to play for and series haven't been cut and dry nor dominated by one side, except perhaps the New Zealand versus India home series just completed and Aussie over England.

Teams do love the game, it's generally close and generally well followed by the spectators. Last year, especially in New Zealand, there had been calls from the cricketing public to just play Tests and T20, but to be fair that was by a public that was following a team that couldn't compete too well.  The recent series wins by New Zealand away to South Africa and England started to change some minds, then the good performances at home to West Indies and India, coupled with the launch of the CWC 2015 has seen those detractors diminish and more folks going to games and being in a positive frame.

So what of the Cricket World Cup.  Who will be the teams to watch?  Well it's a year away yet and to be fair there are some critical series to be played out this year.  I'm going to analyse the teams and will firstly highlight those cricketing nations that are causing all the ructions in world cricket with their stance on controlling the game.

Australia.  Currently Number One in the rankings and with a comprehensive 4-1 defeat over England at home suggests they will be in the mix next year.  But their 3-2 loss earlier last year in India suggests on their day they could be fragile, but on home soil clear favourites.  However I do think come semi's they'll fold.

India.  Currently Number Two.  With a series win over Aussie last year, and a win over Windies at home too, they looked the goods, but away losses to South Africa and New Zealand must have dented their chances, and with recent losses to Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup, they may be struggling.  They are a young new team with some old heads, but they need to pull some more consistency out of the bag, especially away, to be a threat at CWC 2015.

England.  With series losses in 2013 to New Zealand and Australia at home, then a 4-1 thumping away to Australia, England are struggling.  They are still rebuilding to some extent and at time of writing have managed to square their ODI series in the Caribbean after two matches.  In a years’ time, maybe a semi-finalist come CWC 2015, but have to improve markedly.

And now the teams biting at the top three’s heels.

Sri Lanka are a dark horse in the equation.  Perennially a top five ODI team, they do have the fire power to win matches, though they do tend to rely heavily on Kumar Sangakkara, Lasith Malinga, and spin.  If they appear at CWC 2015 without one or two of those three they'll be in the mix but not rated a chance. The key to this supposition is their recent loss to Pakistan 3-2 at home.

South Africa are also a dark horse.  They do alright at home but also have issues playing away and with CWC 2015 being an away tournament they may find themselves on the losing end more often than not.  They do have a good well balanced unit so in with a chance but they'll need a lot going for them.

West Indies are another to watch.  They seem to be a team that one day plays very well, the next playing like dogs.  They recently drew the series versus New Zealand, and currently share the series with England.  The Calypso kings on their day could be world beaters, but realistically they may end up also-rans.  Mind you, in the past few months they have been a young team playing on the back of key players out injured.  They have a year to get it right.  Can they?

Pakistan to me are the form team in world ODI cricket.  They win the tight ones.  They win away (naturally they can’t play at home).  They play a good 50 over game, across the park.  Well balanced, well captained, playing well.  I'm sticking my neck out here, but I'm going to say they will be in the final of next year’s CWC 2015.

New Zealand.  The other finalist.  I think the key to how both Pakistan and New Zealand are going is New Zealand's series coming up in UAE in November.  This series to me will be the defining moment for both teams and a momentum swing leading into CWC2015.  New Zealand in the last year have won three ODI series (2 away), drawn 2 (1 away 1 home) and lost a series in Bangladesh, a blip on the radar (and a different team now).  Playing the CWC games at home will be a fillip, thinking back to 1992, and they should ride a wave of support and parochialism.

Of the rest, Bangladesh will provide nuisance factor, winning the odd one or two, yes they should be buoyed with their series whitewash of a weakened New Zealand team last year, but as can be seen in the Asia Cup, against the top teams, and even on their home soil, they are out of their depth.  Afghanistan will also be a fun team to watch, winning their match versus Bangladesh quite comprehensively means they too will surprise in some games. Ireland, Scotland, United Arab Emirates and Zimbabwe will be there to make up numbers.

Kohli King of the ODI Batting Averages?

In this article about Virat Kohli, the writer (Shrikan Shankar) claims "There is no doubt that he is the best ODI batsman in the world at this moment."

Ok  that would be hard to argue with, except for the bit about ":at this moment.  If one was to search Cricinfo, trawl through countless ODI stats, one would arrive at a very different answer.  It's been widely reported that New Zealand is on the move, both in tests and ODI's and that they are fashioning a very capable unit in both forms.  And the figures below show that Kohli in 3 months of cricket compared to the other worldly performers is actually a distant 3rd to young Corey Anderson and behind Morgan from England on averages, and has Taylor,Williamson and Finch snapping at his heels.

Williamson	Taylor	Anderson		Kholi	Morgan	Finch
71	55	68		123	54	121
77	57	44		78	106	0
65	17	8		6	50	22
60	112	13		2	53	108
88	102	131		82	31	7
8	3	17		31
47	9	29		0
16	49			136
	9
432	413	310		458	294	258
54.00	51.63	62.00		57.25	58.8	51.6

So please folks out there in commentator world if you want to make claims, please do your homework. A New Zealander is actually the hottest property on the planet.