New Zealand Cricket selection chairman Sir Richard Hadlee said the five-hour meeting to choose the Test and one-day teams for the tour of Sri Lanka later this month was the longest of his time on the selection panel
Lynn McConnell02-Apr-2003New Zealand Cricket selection chairman Sir Richard Hadlee said the five-hour meeting to choose the Test and one-day teams for the tour of Sri Lanka later this month was the longest of his time on the selection panel.Some difficult decisions had to be made in a meeting that also served as a review of the World Cup.”We haven’t been reactionary or panicked,” Hadlee said.The Test squad is: Stephen Fleming (captain), Shane Bond, Ian Butler, Robbie Hart, Matt Horne, Richard Jones, Jacob Oram, Mark Richardson, Mathew Sinclair, Scott Styris, Daryl Tuffey, Daniel Vettori, Lou Vincent, Paul Wiseman.The One-Day International squad is: Stephen Fleming (captain), Andre Adams, Shane Bond, Chris Cairns, Chris Harris, Matt Horne, Brendon McCullum, Kyle Mills, Chris Nevin, Jacob Oram, Scott Styris, Daryl Tuffey, Daniel Vettori, one to be added.The Test team had proved itself and had a ranking of third in the world and, while the World Cup had not been as successful as hoped, to have made wholesale changes to the one-day team would have been unfair, he said.As expected in many quarters, Craig McMillan was dropped from both sides for the tour.”His decision was a tough one to make. He has had a horrific time over the summer. He is a senior player and we expect more from him,” Hadlee said.Team coach Denis Aberhart said: “We know what he’s done and what he’s capable of and I am sure he will come back a better player. He will have a programme to benefit him over the winter.”All top sports players go through a loss of form at some stage of their career and this is another challenge for him.”Aberhart had talked with McMillan since he had received the call from Hadlee informing him he had not been selected.”He was disappointed, of course,” Aberhart said. “But he is looking at it positively and I’m sure we will end up with a better Craig McMillan.”Whether McMillan would be back in time for the end of year tour to India would depend on how players performed in Sri Lanka and the work McMillan put in over the winter.Off-spinner Paul Wiseman was recalled to the team as the second spin bowler although Hadlee said the selection came down to Wiseman having played in Sri Lanka before and having had some success there.The number of left-handed batsmen in the Sri Lankan side made him a commonsense selection.But he did say the lack of stock in the spinning department were a worry.”The statistics are quite scary. The next tier of players have averages around the high 40s,” he said.Experience was important in Sri Lanka and it wasn’t the sort of situation in which to introduce young players to international cricket.And at 30 years of age, Wiseman was not an old player. He was really approaching what should be a spin bowler’s prime, Hadlee said.Richard Jones, 29, of Wellington is the only uncapped player in the Test squad and he owed his selection to his consistency over the last three summers.”Richard has been near the top of the batting aggregates and averages in State Championship cricket for the last three domestic seasons.”During that time he has scored seven centuries, averaged an impressive 42.9 and achieved an aggregate of 2111,” he said.With his ability to bat anywhere in the top five, he offered another consideration for the selectors.Matt Horne, who toured the West Indies last year and didn’t play a game, has been included in the side with the clear intention of adding experience to the side in the absence of Nathan Astle, Chris Cairns and McMillan.”He has been in good form for the Auckland Aces and we want him to form a strong and steady partnership with Mark Richardson at the top of the order,” Hadlee said.Chris Nevin’s selection at opener in the one-day side, like that of Horne, was a bid to work on solutions to the lack of performance New Zealand has suffered in the opening role.Nevin was selected as a batsman primarily with the intention of making an aggressive start to the innings but, if a more solid role was required, Horne offered another option.Hadlee said by leaving a space open for the one-day side, Jones, Mathew Sinclair and Lou Vincent would be competing for the position.He added that it was unknown whether Cairns, who is in England preparing for his season of county cricket with Nottinghamshire, would provide a full-scale bowling option for the side. He had been included as a batsman only but it was hoped that his body would repair itself in time for him to take a greater bowling role.It was a fact, he said, that with Cairns not bowling the balance of the side was affected.The side leaves for Sri Lanka on April 15 with the first Test starting on Anzac Day, April 25 in Colombo.New Zealand Cricket are keeping a watch on security and health matters resulting from the SARS crisis and will assess both these issues closer to the team’s departure.