All posts by csb10.top

IS Bindra, the principal adviser to the chief executive of the ICC, has backed England to host the inaugural Champions League tournament.”My wish and hope is that we have it in England. I feel the ideal place for a Champions League is England in September,” he told the . “They will have spectators from all different countries, multi-racial crowds for all teams, it is the most cosmopolitan place.”The Champions League was initially supposed to be a 10-day event in late September and early October but the dates are yet to be firmed up as the BCCI and ECB lock horns over the issue of whether counties with ICL players should be allowed to participate.When asked which board should run the Champions League, Bindra remained non-committal and stressed that he was now a part of the ICC and not the BCCI. “That’s a matter of detail which the two boards (BCCI and ECB) can sort out. My job is to smooth inter-member relationship and if I can help facilitate, I will,” he said. “I’m not BCCI now, I’m ICC. This September will be too soon, but it should be possible in 2009.”However, Lalit Modi, the IPL commissioner, continues to be adamant that the tournament will go ahead under India’s terms. “We will go ahead, with or without the ECB,” he told BBC Radio Five Live. “We have everybody on board going forward, apart from the ECB who have some reservations in terms of structure and ownership.”Meanwhile, the also reported that the ECB has lined up the royal family of Abu Dhabi as financiers of the Champions League, with ₤750m (US$1.49 billion) available over 10 years. The tournament is reportedly to be held in Abu Dhabi, with Sharjah to be used as a reserve ground.

Two of Somerset’s Cornish playing contingent, batsman Piran Holloway and wicket-keeper batsman Carl Gazzard are spending the winter out in Perth where Piran is coaching and Carl is playing for Scarborough Cricket Club.When I contacted Piran Holloway to ask how things were going he told me: "Carl Gazzard has taken to the way of life like a duck to water. Taking diving catches every game and a couple of 30 not outs. Unfortunately the weather has only been in the mid 20s most of the time so we have been a bit cold!"He continued: " At the moment we have a pretty flexible training programme which is proving to be very tough. We usually wake up pretty early in the morning and either go surfing at the beach if the waves are big enough or if not then it is either running or laps at the pool. Then it’s back for some food and off to the gym. The afternoons we either bat in the nets or go training in the evenings."He went on: " On Wednesday we do pump class and yoga. We also do circuits on Monday. Things are going really well at the moment with Carl and his batting if showing signs of real development. I only wish I could help some of the English batsmen."He continued: " With the Test match just started it looks like we are in for another few days of embarrassment. The start of every conversation is usually `so how was your day,’ I don’t bite but, Carl is young and they are winding him up a treat!"

An annoying light but steady afternoon rain caused the first one-dayinternational between Zimbabwe and Kenya to be abandoned as a draw,depriving Zimbabwe of a probable victory as they were set a none too taxingtarget of 211 to win.Kenya were no doubt pleased to win the toss and get the opportunity to batfirst. On the other hand, they had lost their captain and top batsman,Steve Tikolo, who was suffering from bronchitis. Official vice-captainThomas Odoyo Migai took over the reins. They suffered another early blowwhen they lost opener Ravindu Shah (0) to the fourth ball of the innings,edging a ball from Friend straight to Alistair Campbell in the slips.Kennedy Odoyo and Brijal Patel proceeded with caution, until Obuya uppercutHenry Olonga for a spectacular six over backward point. However he becameover-ambitious and when Douglas Hondo came on tried to force him off theback foot but hit a catch straight to Grant Flower at short extra cover; hedeparted for 18, and Kenya were 36 for two.Maurice Odumbe (5) did not last long before he too departed to theimpressive Friend, caught by Campbell at slip as Shah had been. BrijalPatel, the number three, looked an accomplished strokeplayer and drove Hondofor two cultured fours, followed by a cut to the boundary, all in the sameover.A useful partnership developed between Patel and the more experienced HiteshModi, and they added 54 before Patel (44) was beaten and bowled by a fasterball from Murphy that knocked the off stump out of the ground. Theleft-handed Modi grew in confidence, even playing the reverse sweep withaplomb, and Odoyo hit some powerful strokes, but they did not have theexperience to raise the scoring rate much beyond four an over.A sweep to the fine-leg boundary brought Modi his fifty, but then seemed tolose his fluency and in the end holed out to long-off off Doug Marillier for55. Kenya were 165 for five in the 40th over and the sixth-wicket pair hadadded 70, a new record for Kenya against Zimbabwe.Kenya now looked to Odoyo for a major innings but, backing up too far, hewas taken by surprise by a direct hit from Campbell that caught him out ofhis crease. He made 37, and Kenya were 176 for six in the 42nd over. Thetail did not wag, and it took the last pair to push the score past 200.Jimmy Kamande with 18 was the only later batsman to reach double figures.Zimbabwe suffered a bad start when Alistair Campbell, following a poorseries against Pakistan, ran himself out for 2; backing up too eagerly asnon-striker, he was stranded by Modi’s direct hit from mid-on.The weather was now playing a part, and a flurry of rain drove the playersoff briefly after three overs; they resumed, but play lasted only another 13balls before the rain returned, with Zimbabwe 18 for one. A light rainpersisted for some time, leaving the outfield slippery, and soon after 3.30local time the umpires called it a day.There was little to make the match memorable for anybody, but if there hadbeen a Man of the Match award for this abandoned game, perhaps the mostdeserving player would have been Travis Friend for one of his best openingspells; he gave Zimbabwe the early initiative which they never really lost.

