http://www.senore.com/Cricket/BB-McCullum-c1129 unlikely to feature in third ODI against Windies – Cricket News Update
New Zealand coach http://www.senore.com/Cricket/John-Geoffrey-Wright-c67883 is unwilling to include a potentially jet-lagged Brendon McCullum in the line-up for the Kiwis’ third ODI against the West Indies, scheduled for July 11 at Warner Park in Basseterre, St Kitts.
“We'll see how he feels. It's a long journey, but that may be a little bit tight,” said Wright.
McCullum is expected to arrive in St Kitts 20 hours before the match kicks off at Warner Park, but Wright feels the timing is too close to allow the burly wicket-keeper batsman to feature in the playing XI for the game. The head coach added that McCullum would be coordinating with team physio Paul Close to determine his fitness for the 3rd ODI, although the final decision rested with Wright himself.
The 30-year-old has been sorely missed by his team as they have been continually thrashed by the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/West-Indies-c760, suffering four consecutive defeats. The tour kicked off with a 2-match T20 series in Florida, which the Windies went on to sweep 2-0. The teams then shifted to the Caribbean for the ongoing 5-match ODI series – the hosts won the first game on July 5 by 9 wickets, with 52 balls remaining, and continued in a similar vein during the second match on July 7, claiming a 55-run victory over the hapless Black Caps at Kingston.
Among the problems faced by the Kiwis is a weakened batting order which has been unable to fire without the support of batsmen such as http://www.senore.com/Cricket/JD-Ryder-c1679 and McCullum. The right-hander has played a total of 201 ODIs (with 4511 runs to his credit) and 190 T20s (5385 runs), and the absence of his experience in the line-up has been a major disadvantage.
However, his participation in the 4th and 5th ODI has been confirmed by Wright, suggesting a possible upward trend for http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Andrew-Ellis-c1037.
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