Vettori moving up the order

dustysax — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 04:54:14 +0000

Between 2005 and the conclusion of the Sri Lankan series in 2009 Daniel Vettori has scored 2,010 runs at an average of 43.7. These stats are very good for a batsman who is positioned at 8 or 9 in the batting order and certainly good for a country like NZ where an average of 40 plus is less common. So the question is being asked should he be batting higher in the order? A further look at his statistics show that in the period 2005 to 2009 he has had 56 innings with 10 not outs and 8 times he has been the last man out, many if not all of these 8 dismissals would be due to Vettori taking greater risks as he knows his partner at the other end will be of little help (eg Chris Martin). It could be concluded that 18 times in his 56 innings the potential for him to score more runs has been denied to him because of the situations that arise from batting so far down the order. Yes the not outs have contributed to his higher average but even if all of his not outs were outs he would still be averaging 36, and of course it is very unlikely that he wouldn’t have added many more runs to those not out scores. It is often said that if a batsman is performing well in a certain position in the order then you leave him there, and in many cases this is true, Steve Waugh and Allan Border were the most successful batsman in their sides and they batted at 5 or 6 most of their careers. There was no need to bat them at 3 or 4 where a sides best batsman are usually found. However at number 6 in the order there are still 6 wickets to be taken at the other end, there is still the opportunity to score runs, at number 8 there is only 4 more wickets and much less opportunity. If Vettori was to bat at number 6 then the side could still build an innings around him and he could arrive at the crease before too much damage has been done and there is still an opportunity to get on top of the fielding side. Batting at number 8 often places Vettori in the position of ‘Mr fix it’ the damage has already been done and he is trying to put some respectability into the score. Higher up the order Vettori’s innings will be more meaningful and more likely to contribute towards a win.

Brendon McCullum ??

dustysax — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 05:27:24 +0000

When McCullum signed with the Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL he become one of the highest paid players in the competition, and at that time he seemed to be the bright light on the New Zealand cricket horizon. NZ commentators couldn’t wait to speak glowingly of him as one of NZ’s truly world class players and that is the big question is he really a world class player? The big contract for IPL seems okay because in that form of the game he has the shots and mindset to succeed, but any true cricket fan knows that a player shall be judged by his test record and in this format of the game how does McCullum stack up? In 76 test innings he has a batting average of 31.7 and 3 centuries, one against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh, although he has been out in the 90′s on a few occasions. To compare that with his wicketkeeping contemporaries: Kamran Akmal – 72 innings with a 33.2 average and 6 test hundreds, Mark Boucher – 178 innings with an average of 29.8 and 5 hundreds, Dhoni – 59 innings with a 37.7 average and only 1 test hundred, Brad Haddin – 32 innings with an average of 39.3 and 2 hundreds. From this you would say that his record compares quite well but it doesnt stand above these other players. The label of ‘world class’ should only be applied to a select few players and along with the word ‘great ‘is used far too liberally by the media and fans. There is no clear evidence that McCullum is in fact a world class player, he has played some world class innings and plays some world class shots but his overall body of work is not world class, at the international level he performs at an acceptable standard. he is still young enough to improve his stats but he is also old enough that we can no longer speak of potential. McCullum is what I consider “New Zealand Class’ which is a player who has a record that stands out when compared to other current and former NZ players but it doesnt stand out in the world of cricket. Several players in my lifetime of watching fall into this category, John Wright, Ian Smith, Stephen Fleming most notably come to mind. In my opinion NZ has only produced 4 world class players since 1980 and they are Richard Hadlee, Martin Crowe, Daniel Vettori and Chris Cairns (when he wasn’t injured). My level of expectation for McCullum is what I would expect for a player of NZ class not world class, for awhile I thought it was the latter (and maybe he will prove me wrong) but this just lead to me yelling abuse at the tv because he would make you believe with a great innings or some amazing shots. Looking at his career it is best to lower the bar of ‘world class’ expectations, after all NZ doesn’t produce very many players of that quality, NZ class may have to do for McCullum..

sixovercowcorner

Vettori moving up the order

Brendon McCullum ??