Caps ponder selections
Stead’s side could do with batting and bowling changes for the deciding Pakistan test but options are limited
Keeping the faith didn’t work for the Black Caps, and now they have to contemplate major changes ahead of the deciding test against Pakistan.
After their stunning first test victory, the Black Caps named an unchanged side for the second test, but the result was dire, thrashed by an innings and 16 runs.
Now the selection dilemma has resurfaced. When you take just five wickets in 167 overs, then get bowled out for 90, what do you try to fix first — the batting or bowling?
Unfortunately for the Black Caps, it doesn’t seem the answer can be “both”, and there is cause for change after poor performances in the second test.
The form of Colin de Grandhomme remains a serious concern, with the supposed all-rounder suffering a torrid time with the bat. He still looks lost at the crease, with a fourth-ball duck followed by an awful dismissal, slogging across the line for 14. While he had a fantastic first five overs with the ball in Pakistan’s innings, he went wicketless in 25, and it may not have been enough to retain his place.
If Todd Astle or Mitchell Santner were fit, there would be an easy swap, but with no other all-rounders in
the squad, the question for coach Gary Stead is between retaining de Grandhomme, or opting for an extra batsman or bowler.
None of the potential moves would cause much excitement. Tom Blundell probably wouldn’t be the first-choice back-up batsman in ideal circumstances, has played limited cricket recently and didn’t shine for New Zealand A. However, he’s in the squad as wicketkeeping cover, and is the only batsman available for Stead to select.
If they went that way, it would leave the Black Caps with just four bowlers — a major risk after averaging just a wicket every 33.4 overs in the second test. Kane Williamson’s welcome return to the bowling crease as a fifth option produced only five rusty overs, and if they didn’t make early inroads, the workload could be huge for a short-handed bowling unit.
On the other hand, it would be a bold move to respond to being bowled out for 90 by having a specialist bowler bat at No 7, so perhaps de Grandhomme will get one more life as the best of an unappealing array of options.
That’s not the only difficult decision for Stead and company, though, as the bowling unit could come under the microscope as well.
Ish Sodhi’s legspin has been worlds apart from that of the destructive Yasir Shah, and his test bowling average of 48.6 shows little sign of improving. While he took three wickets in the first test, two came from full tosses, and his 0-63 return in the second test had a familiar theme, being unable to build pressure, with too many loose deliveries.
Will Somerville has an argument to make his test debut as part of an off-spinning duo with Ajaz Patel, while there’s also a case for Tim Southee to be recalled, potentially at the expense of Neil Wagner.
Wagner has been economical but went 37 overs without success — or even the threat of success — in the second test, and Southee is by no means a spent force, having claimed 6-62 in his last test.
Pakistan are set to make just one enforced change for the final test, with Mohammad Abbas likely to miss out with a shoulder injury. It would be a significant loss — his test bowling average is still an incredible 16.62 — but 18-year-old seamer Shaheen Afridi, who shone in the ODI series, looms as a promising replacement.