NEW ZEALAND vs ZIMBABWE SERIES (1 Test, 3 ODIs, 2 T20)

stmookeyj

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When discussing the history between New Zealand and Zimbabwe, it normally relates to parliamentary sanctions and the refusal to back the Mugabe regime. Combine this with the ultra rapid decline in Zimbabwe cricket, and we can see why that this is the first time since the 2000/2001 summer that the men from Africa have taken a trip across the ditch. We all know that last time these sides met in Zimbabwe, the MIB (Men In Black -> what I call New Zealand teams) narrowly escaped with a 34 run win in the one off test match despite a bold effort from Brendan Taylor, and took a 2-1 series win in the 50 over matches.


SERIES SCHEDULE

ONE OFF TEST:
McLean Park, Napier, 26-30 Jan
1st ODI: University Oval, Dunedin, 3 Feb
2nd ODI: Cobham Oval, Whangarei, 6 Feb
3rd ODI: McLean Park, Napier, 9 Feb D/N
1st T20: Eden Park, Auckland, 11 Feb
2nd T20: Seddon Park, Hamilton, 14 Feb


The tourists have completed a glorified net practice (13 a side) against a NZ XIII in Gisborne, which served a purpose for a few NZ players given they've only had their 20 over comp since their Hobart heroics. A few NZ players that are in the mix for a game in any of the matches on the tour such as Ross Taylor, Dan Vettori and Chris Martin made an appearance.

The NZ squad for the test match is a squad of 13. The young wicketkeeper Reece Young, best remembered for copping one in the gob in Brisbane, has been dropped and Jesse Ryder has torn a calf and neither have been considered. The keeper spot appears to be between BJ Watling and Kruger Van Wyk, although if the tour game is to be considered Watling took the gloves. Both contributed in different innings with the bat so a decision may be made shortly. Vettori is back after a back injury, so he's expected to come straight into the XI with one of the quicks expected to make way. In the wake of the match in Gisborne, Otago all-rounder Sam Wells has been added to the squad to make it 13. His inclusion according to coach John Wright gives a little more balance, but whether he makes the final XI remains to be seen.

Zimbabwe have brought over 16 players for the tour. The most obvious change from their last meeting is that Vusi Sibanda has taken up a club contract in Australia and thus was ruled ineligible for selection. In his place comes the 'experienced' Stuart Matsikenyeri, who much like a number of players in Zimbabwe hasn't appeared since 2005 in the whites and not at all in the national setup since 2010. For what it's worth given he didn't appear in the warm up game he won't be playing, with captain Taylor (who's a certainty) and Prosper Utseya (unlikely to play with 2 other spinners in the squad) the others in the party left out.

Pitch in Napier is expected to be a greentop, so pace heavy attacks may be the order of the day. Rain is expected to ruin Day 2, which is on Friday, otherwise fine conditions are forecast. Temperatures comfortable in the mid 20's. They were toying with the idea of a Day/Night test match for a while, but those plans quietly went away and it's a conventional daytime test match.

Umpires for the test match are Rodney Tucker and Enamul Haque Moni, who becomes the first Bangladesh umpire to control a Test Match outside his home country. Nigel Llong is up in the booth, I believe DRS is in operation for this match but don't quote me on it in case it isn't. TV Coverage on FOX 3 from 8AM on Australia Day, and radiosport.co.nz has radio coverage.


TEST MATCH SQUADS

NEW ZEALAND: Ross TAYLOR (C), Trent BOULT, Doug BRACEWELL, Dean BROWNLIE, Martin GUPTILL, Brendon McCULLUM, Chris MARTIN, Tim SOUTHEE, Kruger VAN WYK, Daniel VETTORI, BJ WATLING, Sam WELLS, Kane WILLIAMSON

ZIMBABWE: Brendan TAYLOR (C), Regis CHAKABVA, Elton CHIGUMBURA, Graeme CREMER, Kyle JARVIS, Hamilton MASAKADZA, Shingi MASAKADZA, Stuart MATSIKENYERI, Tino MAWOYO, Keegan METH, Forster MUTIZWA, Ray PRICE, Tatenda TAIBU, Prosper UTSEYA, Brian VITORI, Malcolm WALLER
 

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Cotchin 9

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#2
Hopefully Vettori rips them apart with both bat & ball. Also, Ryder injured, again?!
 

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#7
Such a big summer of cricket in New Zealand. Zimbabwe as the main drawcard...

Given I was in New Zealand the past two weeks, it's fair to say that they are concentrating on the South African series that is on after this small one.

I went to the T20 game at McLean Park Saturday week ago between Centrals and Northern. Napier's a lovely place, the ground is a little odd. I'm fairly certain it's the only Test venue in the world that has sofa's basically on the boundary line.













 
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#8
Yeh its very much a case of get this series wrapped up quickly and move onto the South Africans. But who knows. The test in Zimbabwe in October (or was it November?) was only won by a mere 30 runs, so perhaps we're in for a battle here....To say a greentop is expected might be a little inaccurate. All reports point to just a bit of greeness, which is odd considering McLean Park is usually a tarmac-like surface. I recall a test against India a few years ago where we hit 650/5 declared or something like that. Really hoping van Wyk gets the nod for gloveman over Watling however. Superior Plunket Shield average and is a full time keeper, unlike Watling. Hopefully Brownlie can put together a mammoth score too. Williamson, however, NEEDS a big score.
 

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DrVanNostrand

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#13
Despite the reports, I doubt it will be a green-top. Napier has always been the flattest track in NZ and I don't expect that to change. And with these batting line-ups, a bit of juice in the pitch could see the match over in two days.

Picking Kruger van Wyk in the squad is a step backward for NZ cricket. He's almost 32, lived and played first class cricket in South Africa until a few years ago and moved to NZ purely for international cricketing purposes. Exact same situation to Trott/KP in England. I REALLY hope he doesn't play.

If they were desperate to drop Young (which I think is a harsh call) then Dereck de Boorder would have been the best choice. BJ Watling is a part-time keeper at best. Wells is another bizarre choice, but is no chance of playing.

My NZ side would be: Guptill, McCullum, Williamson, Taylor, Brownlie, Vettori, Watling, Bracewell, Boult, Southee, Martin.

I hope NZ can get a good win here before South Africa come and tear us to shreds.
 

The Passenger

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#14
interesting inclusion of that sam wells. hardly a stellar career, or season thus far... seems like the typical half arsed all rounder that new zealand are infamous for picking in test teams.

but they are in the same position as us. no first class cricket through january. in fact i think i just read feb 17 is when the next round of plunkett shield games are.

they're bowling is well on the way to being word class. bracewell and boult are quality. southee has all the attribute's but just not the mental application yet.
 
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#15
Picking Kruger van Wyk in the squad is a step backward for NZ cricket. He's almost 32, lived and played first class cricket in South Africa until a few years ago and moved to NZ purely for international cricketing purposes. Exact same situation to Trott/KP in England. I REALLY hope he doesn't play.

If they were desperate to drop Young (which I think is a harsh call) then Dereck de Boorder would have been the best choice. BJ Watling is a part-time keeper at best. Wells is another bizarre choice, but is no chance of playing.
Watling is, at best, a step sidewards.

The selectors don't seem to mind picking imports. They appear to want a genuine batsman who also keeps whose name isn't Brendon McCullum - which leaves me baffled as to why Watling is the favourite, considering van Wyk's (and Boorder's) superior record and experience.
 

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#16
Agreed. Absolutely bizarre considering Vettori and Bracewell can easily bat at 7 and 8, so the keeper should be picked on keeping alone.

I thought Young was doing a good job without doing a great job (the Clarke drop in Brisbane for example). The whole McCullum episode has been a nightmare. As an opener, he's ordinary. As a keeper/batsman at no.7, he's world class.
 
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#17
Meh. If the imports are good enough and deserve to be there, throw them in the side. I couldn't care whether they're from Adelaide or Alexandra. As long as they give their all for New Zealand when they're out there.

interesting inclusion of that sam wells. hardly a stellar career, or season thus far... seems like the typical half arsed all rounder that new zealand are infamous for picking in test teams.
I think it's more of a John Wright hunch. Doug Bracewell and Dean Brownlie had far from outstanding records at Plunket Shield level, but both found theirselves named in the test side and are making a half decent go of it so far.....

they're bowling is well on the way to being word class. bracewell and boult are quality. southee has all the attribute's but just not the mental application yet.
Keep on the lookout for Adam Milne, whos kinda like our Pat Cummins, except possibly faster (clocked at 155kmh against Pakistan last season). One worry with him is that he has a Bond-like action, so hopefully he can avoid the back problems. The kid is an absolute beanpole, so hopefully he fills out a bit and can add a bit more pace. This could well be Chris Martin's last season, so I can see him taking the great man's place after this summer.
I initially had reservations about Doug Bracewells inclusion but I've never been happier to be made to look stupid. Boult's coming along nicely. Another import, Neil Wagner has cleaned up in the Plunket Shield in his three seasons here (or is it four?) and will likely get a look in come eligibility in April. Canterbury have a speedster, Matt Henry, who has taken 28 wickets in 6 games of Plunket Shield cricket, including three hauls of five. In the spinners ranks, an Indian-born, Tarun Nethula is by far the country's premier legspinner and is already in the selection frame, playing in the Zimbabwe tour match, and Nathan McCullum is now looking like the favoured second finger spinner option ahead of Jeetan Patel. No problems in the bowling ranks (as long as Brent Arnel doesn't ever get within a ten foot pole of selection ever again), its the batsmen that need to sort themselves out.....
 

