BLACKCAPS In Africa - Doug!
Within the context of the BLACKCAPS African tour, bouncing back from a 1st ODI loss with a commanding 2nd ODI victory is exactly what we want to see from our youngish team. While being 1-1 with South Africa given the players we have missing would be a whole lot better in SA were at full-strength, we are seeing players stand up nonetheless which results in a strong team performance.
Last night's win started with a few interesting selections, selections that should have kiwi cricket fans excited as they showcase our depth at the moment. George Worker was given an opportunity after impressing in the T20 and he helped Martin Guptill lead the BLACKCAPS to victory with 20*. Worker replaced Mitchell Santner who was a stand-out performer in England, in this touring party, with Worker effectively a like-for-like replacement as he's a good batsmen who can also churn out a few reasonable overs of spin.
It remains to be seen whether Worker will A) play in the decider and B) perform in a semi-consistent manner but the mere fact that only a few months ago the BLACKCAPS blooded Santner and now find themselves doing the same with Worker, offers plenty to chirp about.
I am possibly Doug Bracewell's biggest fan, so seeing him back in the team and stepping up as our best bowler obviously had me feeling awfully smug today. There's something about Bracewell, I'm not exactly sure what it is but his natural out-swing gets me going and his reliance on swing means that he generally pitches the ball up and bowls straight. Doug picked up the big wicket of Rilee Rossouw as well as David Miller by having them caught at short-cover and mid-off as he attacked the stumps consistently.
Bracewell came in for Mitchell McClenaghan and I liked the look of this bowling attack as Bracewell was joined by Adam Milne and Ben Wheeler. Milne knocked the top off SA's line up as he dismissed both Hashim Amla and Morne Van Wyk in another strong showing from Milne while Wheeler went wicket-less but kept the pressure on SA's batsmen with some tight lines.
Could this be our strongest bowling attack? I like it and think these three lads should get the nod for the 3rd and final ODI. Wheeler and Bracewell are swing bowlers who are good enough to keep the ball in good areas if it isn't swinging while I don't see why Milne can't stand alone as the bully of the attack.
Mike Hesson also has a tough decision to make with Ish Sodhi, who was the BLACKCAPS' most expensive bowler but also had the ball turning sharply. Sodhi has played the 1st two ODIS and should be there for the 3rd, but Hesson could look to Nathan McCullum's experience. In a vacuum of winning the series, you could argue that McCullum's tight off-spin should be selected but Sodhi's selection is more about the future and he needs to be playing big games now.
Kane Williamson aside, Martin Guptill is our best batsmen so his century comes as no surprise. I don't want to overlook Guppy's knock as it was awesome to see him continue to lead the way and set up the win, but we also need to appreciate Tom Latham who has also enjoyed a nice time in Africa.
Three ODIs in Zimbabwe saw Latham hit one century and he's now scored back to back 60's in the two ODIs against SA. I have wanted Latham to open in ODIs for a while now but with Brendon McCullum doing the job as skipper, Latham has had to wait his turn and is now showing what he can offer to this team as an opener. Latham has the technique to put a hefty price on his wicket as he knows which deliveries to defend and which ones to leave, but if you as the bowler miss your assignment slightly, Latham is also good enough to make you pay. Half of Latham's boundaries came between cover and third man which I see as being his meat and drink - bowlers who are slightly wide of that dangerous off/just outside off stump line will see the ball cut or driven to the boundary.
Once again, I'll look at this in a vacuum and with the bigger picture in mind. Inside the vacuum, we have two openers who are in-form ahead of the final ODI, which is always a big game with the series on the line. We rarely see the BLACKCAPS with reliable openers, so it's hard not to be loving the work of Guppy and Latham right now.
The bigger picture suggests that Latham could be putting pressure on Brendon McCullum's position as an opener. There's no need to beat around the bush - McCullum is a pinch hitter who will attack and if it works, it works, if not then Kane Williamson comes to the crease and tries to set the innings up. That's always a gamble, but Latham offers a safe option as he's someone who will pick his moments to attack and if the new-ball is proving to be a handful, Latham can rely on his Test cricket nous to survive.
That would mean that McCullum has to find a position lower down the order. I wouldn't mind seeing McCullum step in for Grant Elliott at some stage, should Elliott continue to struggle. But that's all looking off into the distance, we've got a series to win.
To win that series, I believe Mike Hesson has to bring Jimmy Neesham in for Colin Munro. The alternative would be to drop Worker and push Munro up the order, but Munro hasn't done much in Africa and a like-for-like swap with Neesham would keep this team nicely balanced.
The team I would select (Guppy, Latham, Williamson, Worker, Elliott, Neesham, Ronchi, Bracewell, Wheeler, Milne and Sodhi) would benefit greatly from playing a series-decider against a very decent South African side. It would also have kiwi cricket fans excited about the future of the BLACKCAPS.