Australian coach John Buchanan will not lead Australia on the Travelex Tour of Kenya after sustaining a back injury this weekend during the team’s training camp in Brisbane.Buchanan suffered an acute episode of lower back pain at the end of a net session during the team’s final practice at Allan Border Field on Saturday 25 August.Diagnostic scans of his back were taken in Brisbane today.The Queenslander’s full recovery is expected to take 10 days, after which he will join the one-day international squad ahead of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka, starting 12 September.Australia A coach Allan Border will replace Buchanan as Australian coach for the Tri-Nation’s Cup in Nairobi, Kenya.Border, who was due to travel to Johannesburg on Tuesday for Australia A’s seven-game series against South Africa A, will now fly to Nairobi tomorrow with the Australian squad.Commonwealth Bank Cricket Academy head coach Bennett King will take over Border’s duties as Australia A coach.Australian team physiotherapist Errol Alcott said Buchanan’s injury is severely restricting the coach’s mobility."Unfortunately, John has not responded to treatment yesterday and today," Alcott said."He has been instructed to take complete rest and not engage in any activity. Due to the severe pain and lack of mobility, he would not be able to embark on a long journey, such as the one the team is taking to Nairobi tomorrow."Alcott said Buchanan’s rehabilitation will involve complete bed rest until a review of the injury in the next few days."We’ll monitor his progress over the next day or so, expecting him to be more mobile next week."

Having lost the toss and being asked to field, the West Indies made the best of a bad start, restricting India to 275 for six at the end of the first day. Carl Hooper and his attack of four seamers will feel that, in some part at least, they wrested the initiative back from the hosts. With the Indian tail exposed, the West Indies will hope to restrict India to as little over 300 as possible; that will be half the battle won. From there, the skipper will have to hope that his batsmen come good when most needed.The day began in somewhat bizarre fashion as the visitors made wholesale changes to their side. Surprising the pundits, the West Indies went into the game with four seamers on a wicket that looked slow and conducive to spin bowling. Marlon Samuels, Darren Powell and Cameron Cuffy were brought into the team in place of Ryan Hinds, Gareth Breese and injured left-arm seamer Pedro Collins.The strategy seemed to backfire as Virender Sehwag characteristically started to put the bowling to the sword from the moment he reached the crease. Unmindful of the fact that he was beaten time and again, Sehwag slashed merrily at anything even a touch loose. The result was six boundaries in an entertaining run-a-ball 35 before a quicker one from Merv Dillon beat the bat. Straddling his crease, Sehwag was trapped in front of the stumps, and India had lost their first wicket for a brisk 49 that came in 10.2 overs.Sanjay Bangar too seemed to be in an unusually adventurous mood. Driving at several deliveries too wide for the stroke, Bangar even edged a catch into the slip cordon early on, but watched in relief as Shivnarine Chanderpaul floored the tough chance.Rahul Dravid, in perhaps the best form of his life, stroked the ball well from the word Go, looking good for a big knock when his innings was cut short on 14. Getting the ball to come back off the wicket, Darren Powell had Dravid inside-edging onto his pad. Missing the edge, umpire David Shepherd upheld the confident appeal for leg-before. When the teams walked off the field for lunch, India were 98 for two off 26 overs, scoring at a fast clip despite the loss of two crucial wickets.In the second session, the pattern was much the same. Sachin Tendulkar, well on course to a big score, fell against the run of play in the 37th over of the innings. Flashing hard outside the off at a well-directed delivery from Jermaine Lawson, Tendulkar (36, seven fours) only managed to edge the ball to Chris Gayle in the slips.Sourav Ganguly then took over the scoring. Using the angled bat to great effect, the Indian skipper pierced the infield on the off-side off both front and back foot to score five boundaries in his 29. Then, just at the stroke of the tea, Ganguly attempted to cut a straight one from Carl Hooper – in reality, much too close to cut – and tickled the ball through to wicket-keeper Ridley Jacobs.Quickly sizing up the situation, Bangar settled down to playing the role of sheet anchor to perfection. The intermittent fall of wickets at the other end only made Bangar concentrate harder. Batting with great care for 201 balls, Bangar (77, 13 boundaries) finally lost his concentration and drove Cameron Cuffy on the up into the waiting hands of Wavell Hinds in the cover-point region. The backbone of the Indian innings, Bangar once more proved his utility with a knock of high value.While Bangar was the only one to spend any significant time in the middle, all the other top-order batsmen got starts. Coming in at number six, VVS Laxman was no exception. As wristy and fluent as ever, the Hyderabadi stylist tucked the ball away to all parts of the ground for 48, including eight boundaries. However, in almost characteristic fashion, Laxman fished at a ball well outside the off-stump to be caught at slip.The Indian captain would have been disappointed with the timing of Laxman’s fall, coming as it did in the 81st over, on a day where just 83 overs were possible. Fortunately for the hosts, Parthiv Patel (18 not out) and Harbhajan Singh ensured that no more than six wickets were lost on the day.Yet again, the West Indies have managed to end a day’s play on a high note. If they are to salvage some of the fierce Caribbean pride that saw their teams rise to the very pinnacle in yesteryear, the visitors must press home the advantage, sustain the momentum, and make life as difficult as possible for India on the start of the second day.