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#18
Keep on the lookout for Adam Milne, whos kinda like our Pat Cummins, except possibly faster (clocked at 155kmh against Pakistan last season). One worry with him is that he has a Bond-like action, so hopefully he can avoid the back problems. The kid is an absolute beanpole, so hopefully he fills out a bit and can add a bit more pace. This could well be Chris Martin's last season, so I can see him taking the great man's place after this summer.
I initially had reservations about Doug Bracewells inclusion but I've never been happier to be made to look stupid. Boult's coming along nicely. Another import, Neil Wagner has cleaned up in the Plunket Shield in his three seasons here (or is it four?) and will likely get a look in come eligibility in April. Canterbury have a speedster, Matt Henry, who has taken 28 wickets in 6 games of Plunket Shield cricket, including three hauls of five. In the spinners ranks, an Indian-born, Tarun Nethula is by far the country's premier legspinner and is already in the selection frame, playing in the Zimbabwe tour match, and Nathan McCullum is now looking like the favoured second finger spinner option ahead of Jeetan Patel. No problems in the bowling ranks (as long as Brent Arnel doesn't ever get within a ten foot pole of selection ever again), its the batsmen that need to sort themselves out.....
Milne's action resembled Bond's to a tee when I saw him play those two T20 games against Pakistan. He went the journey, but is definetly a real prospect. Decent FC record as well. Hopefully the action doesn't cause him any injury because it's a wonderful action to watch.

This SHOULD definetly be Martin's last season. With all the fast-bowling talent around and in the aftermath of the Hobart match (where he was excellent), Boult and Bracewell especially need an extended run in the side. Martin's brought up the 200, so probably time to move aside. He'll probably play Plunket Shield until he's 50.

I haven't seen any of Nethula, so I'd be interested if you have any opinions on his bowling and how close he is to becoming the 2nd choice spinner. Is he a flight & turn bowler like Warne/MacGill or more of a skiddy/flat leggie like Kumble/Afridi? Nathan McCullum surely can't be anywhere near the Test side, now or ever.

As for Wagner, yes his record is fanastic, but I'm against it. I'm sure there's plenty like yourself who disagree, but that's just how I feel. But at least he's someone who could actually make the side better - unlike Grant Elliot.
 
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#20
I haven't seen any of Nethula, so I'd be interested if you have any opinions on his bowling and how close he is to becoming the 2nd choice spinner. Is he a flight & turn bowler like Warne/MacGill or more of a skiddy/flat leggie like Kumble/Afridi? Nathan McCullum surely can't be anywhere near the Test side, now or ever.
You a Kiwi mate? Erm, I'd say Nethula tends to be a skiddier leggie, but hes not afraid to toss it up. I've only seen him in a few Twenty20 games playing for Central (he did alright in the HRV Cup, was 5th on wicket takers list or thereabouts...), but hes been around for a while and moved from Auckland because of a lack of opportunity he was getting there. I don't know about near the test side, but Nathan McCullum would have to be the favoured fingerspinner over Patel, whos played what, 20 tests and averages about 50 with the ball. But even so, McCullum would probably be playing a role similar to what Sam Wells would if put in the side, so hes still a bit off in that respect.
 

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#22
Gotta love the non-PC approach from the kiwi commentators...Simon Doull commenting on Brian Vitori's action (he chucks his bouncer): "Of course the law was changed to allow Murali to continue to play."

Good start from NZ, especially before lunch, not losing a wicket on what started out as a very green pitch. McCulllum could make a big one here, now that the pitch has settled down and the bowling isn't great.
 

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#23
Gave Cremer a big wrap up to my brother before proceeding to bowl a handful of long hops and go for 17 off the over. *sigh*
 

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#25
Looks like a fairly decent batting track with a bit in it for the bowlers as well.

For Zim to have any chance they need to roll NZ cheaply tomorrow morning and then see off the new ball at most relatively unscathed.
If they can do those two things I reckon the pitch will be a cracker to bat on.

Glad I get to watch on Fox Sports as well. :thumbsu:
 
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