Kiwi’s stand firm for first test

The Black Caps are a very competitive limited over cricket team. The shortened version of the game suits their style and in many ways lets them hide their lack of depth in certain areas. Test match cricket is the pinnacle of the sport and it is impossible to be successful without a strong team and in this case a strong team means 11 world class players.

Make no mistake, we have some class players in our team. If you were to pick the best 11 test match sides from the ranks of Australian and New Zealand players Vettori, Bond, Taylor and McCallum would all be certain selections. The problem the Black Caps have is that their next best seven have questionable ability and considering Bond isn’t playing test cricket at the moment you could push that figure out to eight.

The selectors have made one change to the line up that played against Bangladesh earlier in the summer with Sinclair replacing Broom. I am surprised Styris wasn’t considered after his excellent performances in the one day game. An old head with a proven ability to stand tough against the Aussies bullying tactics might have been an incredible asset.

The Black Caps will have to get considerable service out of the stars and they are going to need some of their other men to play out of their skin. Australia is vulnerable at the moment but the big question remains; do the Black Caps have the expertise to exploit that? When it comes to cricket betting you have to ask yourself do you back the Aussies at a very short price or will you gamble on the Kiwis standing up and putting it to them?