The English county system takes in four major competitions during the course of the northern domestic summer. The oldest and most famous of these is the first-class competition, known this year as the Frizzell County Championship. The other three – the Benson & Hedges Cup, the Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy, and the Norwich Union League – are all one-day competitions but each assumes a different format.Frizzell County Championship – this is England’s major first-class competition and consists of a series of four-day matches. The 18 county teams are split into two groups – Division One and Division Two – on the basis of their finishing positions the previous season.The top nine counties from last year are joined in battle in Division One; the bottom nine are grouped to form Division Two, as follows:Division One: Kent, Hampshire, Lancashire, Leicestershire, Somerset, Surrey, Sussex, Warwickshire and Yorkshire.Division Two: Derbyshire, Durham, Essex, Glamorgan, Gloucestershire, Middlesex, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire and Worcestershire.The side which finishes at the top of the Division One standings at the end of the season is the winner of the competition.There is also a promotion and relegation component.The three sides which finish at the bottom of Division One are relegated to Division Two for 2003. Conversely, the three sides which end at the top of the Division Two standings are promoted to Division One for 2003.Benson & Hedges Cup – a limited-overs competition which incorporates two separate phases. The county teams are initially divided into three groups of six (as shown below) and take part in a round-robin series of matches against opponents from within those groups.North: Derbyshire, Durham, Lancashire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire.Midland/Wales/West: Glamorgan, Northamptonshire, Somerset, Worcestershire and Warwickshire.South: Essex, Hampshire, Kent, Middlesex, Surrey and Sussex.At the end of these matches, the top two teams from each pool go forward to the quarter-finals. Joining them are the two teams which finish third in their groups and attain more points than the other third-placed finisher.The quarter-finals and semi-finals are knockout affairs and precede a Final at Lord’s on 22 June.All of the matches are scheduled as 50-overs-per-side.The 2002 season is scheduled to be the last in which the Benson & Hedges Cup is played. Under a series of recommendations recently adopted by the England and Wales Cricket Board, it is due to be replaced by a 20-over competition at the start of 2003.Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy – sponsored by a major financial services company, this is a straight knockout competition which pits the 18 counties against minor county teams and county board sides, many of which are purely amateur teams. Each of the 18 major county teams receives a bye through to the third round of a competition that could loosely be depicted as cricket’s version of the FA Cup. Like the Benson and Hedges Cup, the matches are played over a total of 100 overs and the Final is contested at Lord’s, although this decider comes far later in the season – on 31 August.Norwich Union League – this is the most time-intensive of all three of the one-day competitions in that its programme lasts from 12 May until 22 September.Complete with coloured clothing, floodlit matches and nicknames for all of the teams, the competition shares a number of traits with many of the world’s major domestic one-day series. Where it differs is in the notion that the matches are 45-over-per-side contests.Like the County Championship, the competition is split into two divisions and promotion and relegation is a feature.Based on the teams’ finishing positions at the end of last summer, the divisions have been configured as follows for 2002:Division One: Durham Dynamos, Glamorgan Dragons, Kent Spitfires, Leicestershire Foxes, Nottinghamshire Outlaws, Somerset Sabres, Warwickshire Bears, Worcestershire Royals and Yorkshire Phoenix.Division Two: Derbyshire Scorpions, Essex Eagles, Gloucestershire Gladiators, Hampshire Hawks, Lancashire Lightning, Middlesex Crusaders, Northamptonshire Steelbacks, Surrey Lions, Sussex Sharks.Again, the champion team is the one that ends the season at the head of the Division One standings.

