A Question of Loyalty and Belief

blog for documenting my thoughts on the new zealand cricket team

[blackcaps-thoughts]

[blackcaps-thoughts]

I kinda reject the assertion that we shouldn’t have picked Michael Bracewell for the test series because he’s not a “test-quality player”. Just because he might not be a genuine “test” all-rounder doesn’t mean he wasn’t the best option for that particular role at that particular time. The reality is that there are going to plenty of times when we are going to have to pick players that aren’t “test-quality” because we just don’t have the depth. I think Colin de Grandhomme was the only genuine test all-rounder we had. You could make the argument that we should be investing in picking players that might not be “test-quality” at the moment, but could be in the future, and that’s all well and good, but you need to come up with a few candidates. All I know is that there is no way Glenn Phillips is bowling the amount of overs that Bracewell ending up bowling in that series.

That being said, I had a feeling that the ODI format would be the one that Bracewell proved to be most valuable in, and it seems I could be right. If he can regularly get through 10 overs and also make contributions at No. 7, then that is a very valuable player right there. He seems to have morphed from a top-order batter who can bowl a bit into a bowling all-rounder in about 9 months. 

[blackcaps-thoughts]

NZvsNED 2nd ODI: Latham is King

However disappointed I was in Latham how he let us down with his batting performances in the home tests this summer, he is still so important.

He once again proves he is one of the most valuable players in NZ cricket at the moment, coming in when we were in massive trouble and almost single-handedly taking us to a competitive total, a true captain’s knock. Really fantastic innings to watch. He often comes to mind as a gritty test opener, so it’s great to have him reminding what a classy white-ball batter he can be.