It surprises me that Australia continue to struggle in their search for a quality spin-bowler after the retirement of Shane Warne (4 years of searching no less) and it's also surprising that Nathan Hauritz is the best they have found so far. To say that New Zealand cricket is walking down a similar path of futility with it's national wicket keeper role is slightly exaggerated (particularly given the continued existence of Brendon McCullum's playing contract as opposed to Warne's which is mostly definitely finished -ignoring the cries for his return this summer of course) but perhaps equally as mystifying given the apparent competition for that spot in 2003/4 when McCullum first got the role and then again throughout the last 7 seasons. Although not a huge concern to me, this topic has become a hot one for discussion among my peers so this blog entry was requested (of course any requests in the future will be answered at some point or other)
When it was finally decided that Brendon McCullum would give up the keeping gloves in Test cricket to prolong his career we suddenly had no definite answer to the obvious question of who would wear them in his place. Gareth Hopkins has often been his understudy but at this point he is 34 years old and looking ever more the elderly, as opposed to veteran, cricketer with poor performances in the sub-continent last year. Hopkins is of Auckland so if not him the corollary question becomes, from which other province do you pluck a keeper from obscurity and force into the role that was so frustratingly left absent by an aging (29) McCullum?
Well from top to bottom we have:
- (ND) Peter McGlashan (31 years old) a favourite of mine for the simple reason that he appears to be a thinking- keeper with his work on the gear he uses but in terms of technique (perhaps both batting and keeping) he seems to be type-cast into the 2020 form of the game; his flicks and reverse-sweep-for-six are good fun in that form but would not stand up to the scrutiny of pure cricket
- (AUK) Gareth Hopkins (34 years old) really his age is reason enough to end this experiment - even if he were a very good keeper and competent batsmen I would worry about picking him
- (CD) Kruger Van Wyk (31) from what I have seen of this wicket-keeper-batsman he appears to have similar attributes to McGlashan above although there appears to be less frenetic energy in his game (likely due to his other role as captain of his side). If he were picked (when he is finally eligible to play for NZ) he could also fill the role of captain soon to be vacated by Daniel Vettori - although wasn't this plan tried before...
- (CD) there is also Timothy Weston (28) who averages 40 in first class cricket but has limited keeping experience at that level
- (WEL) Christopher Nevin (96?) do I have to repeat my arguments against Hopkins here? I realise he was recalled to Wellington this season but that makes him good enough for them - not difficult at the moment
- (WEL) Joseph Austin-smellie (21) too wet behind the ears I'm afraid
- (CAN) Reece Young (31) made his test debut and maiden test fifty against Pakistan this summer and looks good enough to remain in the role for now. His is a story of being a what the English call a county pro - competent and hard-working but never likely to dazzle anybody; skills the team welcomes at this point
- (OTA) Derek de Boorder (25) with a first class average of 35 he could be good mix of youth and some apparent batting skill. His citing of Adam Parore as his mentor and influence is a good sign too. He could be a good choice when Young moves inevitably from low-30s to late-30s and the retirement that comes with it
The other point worth discussing now would be the bizarre decision to use Jamie How as a back-up keeper during the World Cup. Just to clarify, by 'bizarre' I mean 'insulting' and by 'back-up keeper' I mean 'person to stand there and look the part at least until the first edge flies his way.' I can just imagine Justin Vaughan about to begin the press conference to name the squad and suddenly realising they didn't pick another keeper, at which point he ducked his head into the changing room and yelled 'hey can any of you boys keep?' The only question I have at this point is, if we have to pick a non-keeper for this role and have them really there to bat in the top-order, why not pick Lou Vincent a proven batsman at this level and keeper on the side (not to mention a brilliant ground-fielder). He is also in fantastic form in the domestic List-A games
So even though wicket keeper selection has has a Xavier-Doherty feeling about it lately, there is something to work with amongst the domestic ranks. If that doesn't work I know an individual who has kept to my deliveries over the years who would have my recommendation (not a bad 6 hitter either)
NEWS
- Tim Southee was reported to have got into trouble with a woman at a bar (yes that old story) during the flight to Dubai this week. Although first rumours had him channeling some of Shane Warne's best off-field moments, the official story includes nothing more than a kiss on the cheek by a rather drunk passenger
- Pakistan players Butt, Asif and Amir were banned this week for 10, 7 and 5 years respectively. I felt that life-bans were in order for the first two and quite possible for Amir but at least this is something (not to mention the ban is from ALL cricket so their careers could effectively be over anyway). The worst part to this conclusion is the hiring of Butt by a Pakistan TV station for the World Cup - a disgusting ploy for ratings and nothing more
- Wellington Cricket have ended their relationship with coach Anthony Stewart after no domestic titles were won under his tenure
- Shane Watson was awarded the Allan Border Medal this week - my how that team has fallen
- It was announced today that former England all-rounder Trevor Bailey died at age 87 in a fire. He played 61 tests between 1949 and 1959 for 2290 runs and 134 wickets, he also had a successful career for Essex before joining Test Match Special
RECENT RESULTS
- Australia pulled off a 6-1 victory during the ODI series against England just to make sure we don't write them off completely for the World Cup
- New Zealand constructed an encouraging win in Auckland to finish their series with Pakistan at 2-3 after Jesse Ryder's second ODI century. An encouraging sign was Nathan McCullum's two fifties at the end of this series which may finally mark the coming-of-age of this talented limited-overs player
ARTICLE OF INTEREST
This talks of the Tim Southee 'incident' and although within it's paragraphs it is quite clear that nothing happened the whole thing reeks of desperation by a paper tailored to conservative old people. You will notice the title which doesn't really make sense given the facts and the graphic of Tim Southee with a hooded jacket - picture if you will the elderly couple enjoying a bit of youth bashing while reading this - and you get the impression of a feeble news outfit trying to remain relevant by catering to the demographic that is on it's last leg
This piece of NZ Herald garbage is little better than the hiring of Salman Butt by that TV station (at least done for the same reasons). If you think that's false equivalence then notice the part at the end where they mention other in-flight mischief as if they are all part of a rich tapestry
SLEDGE OF THE WEEK
The NZ bowlers seem to have picked up on the idea that they need to be more aggressive in pace and in attitude while bowling - Southee and Franklin in particular. Well they have a way to go before they match the king Fred Trueman.
An edge off Trueman's bowling went to slip and through the legs of Raman Subba Row, at the end of the over this famous exchange was produced
"Sorry Fred, i should've kept my legs together"
"Not you, son. Your mother should've"
Well that's it from here and i hope you join me again
It's good bye for now
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