Cricket: NZ A seamers and openers first to push World Cup claims in UAE

Opener Tom Latham deserves a shot in the upcoming ODIs against Pakistan in UAE. Photo / Getty Images

The winners so far? Captain Kyle Mills, Adam Milne, Mitchell McClenaghan, Doug Bracewell, Anton Devcich and Martin Guptill.

Winners, that is, in the game of staking early claims for ODI selection spots, which is the backdrop to New Zealand A's trip to cricket's latest international hotbed venue, the United Arab Emirates.

It's worth briefly pondering how on earth the seven constituent emirates on the Arabian Peninsula which make up the UAE - Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah and Umm al-Quwain - became one of the most important locations in the cricket world. Who'd have thought that 30 years ago?

Australia and New Zealand respectively have and are playing test and ODI series there at Pakistan's de facto home. The International Cricket Council are based there. (That's simple: big money).

Anyway, pondering done for now, NZ A players are halfway through a series of four 50-over fixtures against associate member countries preparing for next year's World Cup. Ireland, the best of the four, are next up, twice - tomorrow night and again on December 1.

But the UAE and Afghanistan have been seen off comfortably enough, by 78 runs and 105 runs respectively at the Cricket Academy ground in Dubai.

The point of these games from the associates' perspective is obvious. They need all the practice they can get. Dubai might not be a like-for-like with, say, Dunedin or Nelson, but they're making best use of what they can.

For the NZ A players, it's about grabbing their chances.

And so the seamers have been sharing the spoils on pitches described as "spicy" and with Australian soil, which hints at them being significantly more sporting than the carpark at Sharjah for the third and final test against Pakistan.

Mills has five for 42 off 15.5 overs. No seamer is wicketless two games in and none have been collared.

The point is those bowlers are roaring "pick me" for the Pakistan ODIs, starting on December 8 in Dubai, after two pretty meaningless T20s are completed next week.

The squad to play Pakistan will be far from a near replica of the 15 to be named in early January for the World Cup. Several players are expected to head home after the third test. Therefore expect serious competition going on during the ODIs.

Guptill's 75 against the UAE gave him a good footing into the trip; opening partner Devcich has produced scores of 41 and 55, both at a decent clip. An intriguing situation is developing around the opening roles.

Jimmy Neesham was tried against South Africa and that didn't work. Tom Latham's form demands he gets a chance. Guptill needs to keep scoring although he's a batsman who seems to have too much talent to dispense with.

Dean Brownlie and Colin Munro are the batsmen most in need of runs in the next two matches.

There might be an argument that the Pakistan series will provide a clearer indication of form and potential selection prospects for both. Still, runs at any time never hurt an argument.