Black Caps changes inevitable
Cricket writer Mark Geenty dons a selector’s hat to pick his Black Caps team for the second test in Melbourne.
Gary Stead and Kane Williamson are not prone to kneejerk selections, but for this big occasion the cruciate ligaments need some serious flexing when the Black Caps arrive in Melbourne.
Barring a training mishap in Trent Boult’s carefully monitored loading programme, the pace spearhead will return for Lockie Ferguson in a significant Boxing Day test boost for a badly beaten New Zealand side.
But that can’t be the only change, after this humbling, overpowering defeat in Perth which presents the monumental task of winning at the MCG and SCG – where none of them have played a test – to replicate New Zealand’s only Australian series win of 34 years ago.
It’s not a time for blind loyalty. There is nothing to lose and they must address their shortcomings quickly or risk being 2-0 down before they see in the new year in Sydney.
Assuming reinforcements are
not flown in, backup batsman Tom Blundell and legspinner Todd Astle are the other mustpicks, replacing Jeet Raval and Mitchell Santner. Even Matt Henry should be considered as part of a four-pronged pace attack, which would require some creative shuffling.
So, with a sober selector’s hat on, how does one pick a New Zealand XI to compete with this imposing, confident Australian side and even threaten to beat them in their first Boxing Day test since 1987?
First, the batting, which is problem No 1 against a firebreathing Mitchell Starc, the
Black Caps opener Jeet Raval gets a helpful reminder of his score as he wanders off Optus Stadium to an uncertain future in the test XI. excellent Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon, with the likely addition of James Pattinson who has 20 wickets at 17.70 in three tests against the Black Caps.
It feels like pick-on-Jeet month, but Raval just cannot be thrown to the lions at the MCG colosseum averaging 7.33 from his last nine test innings.
Blundell is the only batting backup and is good enough, so he comes in. Throwing him in as a straight swap for Raval seems unnecessary, given his lack of first-class opening experience.
So that leaves Henry Nicholls, BJ Watling or a wildcard to be told ‘‘Merry Christmas, you’re facing the first ball from Starc’’.
Nicholls looks the best makeshift option, with no openers in domestic cricket demanding to be picked and Will Young still sidelined postshoulder surgery.
Nicholls has done it ably in one-day cricket, plays the short ball well and won’t be overawed. That allows Blundell to play his first test in two years at No 5 and Watling to remain in his anchor role at No 6 and wicketkeeper.
Then there’s the wildcard pick, which would help fit Henry into the same four-pronged pace lineup from the win over Bangladesh in Wellington in March.
Astle started his first-class career as an opener before doing the reverse Mark Richardson and becoming one of the country’s top spinners and solid middle order batsman. He struggled to stamp his mark on test cricket with limited opportunities but has the intriguing record of winning all four tests he’s played.
Sending Astle out first with