Selectors now have sights on Chapman
Mark Chapman’s compelling form will be a hot discussion topic for New Zealand’s cricket selectors tomorrow, as coach Mike Hesson backs Kane Williamson to remain at No 3 in the Twenty20 team.
Hesson and co-selector Gavin Larsen plan to announce their squad on Thursday for the next three tri-series internationals at home, starting with England in Wellington next Tuesday night.
Discussions will carry an extra edge after New Zealand slumped to a third straight defeat, by seven wickets to Australia in Sydney on Saturday after posting an inadequate total of 117-9.
‘‘We’ll have a reset and see what our best side is for the next three games. The last few games we haven’t played as well as we can, and not just with the bat,’’ Hesson said.
‘‘In Sydney it wasn’t our best performance with the bat but we won’t be making wholesale changes. We also won’t be ignoring performances over a period of time as well.’’
Segue to Chapman, the Auckland left-hander and
19-time T20 international for Hong
Kong who on recent form cannot be overlooked much longer.
On Sunday the
23-year-old hit 117 off
104 balls in Auckland’s Ford Trophy win over Wellington at the Basin Reserve, and is clearly the 50-over competition’s leading runscorer with 392 runs at 98. He can make a further selection bid against Canterbury in Christchurch on Wednesday.
In the T20 Super Smash, Chapman was fourth on the run charts with 307 at an average of 34. His strike rate of 172 was the best of the top-15 runscorers.
‘‘He’ll certainly be discussed, absolutely. He was discussed for the last couple of series, and I thought he played really nicely [on Sunday]. Mark will come into consideration,’’ Hesson said.
Chapman would most likely replace Anaru Kitchen in the squad and challenge Tom Bruce for a place in the starting XI, in the top-five at Westpac Stadium.
That top-five hasn’t fired in their dual losses to Pakistan, both times chasing, and on a tricky SCG pitch batting first against a brutal opening spell from big Billy Stanlake.
Captain Williamson scored 0, 9 and 8 in that losing streak, the latter innings spanning a painful 21 balls on Saturday. But Hesson insisted the Martin Guptill, Colin Munro and Williamson top-three would remain in that order, after injury ruled out both Williamson and Munro for one game each against Pakistan.
‘‘It was two or three games ago Colin and Martin were tearing our opposition apart. They complement each other really well.
‘‘Three into two doesn’t go, and Kane is ideally suited more at the top but so are the other two. Three is a shift but not a massive one.
‘‘Kane’s a fine T20 player all around the world. He’s had a few misses and that’s T20 cricket. We know he’s a quality player and he’ll hit a couple out of the screws in the next game and he’ll be away.
‘‘I’ve got no issues that Kane will come right very quickly.’’
Hesson said they tweaked the order in every T20 game depending on the situation. Colin de Grandhomme (38 off 24) looked their best player in Sydney but arrived very late at No 7. Hesson said at a shaky 34-4 in the eighth over Tom Blundell was elevated to face the quicks so de Grandhomme could attack the spinners later.
Outplayed in all facets by Australia, where they’ve struggled badly in recent years, New Zealand will get a boost from returning home to face England in Wellington and Hamilton, and Australia at Eden Park on February 16.
Hesson said batting wasn’t solely to blame in their three straight defeats and was disappointed his side had been off their game in all three.
‘‘It’s T20 cricket and we’ve won quite a few like that when we’ve been on. Sometimes the opposition plays better than you. We found conditions very tough in Sydney and struggled to get that momentum and our total was never going to be enough.’’