The Fulton Debate

I have been reticent in calling for either openers replacement and on record have suggested both current openers go to the West Indies in the least, if not beyond.  I hear on talkback radio people baying for Fultons blood but to be honest what has he done wrong as an opener?  If one were to look at the innings both he and Rutherford have fashioned there are some stark similarities.  However if one were to focus on the last ten innings then yes Fulton is a fair game candidate for derision, but not axing.

I hear too on Talkback the calls for Latham to be included.  Yes he has promise, but fair to say too early and being dumped into the team versus a West Indies team that will have most of it's best players (and bowlers) back is like sending Ken Rutherford back into the fray with probably the same results.  Stick with the current partnership for this series, if changes need to be made, then make them after two tests or for Pakistan.

The stats.

Incumbent NZ Openers since Feb 2013 v England
	Fulton					Rutherford
	55					178
	1					23
	45					15
	136					37
	110					0
	2					4
	1					9
	28					27
	5					42
	73					34
	59					32
	14					13
	61					62
	3					20
	6					11
	11					10
	10					48
	13					6
	5					0
	13					12
	1					35
Aggregate	652	137	Last 10 innings		Aggregate	618	217	Last 10 innings
Average	31.0	13.7	Average last 10		Average	30.9	24.1	Average last 10

NZ Cricket and the Opener Quandary.

And what a quandary to have.  A team that has matured into a winning unit is good for the future going forward and would be even better should the one or both of the openers stuck around.  Fulton and Rutherford  are the incumbents and they have been largely ineffectual since the England Home series last year.  Looking at their opening partnership one gets the feeling they have been missing in the team profile, especially as their opening average is weighted by that 158 at Dunedin. There is plenty of calls for the likes of Guptil to be reinstated but looking back 3 years of New Zealand Test cricket suggests he's not actually the answer.

But looking back the previous 3 years throws up some interesting retrospective analysis.  We need someone.  Rutherford needs to be persevered with, so who best to partner him?  Well there are two tours this year prior to the CWC 2015, one away to the Windies and another away to UAE versus Pakistan.  Dare NZC stick with Fulton/Rutherford for the Windies matches, and then drop Fulton if he doesn't fire and put Latham in versus Pakistan?  Yup baptism of fire but it has to be done sometime and when you have Achilles Heels stopping you getting an extra 40+ runs regularly at the top you need to make changes.

Anyway, the summary of runs scored as an opening partnership since 2011.  Flynn and Rutherford?

New Zealand Opening Partnerships since 2011.
Flynn/ Guptill 2011
97
47
86
1
231	Aggregate
57.75	Average
Guptill/Watling 2011
10
55
65	Aggregate
32.5	Average
Nicol/Guptill 2011
7
16
11
1
35	Aggregate
8.75	Average
McCullum/Guptill 2012
7
0
2
40
29
18
4
32
25
26
0
30
213	Aggregate
17.75	Average
Ruhterford/Fulton 2013/14
19
23
1
1
95
3
14
18
33
57
48
31
5
1
55
21
158
6
25
79
4
697	Aggregate
33.2	Average