The Blackcaps start their tour of India this week, hoping to
improve on their disappointing performance in South Africa last month. They
will play three tests and five ODIs over the next five weeks, before coming
home to prepare for another long summer of cricket. Coach Mike Hesson has said
that it is likely that Martin Guptill, one of the prime underperformers against
the Proteas, will open up in the first test on Thursday. Considering Guptill
has a dismal test average of 29.59 after 44 tests, it is hard to understand how
such a decision can be justified.
On their recent tour of Zimbabwe and South Africa, the
Blackcaps included Auckland opener Jeet Raval in the test squad. From afar, it
seemed like a positive move, giving the young batsman an opportunity to find
his feet in international cricket against a lacklustre Zimbabwean side, as well
the chance for a big learning curve against the South African bowling attack,
arguably the best in the world. Yet, against both sides, the selectors stuck
with Guptill like he was a piece of gum on the sole of their shoes. One could
argue that a stick of gum could have performed better.
He started off well against the timid Zimbabwean attack,
scoring 40 and 87 in two of his three innings. But when the frontline bowlers
are bowling 120kmph half volleys at you, such performances are not a true
indicator of form nor talent. This proved true as Guptill got completely found
out against the South African pace trio of Dale Steyn, Vernon Philander and
Kagiso Rabada. His scores of 7, 8 and 0 show that he was well out of his depth.
Would Raval have fared any better? Perhaps not, but the amount he would have
learnt from the experience would have been worth the gamble. Guptill, 29,
should be at the peak of his powers and is past the point where major
improvements are likely to be made.
Those that have watched Martin Guptill bat over the years
would have noted his severe weaknesses against swing and seam bowling. While he
has a very robust technique, he has tendencies to either follow the moving ball
or play down the wrong line. At test level, these deficiencies are
unacceptable, no matter how difficult it is to correct such a flaw. Aside from
these issues he is actually a very competent batsman, as proven in the shorter
form of the game, where the ball is not as prone to move in the air. However,
his success in white ball cricket should not give him any leniency when it
comes to selection in the longer format.
New Zealand needs to follow the example set by other nations
in picking players that suit the type of cricket being played. Australia and
England have begun to have separate teams for the three different formats in
recent years. Players that succeed in the international shorter format still
have to prove themselves in first class cricket before becoming a part of the
test side. For example, well-known players Glenn Maxwell, George Bailey, Jos
Buttler and Jason Roy all have prestigious short-form resumes, but have not
proved themselves to be good enough for test match cricket. Likewise, Alistair
Cook, England’s test captain, was dropped from the one day side before last
year’s World Cup and has since failed to retake his place. The Blackcap
selectors need to identify each player’s skillset and judge whether they have
the ability to play across all three formats, or whether they only suit a
certain style. Sometimes ruthlessness can bring results, and in this case I believe
that New Zealand Cricket would certainly benefit from it.
For now though we will watch the test series in India
through our hands, as Guptill tries his best to give first slip some catching
practice. Raval has not been included in the squad for the tour of India, which
means that the Blackcaps could be in crisis very quickly if Guptill fails to
improve. Hesson has stated that 35-year-old Luke Ronchi could replace Guptill
at the top of the order if required, despite Ronchi having only played one test
and being known as a lower order slogger in the shorter form. I’m not a
selector, but surely they can see that neither player should be opening the
batting in test cricket. Furthermore, how are youngsters supposed to get into
this side if their first class performances are ignored for a bunch of
has-beens? Who knows, but hopefully after another Guptill masterclass, the
selectors will realise what needs to be done to progress this side to the next
level.
No comments:
Post a Comment