Star spotters for Black Caps auditions
Two key figures in New Zealand’s 2015 World Cup charge, Daniel Vettori and Shane Bond, could help fit the final puzzle pieces in the Champions Trophy squad after Indian auditions this next fortnight.
It seems incongruous for the Twenty20 Indian Premier League to provide the final platform for bowlers to prove their readiness for a world 50-over tournament, but it will for Adam Milne, Mitchell Mcclenaghan and Corey Anderson before the 15-man Black Caps squad is named on the April 25 deadline.
Others like Martin Guptill, Tim Southee, Trent Boult and Lockie Ferguson arrived in India carrying injuries which ended their home seasons early, which leaves coach and chief selector Mike Hesson with a host of players to monitor from afar, and some head-scratchers before he and coselector Gavin Larsen meet again. Team physiotherapist Tommy Simsek is also in India.
Assuming senior men Guptill, Southee and Boult are given the all clear, there are probably 11 selection certainties which leaves four spots open: two fast bowlers, an allrounder and a backup batsman.
Milne, Mcclenaghan and Anderson - all part of that 2015 World Cup squad - would stroll into those first three spots at their best. But that trio only resumed bowling in first-class cricket in March after long injury layoffs.
That’s where Vettori and Bond, and maybe even former skipper Brendon Mccullum, can do their bit by providing Hesson first-hand observations from the IPL.
Vettori coaches Milne at Royal Challengers Bangalore while Bond, New Zealand’s former bowling
coach, fills that role for Mcclenaghan and Southee’s Mumbai Indians.
‘‘The guys I’m particularly interested in are Milne and Mcclenaghan. They were white
ball incumbents for us, and we’re keeping a close eye on their progress in the IPL. We’ve got eyes and ears on the coal face there, and Hess will be monitoring that very closely,’’ Larsen said.
Milne played one game for Bangalore a year ago then had 11 months on the sidelines, before snaring three wickets in as many Plunket Shield matches for the Stags in March. He wasn’t required for Bangalore’s opener but if Milne suffers no setbacks he’d be difficult to overlook.
Mcclenaghan, too, snared five wickets in his three Plunket Shield matches for Auckland then took 1-36 off four overs for Mumbai when he and Southee (1-34) both played in Friday’s loss to Pune.
Wicketkeeper (Luke Ronchi and Tom Latham) and spin bowling (Mitchell Santner and Jeetan Patel) look locked in. Patel’s selection for the final Ireland tri-series ODI, and the fact their Champions Trophy opener against Australia on June 2 is on his home ground Edgbaston, all point to his inclusion.
That leaves a backup batting spot, with Henry Nicholls, Neil Broom and George Worker all in a tight race. Broom’s South African struggles may see him overtaken by Nicholls after his prolific Ford Trophy season, while Worker dominated in the same competition and offers spin bowling and versatility in the order.