Welcome Back Ryder

While Ross Taylor was setting records in Hamilton, he could have done with fellow Masterton star, Jesse Ryder to be at the other end. Almost a year ago to the day, Ryder & Taylor combined in a record 271 partnership against India, with Taylor scoring a 150 and Ryder progressing to a double century.

Curiously, while Taylor was performing his heroics Ryder was also racing to a century, finishing with 114 off 67 balls for Naenae Old Boys. Today he returned to first class cricket for Wellington hitting 103 off 109 balls.

What I find infuriating about this, is that Ryder was back in the first week of March playing club cricket and actually bowled 11 overs without incident. At the time he was told he would have to play for Wellington before coming back for New Zealand. He played another week of club cricket but was ill before Wellington's next game so couldn't complete the fitness test set for him. Former player and commentator John Morrison queried whether it would have been better to simply play him, and I agree. Ryder is a unique talent and should have been returned to New Zealand duty where we is badly needed.

Meanwhile, in Hamilton it looks like Australia are going to set a target well beyond our batsmen.

The Mystery of Lou Vincent

Watching the New Zealand top order struggle against Australia has left me wondering how Lou Vincent would have fared. With his experience and track record in ODI's and tests against Australia, he would have seemed a vital part of our batting arsenal. Instead, he is apparently back in England.

How did it get to this? I first read about Vincent when he was an 18 year old selected for Auckland. He had spent his teenage years in Australia, and some commentators suggest this provided him with a hardened attitude compared to his Kiwi counterparts. Vincent of course went on to score a century on debut at the WACA against an Australian attack featuring Lee, McGrath, Gillespie & Warne (he got a half century in the second innings). It was a phenomenal achievement and should have paved the way to a glittering career. In his book 'Out of the Park' Craig McMillan writes that Vincent is the "most talented cricketer I have seen." So why hasn't Vincent enjoyed the same success of Fleming, Astle or even McMillan himself?

McMillan suggests that Vincent was plagued by a lack of self belief, which wasn't helped by being shifted up and down the order. A particular example is where Vincent scored 224 batting at No.4, and the next test found himself opening.

When Nathan Astle was dropped in 2007 and Vincent came in to open in the World Series against Australia and South Africa. He had immediate success and it looked like he might finally fulfill his promise. Unfortunately, a broken hand took him out of the World Cup and he struggled in the test series later that year against South Africa. He was dropped and shortly afterwards revealed he had suffered from depression. In a recent interview ('Back from the Brink') he talks about his battle with this condition and how it may have cost him some cricket roles as people doubt his confidence. However, he suggests he has come to grips with it which can only be good for his future cricketing performances. Certainly, his performances in the domestic T20 were outstanding, and included an unbeated century off 60 balls while using the new Mongoose bat. Unfortunately, while the selectors have welcomed back his ICL teammates Bond and Tuffey, Vincent is still out in the cold.

Stryris answers the critics

Since retiring from test cricket I've sometimes wondered if Styris, on some level, had lost his edge. His courageous and typically pugnacious innings tonight anchoring an unlikely run chase shows very much that he still has it. The sight of Styris face to face with an irate Mitchell Johnson, refusing to give an inch, just summed up his combative approach. He took the Australians on and almost singlehandedly (with a brilliant supporting cameo from Shane Bond) took NZ across the line. The imperious straight six to finish the game of Bollinger was an emphatic statement that he was back.

The Greatest T20 Game Ever?

I can't imagine a more exciting and compelling game of T20 than the game in Christchurch on Sunday. McCullum's innings was extraordinary in every aspect. In terms of statistics he reached his century of just 50 balls. This would be impressive against Central Districts, but against Australia it is almost beyond belief. There have been a number of fast 50's against Australia, notably Lance Cairns at the MCG off 20 balls, but to sustain that pace all the way to a century is unique.

Much has been said about his ramp shot, and I have to say it was almost surreal seeing balls by Shaun Tait at 155 kph being scooped well beyond the boundary. The difficulty level was put into perspective when Jacob Oram attempted something similar and had his stumps destroyed. The margin for error is minute, and McCullum just kept pulling it off.

The Australians paced their innings expertly and Cameron White seems to have the hitting power of Gilchrist at his peak. So it was was with some apprehension that I watched as Tim Southee was brought back into the attack when Australia appeared to be in control. Southee of course got hammered for 105 in his 10 overs at the same ground last year by India. He was dropped from the team after being so impressive against England the season before. Vettori deserves praise for entrusting Southee with the crucial 'super over' also. He could easily have gone for Bond or even himself (which were the two options the commentators were discussing). Southee delivered under incredible pressure in a manner reminiscent of Chris Pringle's match winning maiden over to Bruce Reid. Now hopefully he will go on to live up to his early promise.

New Zealand's Next Top Allrounder

Daniel Vettori has admirably filled the void left by the test retirement of Oram, but longer term there are some interesting potential stars emerging. Glancing at the recent domestic results, the 19 year old Corey Anderson has featured strongly with bat and ball.

Anderson became the youngest person to play first class cricket in New Zealand since the 1940's when he debuted for Canterbury shortly after his 16th birthday. The NZ selectors obviously recognise his talent as he was picked for NZ A last year and enjoyed success with the bat. The left hander bats in the top six and seems capable of playing destroying attacks with power hitting (see below). What is encouraging about his recent results is that he is now breaking through with his bowling after recovering from shoulder surgery. Hopefully Anderson will continue to impress and it seems a matter of time until we see him in NZ colours.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaqZRnePIbY&feature=related

Watling Stars as Rain Denies NZ

So much for my 'realistic prediction' that we would be struggling for survival. Instead, for the second time in 2009, a potentially match and series winning innings for New Zealand has been stymied by the weather. Guptill's blazing unbeaten innings in the Hadlee/Chappell decider brought us within 30 runs of victory before the rain arrived. This time we needed 118 from a minimum of 23 overs to win the series. Again, it was a newcomer leading the charge with debutant Watling flying to 60 off 62 balls. The idea of a match winning innings, much less a match winning century on debut, would be a dream start for any player. But for the rain, it just might have happened.

It would have been a great end to the cricket year, a fairy tale debut and a fairy tale ending for Iain O'Brien. But that's the way it goes. Which calls to mind the comment of a veteran sports writer, Dan Jenkins, after Tom Watson fell just short of winning the British Open this year at the age of 59: "You know, maybe we're just not good enough people to have a story this good happen to us."

Still, after Watling's fine debut and the teams improvement in this test there should be some good stories to look forward to this season.

O'Brien's Last Hurrah

Can this stalwart bowler deliver victory for NZ tomorrow? Perhaps a final 5 wicket haul on his last day of test cricket? As Joseph Romanos wrote last week, "cricket fans here love honest battlers", and O'Brien exemplifies those qualities of guts and determination that people admire.

So tomorrow, hopefully the weather holds and O'Brien can exit the test match stage on a deserved high.

(Realistically, we'll probably find ourselves chasing 250+ and struggling to keep out Kaneria on a turning wicket)