• The 2002 English domestic season commences on 13 April and will conclude on 22 September.

With only a few minor alterations, Australia and South Africa read from a script first used at the Wanderers last Friday. This time round, however, Australia increased their winning margin to 45 runs as they took a 2-0 after the second of the Standard Bank One-Day Internationals at SuperSport Park on Sunday.Again Australia batted first – although on this occasion they were asked to do by Shaun Pollock; again they cobbled together a total (226 for eight) that seemed perhaps 30 or 40 runs light; and again South Africa’s top and middle order collapsed.The sense of déjà vu went so far as to include another defiant attempt by Lance Klusener to rescue a lost cause. Once again, though, his efforts were in vain as South Africa were bowled out for 181, Klusener’s contribution being a thunderous, run-a-ball 59.For this match Australia were forced into two changes to the side that won on Friday. One of them involved giving Jimmy Maher only his third match in an international one-day career that started four years ago. The 28-year-old Maher made the most of this rare opportunity, holding the innings together with a thoughtful 95 and sharing in Australia’s two key partnerships.The first, with Matthew Hayden, produced 85 for the second wicket and then, after Nicky Boje had accounted for Hayden and Ricky Ponting in successive deliveries, Maher and Damien Martyn added 93 for the fourth wicket.The stand ended when Martyn was caught behind off Roger Telemachus for 42. Batsman and bowlers exchanged words as Martyn departed and Telemachus sent Martyn on his way with a two-fingered gesture. It is understood that the explanation from the dressing room is that Telemachus was indicating that it was the second time in as many games that he has taken Martyn’s wicket. Whether match referee Cammie Smith will buy this one remains to be seen.Telemachus also picked up the wicket of Maher, caught on the cover boundary as Australia attempted to step up the moment in the closing overs of their innings. He would have been disappointed to have fallen only five runs short and, indeed, Australia might have felt they didn’t kick on with sufficient vigour.Overall, though, South Africa did a good job in the field with Shaun Pollock taking four for 32 to suggest that he is regaining his sharpness.At bat, though, South Africa started badly and got worse, slipping to 110 for seven before Klusener found his range. There were two wickets apiece for Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie and two quite outstanding run outs effected by Ponting’s quickness and accuracy in the field to get rid of Boeta Dippenaar and Pollock.He also snapped up two excellent catches and if Jonty Rhodes won the personal duel in the field between the two in the first game at the Wanderers, Ponting walked this one. His direct hit to run out Dippenaar came in with razor sharp accuracy and it was his speed to the balls and quickness of release that caught Pollock short as he tried to get back into his ground.With Klusener around, though, South Africa still had a sniff. He spent much of 2001 fiddling around with his bottom hand having taken over almost completely, but he has found his range again since being dropped from the Test side in Australia and while he was hitting, Australia could never be entirely sure of victory.This effort contained four huge sixes (two of them coming off successive Shane Watson deliveries), but eventually his luck ran out when he holed out at cow corner off Darren Lehmann.Australia, then, have put some space between themselves and South Africa. With five matches in the series remaining, the home side have to win four to deny the Australians. And for that to happen, the top order needs to function.

