Black Caps back Taylor for next World Cup
New Zealand will be in the unfamiliar position of playing an ODI without their two best batsmen tomorrow but coach Gary Stead is taking a half-glass full approach.
Stead all but confirmed yesterday that Devon Conway, Will Young and Daryl Mitchell will make their ODI debuts for New Zealand against Bangladesh in Dunedin, with Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor already ruled out with injury.
‘‘You don’t,’’ Stead said when asked how the Black Caps would replace the pair’s experience and sheer weight of ODI runs. ‘‘That’s just the reality of it.
‘‘But they are two positions in the order we have a lot of faith in.
‘‘For Devon and Will, who have waited for their chance, they’ll be up for it.’’
At University Oval’s short boundaries, the match provides a tantalising opportunity for Conway and Young to make runs.
Strong displays would invariably provoke a discussion about where they sit in the pecking order in the longer-term, a debate that the 37-year-old Taylor will be dragged into. However, regardless of how Conway and Young play on Saturday, Stead was confident that Taylor could go through to the 2023 World Cup and compete for a spot in what already looks like an incredibly competitive squad. ‘‘It’s still the best part of three years away but of course Ross can make it there,’’ Stead said.
‘‘Everyone will have that opportunity, but it’s exciting as a coach that you sit around the selection table and you start looking at the names and the people you expect to keep coming through, and it’s hard to write 15 names down,’’ Stead said.
‘‘There could be up to 30 who are all vying for those spots, and that’s a good place to be.’’
The broadening of New Zealand’s talent base has been the game’s strength in recent years, with genuine debates frequently flaring up about the players who fail to make the Black Caps.
Stead said that the system was working well, providing a degree of comfort for the selectors at international level.
‘‘The strength of New Zealand cricket at the moment is seen in the Blacks Caps, but it is also driven from below that with our NZ ‘A’ programmes,’’ he said.
In some ways, the tourists are in a similar situation as New Zealand, with some emerging fast bowlers tipped to start tomorrow in front of what is expected to be a sold-out University Oval.
‘‘We’ve done all our scouting and looked at all the options they may throw at us,’’ Stead said.
‘‘[But] I think Bangladesh are an improving side and they seem to be developingmore depth across their teams as well.’’