New Zealand selectors and their coach John Bracewell have proved that they are a bunch of jokers by dropping Nathan Astle from the Sri Lankan series. This is very surprising considering the fact that he scored match-winning 90* in the last ODI. They have retained Jamie How and Fulton, which is a good sign, but surprisingly they are still persisting with Hamish Marshall who has done nothing fruitful in the last one year. Very shocking indeed. There's nothing wrong in playing Fulton and How, but they have actually sacked Astle in place of Marshall and cleverly used Fulton as their shield. This strategy is very similar to Engand’s axing of Thorpe in place of their pet Ian Bell, where they used Pietersen as a shield to prevent media’s rebuke.
Over-obsession of Marshall will dearly cost them in future. There is no doubt that Marshall is talented, but he has got several chances, and now he must spend more time playing First Class cricket to get back in form. They still continue to have problems with their feeble bowling department. Jacob Oram still remains their favourite bowler, particularly in the slog overs. Their batting order is also mind-boggling. Styris, who made superb 101 in their record-breaking chase against Australia, has been dropped down at number six and Chris Cairns is batting at numbers seven or eight these days.
Hamish Marshall has made following scores this year (source cricinfo) : 9, 7, 8, 3, 16, 7, 3, 5, 10, 27, 16*, 12. No, this isn’t his telephone number. This lad is a top-order batsman who will continue to represent New Zealand in future. What's next? If Astle is dropped despite making 90* in last innings, then they must drop every ‘old’ player from the team, and then think about making nonsensical statements to the biased media. People like John Bracewell will always be a menace to the game. We can do without such politicians.
Over-obsession of Marshall will dearly cost them in future. There is no doubt that Marshall is talented, but he has got several chances, and now he must spend more time playing First Class cricket to get back in form. They still continue to have problems with their feeble bowling department. Jacob Oram still remains their favourite bowler, particularly in the slog overs. Their batting order is also mind-boggling. Styris, who made superb 101 in their record-breaking chase against Australia, has been dropped down at number six and Chris Cairns is batting at numbers seven or eight these days.
Hamish Marshall has made following scores this year (source cricinfo) : 9, 7, 8, 3, 16, 7, 3, 5, 10, 27, 16*, 12. No, this isn’t his telephone number. This lad is a top-order batsman who will continue to represent New Zealand in future. What's next? If Astle is dropped despite making 90* in last innings, then they must drop every ‘old’ player from the team, and then think about making nonsensical statements to the biased media. People like John Bracewell will always be a menace to the game. We can do without such politicians.
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