Hamish Rutherford and Peter Fulton will carry the mantle of opening the innings at Auckland's Eden Park, come February 6. "Martin was discussed," revealed team coach Mike Hesson. "We are showing some faith (in the incumbent openers). We all know what Peter did (two centuries against England) at Eden Park during his last stint. Hamish also showed good qualities at Hamilton in getting us through in the win against West Indies. "It is a hard side to make at the moment," he added.
Jesse Ryder and Hamish Bennett would agree. Ryder is in the 12, though only as a cover for Ross Taylor, who is expecting to be summoned for family duties any time. "Jesse's been great since he's come back. He's an enthusiastic guy. He has hit form very quickly once he got back into the group. That would have given him a lot of confidence. The guys enjoy playing with him, and he enjoys playing with the guys. It's nice to have him back," the coach declared.
Hesson wasn't too perturbed by the challenge at hand though. "More than that, it is a great opportunity for the side to show what it is made of. We were thrilled the way we played to beat the West Indies 2-0, but realise we'll have to step it up another gear against India," he said. "It's an exciting challenge and we look forward to giving it our all."
New Zealand have a strong middle order, with Taylor, Kane Williamson and Brendon McCullum. Corey Anderson will play at No. 6. Expectedly, they have a full complement of five pacers to choose from, with Ish Sodhi being the lone spinner.
0 comments:
Post a Comment