NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Sport

Cricket: After the crash ... the repair job

By David Leggat
Reporter·NZ Herald·
4 Jan, 2013 04:30 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
New Zealand's cricket selectors face a difficult task after the Newlands disaster, and their options are limited

As the New Zealand team filed on to their team bus after the second day's play at Newlands yesterday, a voice in the throng surrounding the players called out: "You should have stuck with Ross Taylor."

Just what the sheepish New Zealand players needed to hear during a particularly dark week for the national side.

At some point soon, coach Mike Hesson, his assistants Bob Carter and Shane Bond, and captain Brendon McCullum, will gather and ponder what to do for the second test, in Port Elizabeth.

That match starts on Friday. Options are limited in the area most in need of attention.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The much-improved effort by the bowlers on Thursday shouldn't mean they escape scrutiny, but the batting is where there are big issues. The number 45 roars loudly in the New Zealanders' ears at the moment.

The difficulty is that just where they need some alternatives, they have precisely one. Auckland lefthander Colin Munro is the only spare batsman in the tour group of 15.

Munro was chosen for the T20 series, and will be in the ODI group for the three games to follow Port Elizabeth.

When Peter Fulton's knee started playing tricks after the T20 series, leading to his early departure from the tour, Durban-born Munro was held back as cover.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

This is his first tour. He is in strong domestic form.

But if the selectors decide a change has to be made to at least show they're trying to rectify the situation, who goes? Lefthander Daniel Flynn is the only real option.

Opener Martin Guptill looked at sea against Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander in the Cape Town test, when he made 1 and 0.

His limited-overs game is booming, but his test average is slipping. Overall it is 30.83 in 29 tests. Remove runs against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe and that drops to 24. But he has to stay, at least for next week.

Discover more

Black Caps

Martin: Harsh words weren't needed

03 Jan 06:05 PM
Cricket

Cricket: Warner, Hughes lead way for Aussies

04 Jan 01:48 AM
Sport|cricket

Cricket: Proteas debacle rivals Taylor fiasco

04 Jan 04:30 PM
Sport|cricket

Hussey's replacement - young gun or old hand?

04 Jan 04:30 PM

Dean Brownlie, under pressure after a first innings duck, more than revived his situation with a courageous innings yesterday in anchoring New Zealand to 169-4. No3 batsman Kane Williamson will stay.

Brownlie was banged about yesterday by Dale Steyn, but got to 69 by stumps with a desire to play his attacking shots, not sit back and wait for something to happen. His innings was probably the single most encouraging element out of the first two days.

He had good fortune, too, but he helped pull captain Brendon McCullum along in a rollicking 89-run stand off 81 balls.

McCullum looked for a long time as if he'd reached a fork in a road and did not know which direction to take.

He had to scrap hard, must have wanted to get after the bowling, but kept his head and showed resolve.

The bowling is more intriguing.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Left-arm spinner Bruce Martin, on his first tour, could get the slow job. Offspinner Jeetan Patel couldn't dent the South African batting line-up, and took some punishment.

This is not to suggest that 32-year-old Martin will slice through Smith, Kallis, de Villiers and company. But they've never seen him bowl, he'll give it air and he can't be less effective than Patel.

Veteran Chris Martin, after an average opening day's work, got three wickets yesterday and looked sharper. So did Trent Boult, but Doug Bracewell remains a worry.

He's been expensive and, big heart or not, appears to be unable to stick to a demanding line.

There are two left-handers in the fast-medium quintet, Neil Wagner and Mitchell McClenaghan. A case can be made for both of them, one for reasons of economy and old ball skills, the other for his extra pace and bounce.

But Martin put in a plug for Bracewell and another left-armer,Trent Boult, yesterday. The pair, with the injured Tim Southee "are going to be the way forward for New Zealand cricket for quite some time".

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"If you look at the good sides, they all have two or three good bowlers that play for a long time, play together and get that consistency and feel for what each of them are all about," Martin said.

"That bodes well and coming up in the next few years there's plenty of cricket for these guys to learn to get better and better."

The tour selectors certainly have some hard thinking to do.

Round two

2nd test v South Africa
Port Elizabeth
Jan 11-15

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Sport

Black Caps
|Updated

Black Caps give Walter coaching debut victory, topple Proteas in Tri-series

Boxing

Gallen beats SBW in long-awaited bout

Premium
Opinion

Ranked: The 30 greatest fast bowlers in test history


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Sport

Black Caps give Walter coaching debut victory, topple Proteas in Tri-series
Black Caps
|Updated

Black Caps give Walter coaching debut victory, topple Proteas in Tri-series

NZ's new coach has ticked off a first victory since succeeding Gary Stead.

16 Jul 02:33 PM
Gallen beats SBW in long-awaited bout
Boxing

Gallen beats SBW in long-awaited bout

16 Jul 01:08 PM
Premium
Premium
Ranked: The 30 greatest fast bowlers in test history
Opinion

Ranked: The 30 greatest fast bowlers in test history

16 Jul 04:01 AM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP