New Zealand A squad named to play Pakistan in 3-Day game starting 11th November

[Abdullah719]

The New Zealand A side has been named to play Pakistan in a three-day First Class match at Saxton Oval in Nelson, beginning Friday November 11.

BLACKCAP Henry Nicholls will captain the team.

New Zealand A

Henry Nicholls (c) (Canterbury)
Todd Astle (Canterbury)
Tom Blundell (wk) (Wellington)
Dean Brownlie (Northern Districts)
Colin de Grandhomme (Auckland)
Jacob Duffy (Otago)
Lockie Ferguson (Auckland)
Ed Nuttall (Canterbury)
Bharat Popli (Northern Districts)
Jeet Raval (Auckland)
Will Young (Central Districts)
Shawn Hicks (12th man) (Auckland)

Auckland’s Jeet Raval will open the batting with Northern Districts’ Dean Brownlie, while up and coming Wellington wicket keeper Tom Blundell will be behind the stumps.

Two men carrying form into the fixture are Canterbury leg spinner Todd Astle and Auckland all-rounder Colin de Grandhomme, both of whom have scored hundreds and contributed with the ball for their provinces this season.

Selector Gavin Larsen said the side represented the next tier of talent to push a claim for future BLACKCAPS selection.

“It’s an exciting opportunity for these guys to match up against a quality Pakistan side,” Larsen said.

“We’ve been impressed by the performances of these players in the Plunket Shield this year and last year, and see this as another step in their development.

“Performances for New Zealand A provide further information about these players’ suitability for the international game and the selectors will be taking a keen interest.”

Adam Milne, Mitchell McClenaghan, Colin Munro and George Worker were not considered due to injury, while Scott Kuggeleijn also withdrew from contention yesterday.

 

[Suleiman]

Thought brownie's career was over, but he'll face some serious oven heat when he faces Amir, Sohail and Wab

 

[saeed5646]

Thought brownie's career was over, but he'll face some serious oven heat when he faces Amir, Sohail and Wab

Adam Milne, Mitchell McClenaghan, Colin Munro and George Worker were not considered due to injury, while Scott Kuggeleijn also withdrew from contention yesterday

Good news or Bad news to be honest i am worried about Henry this guy takes majority of wickets against us

 

[street cricketer]

Good to see brother Jeet getting a game.

 

[TalentSpotterPk]

Hope Lachie Ferguson performs and replaces Bracewell in the Test Squad.

Exciting fast bowler.
(Good for the Game)

 

[MMHS]

Rawal (Don't know why these expat Gujratis these days use v for w) & Popli should have been in tour of India, if not earlier; at least for Test series. Much, much better player than Guptil or Ronchi for the longer format.

 

[aloo paratha]

Nicolls is there because he's been pretty trash whenever, wherever he's played, hopefully he gets retained though so we can have a walking wicket like Ballance

 

[Abdullah719]

Two late additions to NZ A cricket team to take on Pakistanis in Nelson opener

Canterbury seamer Kyle Jamieson and Wellington allrounder Luke Woodcock are late additions to the New Zealand A side for their three-day cricket match against Pakistan starting at Nelson's Saxton Oval on Friday.

A left-handed bat and left-arm spinner, 34-year-old Woodcock enters the reckoning on the back of some stellar recent batting performances, including his 120-run innings against Northern Districts at the Basin Reserve, followed by his even more substantial 203 not out against Auckland at Eden Park. Both games ended in draws.

Right-armer Jamieson has taken 13 Plunket Shield wickets so far this season and 35 all told in the 21-year-old's brief 11-match first class career.

Auckland's Jeet Raval had originally been selected to open the batting with Northern Districts' Dean Brownlie, although Woodcock's inclusion now extends the top order batting options. Up and coming Wellington wicketkeeper Tom Blundell will be behind the stumps.

Two men carrying form into the fixture are Canterbury leg spinner Todd Astle and Auckland all-rounder Colin de Grandhomme, both of whom have scored hundreds and contributed with the ball for their provinces this season.

Adam Milne, Mitchell McClenaghan, Colin Munro and George Worker were not considered due to injury, while Scott Kuggeleijn also withdrew from contention.

National selector Gavin Larsen confirmed that the two players had been added to the initial 12-player selection, with the final call due to be made by coach Bob Carter closer to Friday's scheduled start.

"It's a great opportunity for our next tier of international cricketers and we've picked the team accordingly," Larsen said.

"I think it's a really good mix of young emerging talent and guys who have been round the traps a bit and produced the goods at first class level for a period of time."

