Cricket: Franklin added to squad 'to cover all the bases'

James Franklin. Photo / Mark Mitchell

James Franklin was added to the Black Caps squad late last night for the second test in Hamilton starting on Saturday.

New Zealand coach and selector Mark Greatbatch said that an early look at the conditions at Seddon Park had led to the decision to add Franklin.

"There has been a lot of rain in Hamilton of late, and it is fair to say that the conditions we saw today at Seddon Park, at this stage, are far different to those we experienced earlier in the season," Greatbatch said.

"We thought it prudent to have all our bases covered, and James does that for us."

Franklin, a left-arm medium-fast bowler, will join the squad today.

Greatbatch had earlier said he was leaving open the option of calling in another seamer if the conditions at Hamilton differed from the easy-paced pitch they expected.

Greatbatch reinforced Daniel Vettori's comments after the Wellington debacle, saying they would like to pick Jeetan Patel as a second spinner, but left the door open for a 14th player to be brought to Hamilton.

"If the conditions are a bit different we may look to have another cover in the seam bowling department."

While the selectors clearly want a dual-spinning attack, Blind Freddie can see the issues in team balance that would create.

Without a batting allrounder like Jacob Oram or Jesse Ryder, the selectors are essentially forced into selecting three seamers - Tim Southee, Chris Martin and Brent Arnel.

That would see Patel batting No 8, making an already dreadful tail longer.

The way around it would be to pick a four-man attack with Vettori the sole specialist spinner.

Williamson could be used as a back-up spinner and eased into the line-up as high as No 6 or as low as No 8, depending on where Vettori wanted to bat.

That gives the team far greater balance, but Greatbatch indicated he was loath to consider Williamson as a genuine second spinner.

"Not at the moment," he said. "If the conditions suit, Jeetan will play first as a second spinner.

"He [Williamson] is predominantly a batter and he's developing his offspin," Greatbatch said.

"He's definitely a batter first, but he bowls quite unique offspinners, a little bit more Asian-like."

Greatbatch admitted it was a disconsolate side that travelled north to the Waikato.

"When you don't play up to your potential you're obviously disappointed.

"We've got another opportunity on Saturday. We've just got to be a bit clinical on the first two days, stay with them and compete.

"It's not about dominating them, it's about staying with them."

NZ SQUAD

Daniel Vettori, Brent Arnel, Martin Guptill, Peter Ingram, Brendon McCullum, Tim McIntosh, Chris Martin, Jeetan Patel, Mathew Sinclair, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, BJ Watling, Kane Williamson, James Franklin.