blackcaps REVIEWED

Those newly disease free Kiwis at Sportsfreak take a long hard look at their boys against the Windies.

Reviewing the West Indies was reasonably easy; they fit nicely into 3 distinct groups. Rating the New Zealand players is not so straight forward. With eh exception of SINCLAIR, everyone did something decent, without owning it.

So we’ll do it in some kind of rough batting order.

The one constant in the test opening partnership over the last year has been JAMIE HOW. He’s had a revolving door at the other end; BELL, REDMOND and MCINTOSH, but there’s always been HOW.

But they’ve done his head in; he’s lacking confidence, he’s pushing at it too hard and he still has yet to register a test century. The only time he looked comfortable was in the aborted run chase in the Napier test. The perennial itch of openers still remains.

Then out of the backblocks of Auckland along came MCINTOSH and GUPTILL, and suddenly NZ has a couple of openers with international centuries in their first couple of matches. Both showed maturity and composure when it mattered, and openers scoring centuries is not something to be sniffed at.

But it’s a funny game; both innings featured dropped sitters early on, and the cameo appearance of SINCLAIR towards the end of the ODI series proved that flashy starts do not guarantee long careers.

In the tests FLYNN was really solid, and added to the strange rock-like look about the top order. But, really, just leave him in the test side for the time being. He is not an ODI, let alone a T20, player at the moment. He does not look comfortable having to play shots in his first hour at the crease, and in the last ODI he tore down his reputation for being able to keep his head.

RYDER’S series looks like it will be remembered for the fact that he missed a team meeting. But don’t forget his consistency in the test series. 3 innings and 3 scores of 50+; a series average of over 100, he looked the business.

Part of the reason he looked the business was that he was batting in his right place. In years to come people will look at the scorecards from the Australian tour and wonder why RYDER and FLYNN were batting the wrong way around. A fitting headstone on the Bracewell grave.

TAYLOR never got into the test series, but restored faith with his ODI performances. If he can continue to play himself in before reaching for the axe he’ll be able to build that consistency that he’s capable of. Well done ANDY MOLES.

It’s easy to forget, but ORAM was picked for the test series. He pulled out. He played in the T20 matches, and made it half way through the ODI series before breaking again. Should be fit again by April.

STYRIS played half a T20 game as well. Not many people know that.

So onto MCCULLUM. Once again a frustrating series; only one score of 50, and that was in the T20 series, where he had the highest Strike Rate; something that will be noted. Elsewhere he seemed to be confused as to how he should play. Has anyone ever mentioned how he’s yet to get an international ton against a decent side?

VETTORI was kept busy over the month; juggling bowling commitments and increasingly testy captain’s interviews throughout. In the ODIs he was treated like he was bowling hand grenades. In the tests he bowled well but, once again, was unable to make a significant contribution in the 2nd innings of a test at Napier. That monkey on his back is now a medium sized gorilla.

KYLE MILLS is in danger of appearing to be doing a bit of a STYRIS with his career, without the Burning Bridges bit. Consistently the best quick bowler with the white ball, in the tests he conveyed the impression of being pretty disinterested. 6 overs out of 145 in the 2nd innings at Napier said it perfectly.

In contrast, Santa Hat IAIN O’BLOGGER kept on going in the test series, and was rewarded with the 6 wicket bag in Napier. The 32 year-old career turnaround was the NZ story of 2008. Surely he will now get to ply his into-the-wind speciality on the tour to Australia, and should prove very useful against India; especially if the weather gets ugly.

FRANKLIN played in both the tests; but he was clearly rushed back way too early from his knee surgery. EWAN THOMPSON got a debut in a T20 game, but the phones from India have yet to ring off the wall.

The way TIM SOUTHEE is being treated continues to confuse. Out of the tests, got to bowl at the death in the T20s, alternated opening the bowling and being first change without ever really settling into a rhythm. Strange that.

It was a good series for JEETAN PATEL. Brought on early to good effect in both innings in Napier; he worked out how to get Chanderpaul out early, and ended up with a breakthrough 5WI in a test. Consistently bowled well in the ODIs when the ball was dry, and even got a day off in the Auckland match when they thought it was funny to have RYDER carry the drinks.

So no-one really disgraced themselves and there are some promising signs. Now we just need a decent dry series to judge how much of the previous regime’s damage is starting to be unravelled.

Visit Sportsfreak, it's the "bad taste" of sport sites.

cricketwithballs

www.cricketwithballs.com... We are that type of boot