No. Right you are -we've got to go with Todd based on that, experience or not. So the final squad is:

Redmond, McIntosh
Ryder, Hay, Flynn, Todd
Griggs, Watling
Patel, N.McCullum
Hiini, Southee, Gillespie, McKay

With the final XI being:

Redmond (7)
McIntosh / Watling
Ryder (6)
Hay
Flynn
Griggs
Hiini (4)
Southee (1)
McCullum/Patel (5)
Gillespie (2)
McKay (3)

or...

Redmond (6)
McIntosh / Watling
Ryder (5)
Hay
Flynn
Todd
Griggs
Hiini (3)
Southee (1)
McCullum/Patel (4)
Gillespie (2)

Hmmm... Tough to make an ideal first XI. Team A has a pretty long tail, but plenty of bowling whilst Team B has a very deep batting line up but might be lacking in a bit of bowling??

It's a tricky one Andy, ideally we need an allrounder at 6 in the Cairns/Oram mould.
The only player around the traps at the moment who suits that is Grant Elliot. I just checked his stats and he averages 47.5 this season with the bat although 40% of those runs are his 196* last week so the figure is inflated. Plus he's not a strike bowler by any means - just thinking outside the square.

I think team B has enough bowling strength if you think Southee and Gillespie are reliable enough. And it bats down to eight with Southee capable of a cameo.
What do you think of McCullum at six? I think Todd's the better bat but McCullum offers a bowling option.

I don't think McCullum's a number six. However, Hiini has shown plenty of ability to bat at seven, and McCullum could probably bat there too. You could see an Ideal XI that lines up:

Redmond (7)
McIntosh / Watling
Ryder (6)
Hay
Flynn
Griggs/Watling (+)
Hiini (4)
McCullum (5)
Southee (1)
Gillespie (2)
McKay (3)

That's still a decent batting line up, but the bowling unit looks very strong now. Watling has to be considered more closely with this line up as he's a proper top six batsman whilst Griggs would be purely makeshift in this role.

I haven't seen Watlign play, have you? Is there much difference between their keeping abilities?

I guess Patel comes in for McKay when conditions warrant a second spinner.

If Griggs isn't outstandingly superior to Watling in terms of keeping ability how do you feel about:

Redmond
Watling
Ryder
Hay
Flynn
Todd
Hiini
McCullum
Southee
Gillespie
McKay/Patel (based on conditions)

*although I'm not convinced Watling is a better opener than McIntosh, but for the balance of the side.

Hmmm... An interesting side. Certainly an option for a 'test match' type scenario, but you wouldn't open with Watling in a one-dayer. He's a bit slow for that. Griggs is definately a better keeper from what I've seen, but Watling provides a few extra options (such as yours) for team balance.

I thought we were picking a test side.

For arguments sake Watling has an average this season of 424 @ 30.28, Griggs has 276 at 21.23 so he's had a poor second half of the season. McIntosh has 549 at 42.23 though.
I think we should pick Watling.

On that basis though, I think McIntosh probably stays as opener, with Watling as keeper-batsman at six and Griggs as keeping reserve?

Redmond (7)
McIntosh
Ryder (6)
Hay
Flynn
Watling (+)
Hiini (4)
McCullum (5)
Southee (1)
Gillespie (2)
McKay (3)

or:

Redmond (6)
McIntosh
Ryder (4)
Hay
Flynn
Todd
Watling (+)
Hiini (3)
McCullum (5)
Southee (1)
Gillespie (2)

This is my problem with McIntosh - half his runs have come in one innings... He did the same last year. It seems when he scores a hundy, he scores big - but he rarely scores a hundy. A bit like a non-fifty scoring Stephen Fleming??

I wonder what McIntosh's average would be without that innings? It's a bit of a pickle really trying to balance this side out.