New Slate, New Players

[Paoli]

New Zealand Craig Cumming, Lou Vincent, Stephen Fleming (capt), Nathan Astle, Craig McMillan, Hamish Marshall, Brendon McCullum, Daniel Vettori, James Franklin, Chris Martin, Iain O'Brien, Paul Wiseman.

Whatever Franklin is doing I don't know. Going in minus Sinclair is a risk, and to think that Tuffey hasnt been called up is loudoucris.

[Zainub]

Thank God NZ have dropped Jeff Wilson, it was all getting a bit embarassing, not only for him, but everyone. Does anyone have any idea when Jacob Oram will be back, it is far too obvious to me that NZ don't have anything close to even a half decent replacement for a man arguably one of the most talented all rounders in the world.

Othewise good to see Lou Vincent back in the fold. Hopefully this time he'll make a better use of his opportunity than he did before.

[Mr Kiwi]

lou vincent makes me very nervous - i can't help remembering how crap he was, but he's been playing very well in domestic lately and is easily the best of the rest (not that that's saying too much). hopefully he proves me wrong and re-starts a successful career

franklin should never have been out of hte team and should have played the ODIs, good to see new blood in o'brien but he'll probably get spanked. sinclair has been well out of sorts lately and marshall has been the only batsman to compete against the aussies so far

fair point about oram, there is no other all rounder to speak of in NZ at the moment - some would argue franklin is a bowling all rounder but he's a wee way off that yet

tuffey i think will be given a chance to 'find himself' with a few domestic games before being recalled for the 2nd and/or 3rd tests

[Zainub]

fair point about oram, there is no other all rounder to speak of in NZ at the moment - some would argue franklin is a bowling all rounder but he's a wee way off that yet

Its a bit harsh I think to say Oram is the only NZ all rounder to speak of, one should in my humble opinion classify Daniel Vettori as an all rounder. What I meant was that NZ don't have a replacement for Jacob Oram, he was some one you could give the new ball to, excpect to bat well anywhere from the middle to lower order, and do reasonably well in the field as well, the replacements they have brought for him just haven't been on the same level, as a bowler alone, let alone batsmen. What happened by Kyle Mills? I think he seemed a better option then Franklin with the bowl, and was certainly a capable bat too, or at least from the one innings I saw him play vs Aus in the Chapple Hadlee series 2nd game.

And you're soo right about Lou Vincent, he's just one of those guys I think whose got so much potential perhaps even he him self doesn't realise. He's an excellent fielder as well, and when he gets going with the bat (he made a 100 on debut vs Aus in Aus) he can be good. Over all if he can get some consistency into his game, he'd be a very good addition to the NZ side.

[acker]

Why cant someone have a word to Chris Cairns about coming back as a number "6" batsmen , and only to be used sparingly in 3-4 over spurts as a bowler.

[Paoli]

Bracewell requested Cairns be back..No thanks, said CL Cairns.

[Zainub]

If I was Chris Cairns I would have done the same, Paoli. NZ have got to find other ways of looking to sort our their problems, requesting people to come back from retirements is not the answer for them I'm afraid.

[acker]

Originally Posted by Paoli69

Bracewell requested Cairns be back..No thanks, said CL Cairns.

Thats very bad for Kiwi cricket and my personal opinion of CL Cairns which is now lower having read "Paoli's" comment.

[Mr Kiwi]

bad for nz cricket - possibly - it's debateable whether cairns would make much difference on his current form

in cairns personal defence though i think he turned braces down because he still wants to be able to walk in five years time

AND - i've just noticed that tama canning has been brought into the squad for the 5th ODI. he's one to watch i reckon - over time at least. he could go well though he was born in aus so maybe it will rub off (just like it did for 'skippy' sinclair . . .)

tamahau karangatukituki canning - born in aus . . .

[Zainub]

tamahau karangatukituki canning

Gee that's a difficult name