Pat Cummins expects to be parachuted in to the New South Wales Sheffield Shield team on the final day of what is shaping as a potentially fiery encounter with a Queensland side not entirely happy to be facing as many as 15 players against their 11 ahead of the first Test at the Gabba.While Cummins has been left out of the New South Wales side for their Sheffield Shield match against Queensland, to start at the Allan Border Field in Brisbane on Friday, there is a chance the 19-year-old may be included as a substitute player for the last day of the match on Monday, with four of the Blues players due to join Australia’s Test squad.Returning home from a trophy-winning Twenty20 Champions League campaign with the Sydney Sixers, Cummins said he hoped to be able to take part in the final day of the match, his first involvement in a first-class fixture since his one and only Test match against South Africa in Johannesburg last year.”We mapped it out three or four months ago so I knew what the process was going to be, I obviously want to be out there playing cricket and Shield cricket especially,” Cummins said. “Hopefully, maybe I’ll play on the fourth day of this game, depending on what the selectors do with the Aussie side and then hopefully after that get into the next Shield game.”I have been playing T20 cricket for about two or three months and we mapped out a plan then and in between the games we knew we wouldn’t be able to fit in enough overs to get right for Shield straight away, so it’s probably building up for two or three weeks and then getting right for the shield game against Victoria at the SCG.”If NSW were bowling on the final day of the match, that would allow Cummins to ease his way back into Shield competition after spending the past two months playing Twenty20 cricket with Australia and the Sydney Sixers. Cummins, who has not played a first-class match for nearly a year, is expected to be considered for the third Test against South Africa in Perth, but only if his body and form holds up through Shield cricket in the meantime.Queensland are unhappy that they do not know the identity of the replacement players they may face, the coach Darren Lehmann pointing out that the side may be stacked with batsmen or bowlers depending on the game scenario.”It’s certainly not fair,” Lehmann said. “I’d like to know who the replacements are when we’re playing a game. They could be bowling or chasing runs and end up picking all batters to replace their bowlers. So I’d like to know who they are replacing them with.”If they don’t replace them, or rather don’t let us know who they are, then they can’t replace them. It’s first-class cricket.”New South Wales have named a squad featuring four members of Australia’s Test squad – Michael Clarke, Shane Watson, David Warner and Mitchell Starc – and only two players who have not played for or toured with the Australians. Brad Haddin will keep the wicketkeeping gloves ahead of Peter Nevill, who has been named as a specialist batsman.The Blues will be without Moises Henriques and Steven Smith, who will instead be part of the Australia A team to play South Africa in Sydney. For Cummins, the chance to play even a walk-on role in a first-class fixture is an enticing prospect after a year beset by injuries and countless T20 engagements.”In the past 18 months [Johannesburg] was the only game of cricket I played with a red ball, so I am itching to get back with the red ball and trying to get it swinging around for more than two overs,” Cummins said. “You want to play as much cricket as possible and it starts with the Shield and I haven’t played Shield cricket for close to 18 months now so I am chomping at the bit to get out there.”It’s ok that it is mapped out three or four months in advance but it does hurt when you are sitting on the sidelines and you feel relatively fit and there are other people playing.”New South Wales squad David Warner, Shane Watson, Scott Henry, Nic Maddinson, Michael Clarke (capt), Peter Nevill, Brad Haddin (wk), Steve O’Keefe, Mitchell Starc, Trent Copeland, Josh Hazlewood, Doug Bollinger.

