Brendon McCullum may open innings in Tests
New Zealand batsman Brendon McCullum may open the innings in the Test series against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/New-Zealand-c754 team
had given up his gloves to focus on his batting.
McCullum, who opens the innings for the Kiwi side in the shorter format of the game, could be sent up as a strategy to take the initiative away from the opposition. New Zealand’s problem in the recent times
stems from the fact that the top-order has not looked the part of an international set-up. Far too often, the top-order has been fallen apart and the middle-order and the lower middle-order has had to do the job.
According to captain Daniel Vettori, "I think he [McCullum] can set the tone opening or at number three. Much like [Virender] Sehwag does for India. He really sets the tone for the team and takes a lot of
pressure off the rest of the batsmen. I think Brendon can do that role, whether it is opening or at number three."
What is surprising is that the decision on who will open the innings has not yet been taken. Usually, touring teams make their strategies before landing on the foreign soil and use it during the warm-up games.
However, in this case, New Zealand do not play any warm-up matches and will straightaway play the first Test match.
Vettori said, "Those top three positions have been unsettled for the history of our game. It is a continual problem and something that we are always searching for. We are really hoping Brendon, with his experience
as an opener in one-day cricket and his good form in Test cricket last year, can be a real solution."
McCullum himself was happy to see himself getting the promotion up the order. He said that he has had issues earlier in adjusting to the situations and answer questions on whether he needed to attack or defend.
At the top of the innings, McCullum will have the opportunity to go in with an uncluttered mind and go after the bowling. He said, "In the past, I have been caught between the two approaches - aggression and fiddling around - and there have been a few interesting
innings. Now I have decided that my best course of action is to be aggressive. I can take heart from the success of attacking openers like [Chris] Gayle, [Virender] Sehwag, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Tamim-Iqbal-c2640, [Tillakaratne] Dilshan or [Matthew] Hayden over the years.”
The first Test will be played at Motera in Ahmedabad.
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