Pakistan coach, Mickey Arthur, had indicated earlier in the week that he would most likely field his top batting lineup as their only real opportunity for them to acclimatise to New Zealand conditions.

That could mean a severe workout for New Zealand's bowlers with opening batsmen Sami Aslam and Azhar Ali, the vastly experienced Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan and classy support from Asad Shafiq and wicketkeepeer-batsman Sarfraz Ahmed representing a wealth of genuine run-scoring potential.

Arthur was less certain about the make-up of his bowling attack although expected a clinical response from his battery of pace bowlers, including left-armers Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Amir and Rahat Ali and right-arm seamers Sohail Khan and Imran Khan. Amir will play for English county Essex next season.

However, the bowler expected to generate plenty of interest during Pakistan's three-match tour is legspinner Yasir Shah, reportedly in outstanding form and with 112 wickets from 18 test appearances already to his credit.

Play is scheduled to start at Saxton Oval on Friday at 11am.

NEW ZEALAND A (from): Henry Nicholls (c), Luke Woodcock, Todd Astle, Tom Blundell, Dean Brownlie, Colin de Grandhomme, Jacob Duffy, Lockie Ferguson, Ed Nuttall, Bharat Popli, Jeet Raval, Will Young, Kyle Jamieson, Shawn Hicks.

PAKISTAN (from): Misbah-ul-Haq (c), Azhar Ali, Sami Aslam, Sharjeel Khan, Younis Khan, Asad Shafiq, Babar Azam, Sarfraz Ahmed, Mohammad Rizwan, Yasir Shah, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Amir, Wahab Riaz, Rahat Ali, Sohail Khan, Imran Khan.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/cricke...t-team-to-take-on-Pakistanis-in-Nelson-opener

 

[Abdullah719]

Cricket: Todd Astle up for Black Caps return

Expect Canterbury leg spinner Todd Astle to return to the New Zealand test cricket team when the 13-man squad for the Pakistan series is announced tomorrow.

Astle's likely to edge out Ish Sodhi after incumbent spinner Mitchell Santner fractured his wrist batting in the nets last week.

A leg spinner appears preferable to take the ball away from Pakistan's right-handers.

They used five in their top six against the West Indies. The venue for the first test, Hagley Oval, also saw 24 wickets fall to spin in the recent Plunket Shield match between Canterbury and Central Districts.

Astle earned his maiden test cap almost four years ago in the win against Sri Lanka at Colombo. His resume this season is strong with 14 first-class wickets from three matches at 18.07 - 11 of those came at Hagley Oval. He also made his highest first-class score of 195 at the venue against Northern Districts last month, as part of a 44.50 average this season. Astle is still listed to play for New Zealand 'A' against Pakistan in Nelson on Friday.

Sodhi has a well-disguised googly, but can be expensive. He took three for 149 at 4.26 runs per over against India in Kanpur, but responded with seven for 105 in Northern Districts' 21-run win against Canterbury this week.

Jeetan Patel is playing for Wellington and was used in India when Mark Craig got injured, but the 36-year-old and his wife are expecting their second child soon.

Auckland opener Jeet Raval is a candidate to debut, but that remains a point of intrigue after Martin Guptill's 56 and 128 not out for Auckland against Wellington in the third round of Plunket Shield. Raval made 84 and 19 in the same match, and averages 40.66 from six innings this season. He has been consistent across several seasons and was taken on the African tour.

However, the 28-year-old left-hander has struggled against spin, as he did on Tuesday when a leading edge popped to short cover as he tried working a ball against the turn into the legside off Patel. Raval will also need to prove himself against Pakistan's juggernaut of left-armers. In the seven times he was dismissed for 10 or less last season, four were to that rarer breed of pace bowler. Raval was set for an opportunity to exorcise both demons against the tourists in Nelson, but Luke Woodcock's late selection might see him removed from the reckoning.

Guptill performed strongly in his first-class return, and looked the best batsman in the third test loss to India with 72 and 29, but has only passed 50 twice in 16 test innings this year.

Henry Nicholls and Luke Ronchi are likely to duel for the No.5 spot, and Tim Southee and Matt Henry should contest for the right-arm pace berth, joining Trent Boult and Neil Wagner in the attack.

Possible 13-man New Zealand squad to play Pakistan: Kane Williamson (captain), Tom Latham, Jeet Raval, Ross Taylor, Henry Nicholls, Jimmy Neesham, B-J Watling, Todd Astle, Matt Henry, Neil Wagner, Trent Boult, Tim Southee, Luke Ronchi.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=11745159