Cricket’s a simple game when it is played properly and runs are achieved by the top order.New Zealand looked a different team when handing out a record 138-run hiding to Pakistan at Christchurch’s Jade Stadium in the fourth match of the National Bank series today.It is New Zealand’s highest winning margin against Pakistan, and the fourth highest against all nations.New Zealand totalled 284/5 and benefited from the best top order start of the home summer.Skipper Stephen Fleming was out for a duck but a 101-run partnership for the second wicket between Nathan Astle (71) and Roger Twose (42) gave New Zealand a foundation it has long sought.At 113/3 there was the potential for disaster, but Astle and Craig McMillan added 53 for the fourth wicket and while Lou Vincent followed for four from another interesting leg before wicket call that went against the home team, the stage was set for McMillan and Chris Harris to add 112 for the unbroken sixth wicket.It was a situation tailor-made for Harris, coming in with 15 overs remaining, wickets in hand and bowlers on the ropes. He finished 39 not out off 56 balls and the greatest fault in his innings may have been telling McMillan, erroneously as it turned out, that he had achieved his century.McMillan was on 97 with four balls of the innings left. Fortunately, although losing the strike at one stage, he had one chance to secure his century and he did with a six over mid wicket and out of the ground.He achieved the feat with five sixes and six fours and off 75 balls, to equal the record held by Chris Cairns set on the same ground against India two years ago.Pakistan seemed to find demons in the pitch where none existed for New Zealand.The continued development of Daryl Tuffey and James Franklin as one-day exponents continued apace. Success against Pakistan is invaluable as it is one of the better combinations in the one day game when on song.But when as off key as today, it appears more vulnerable than most.The loss of Saeed Anwar to the last ball of the first over immediately diminished Pakistan’s prospects.He offered a chance which was well taken by Astle fielding at second slip.Franklin didn’t want to be left out and his first ball accounted for Imran Nazir, caught at deep fine leg by Tuffey for a duck.Then in the third over Azhar Mahmood was caught by wicket-keeper Adam Parore from Tuffey’s bowling for one.A splendid piece of Vincent fielding resulted in Yousuf Youhana being run out. So quickly executed was Vincent’s throw that Youhana was well short of his ground, although the third umpire was called in before the decision was made.Saleem Elahi was then victim to one of the most consistent themes running through this series, the number of batsmen getting out to the first ball of bowlers’s new spells. He hit one in Harris’ direction backward of point and was well held, out for 13.Then the final blow occurred to extinguish whatever remote thoughts there may have been of getting up to be competitive when Abdur Razzaq was caught at long off by Tuffey for 31.At 71/6 in the 26th over, it was all over.With the required run rate up over 13 an over, the injured Inzamam-ul-Haq and skipper Moin Khan decided to make the most of the chance for some open air batting practice.It short-changed the crowd which might have liked to have seen some more action but as the win belonged to the home team there was little concern.The effort was another triumph for Tuffey who took three for 30 while Astle’s three wickets in one over at the bottom of the innings came at the cost of seven runs.

New Zealand’s one-day team to tour Sharjah and Pakistan is to be named tomorrow on what should be the next phase of the side’s World Cup ’03 development.But such is the injury count at the moment that it can only be an exercise in match strategy involving some of the second tier of players who may or may not be called on in the final count, depending on the injuries down the line.Out of consideration are: Chris Cairns, Shane Bond, Dion Nash and it could be that the national selectors decide that Daniel Vettori deserves a rest in preparation for the Pakistan Test series which follows the two one-day exercises in Sharjah and Pakistan.Fourteen players are to be named for the tour which includes a minimum of four games in Sharjah and three in Pakistan.In Sharjah, New Zealand play Sri Lanka on April 9, Pakistan on April 11, Sri Lanka on April 14 and Pakistan again on April 15.The tournament final is to be played on April 17.The basis of the side obviously has to be the team which beat England 3-2 and which made the finals of the VB Series in Australia.That would see: Stephen Fleming (captain), Nathan Astle, Craig McMillan, Lou Vincent, Chris Harris, Daryl Tuffey and Andre Adams as certainties for the side.Chris Nevin should be retained as wicket-keeper and with the absence of Adam Parore for future consideration, there is a chance for him to claim the position for himself with the gloves and as an opener.If the selectors decide that Vettori is still in good enough condition to make the tour then he too, will be in the automatic category. However, if he is rested, then Auckland’s Brooke Walker must be the favoured option. He has had chances in the past and while he was covering for injury to Vettori, there must be hope that he has had a chance to absorb the lessons and be reconsidered.Glen Sulzberger has also been part of the mix in recent times and it could be that he gains his place if two spinners are preferred.One important decision that will be made is whether Brendon McCullum holds his place in the squad. He is a long term investment by the selectors and he has too much to offer to be placed on the substitutes’ bench and he should retain his spot.James Franklin should also be recalled to the side to continue his education in international play and his recent run scoring for Wellington will have been appreciated by the selectors.Another consideration will be Central Districts’ captain Jacob Oram back in action after missing much of the season with a foot injury. He was shaping as a key element in New Zealand’s one-day planning after last summer and given the on-going problems with Cairns, he should be a consideration for the side.The final choice will be in the bowling attack. Whether Scott Styris offers anything more in the bowling than that offered already in the attack and it may be that a workhorse-type of bowler like Chris Drum, especially with the Pakistan leg of the tour in mind, catches the selectors’ eyes.That would leave the team possibly looking like: Stephen Fleming (captain), Nathan Astle, Chris Nevin, Brendon McCullum, Craig McMillan, Lou Vincent, Chris Harris, Daniel Vettori/Brooke Walker, Glen Sulzberger, Daryl Tuffey, Andre Adams, James Franklin, Jacob Oram, Chris Drum.