http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758 v New Zealand – Only T20I – Kiwi batsmen to watch out for [Part 2]
Continued from Part 1 ...
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/RJ-Nicol-c2331
With 1761 runs from 79 T20s to his credit, Rob Nicol has been identified as an opening batsman by NZC, and is most likely to open the innings alongside McCullum in Sri Lanka. The 29-year-old made his international debut in 2010, during a T20I series against
Sri Lanka, and went on to represent the country in the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/ICC-World-Cup-2011-c100625 World Twenty20 in the Caribbean the very same year.
The right-hander has extensive experience in the format at the domestic level to back him. He made it to the national squad on the basis of a superb performance in the Twenty20 HRV Cup, during which he was the leading run-getter for http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Canterbury-c775, with 237
runs at a strike-rate of 127.41 to his credit.
Nicol was New Zealand’s fourth-highest run-scorer in the World T20, with 105 runs from 5 matches. In addition to getting the runs for the team, he also showed aptitude at playing subcontinental teams, scoring 33 against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755, and a fluent 58 against
Sri Lanka during the Super Eights match, while several of his teammates struggled visibly to adapt. New Zealand will be counting on Nicol to channel the same form in the upcoming Only T20I, as they face off against the Lankan spinners.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/LRPL-Taylor-c1849
Right behind McCullum as one of the most experienced New Zealand batsmen in the T20 format of the game, skipper Ross Taylor, in addition to carrying the responsibility to lead from the front, has the experience of 190 T20s (with 4271 runs) to back him, as
he prepares to guide the team into their tour of Sri Lanka.
Like McCullum, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Taylor-c92915 has also forayed into the world of T20 leagues, and has been affiliated with three Indian Premier League franchises – the Royal Challengers Bangalore, the
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757 for the ongoing Champions League Twenty20. The tournament is bound to serve as useful match practice to get Taylor into the mindset
for T20s, and New Zealand will be counting on him to deliver.
The 28-year-old remained the team’s second highest run-scorer in Sri Lanka during the World T20, with 147 runs from 5 matches to his credit. His unbeaten 62 against the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/New-Zealand-c754 batsman in the competition,
and Taylor will be expected to continue in a similar vein as the Kiwis kick off their campaign in Sri Lanka.
James Franklin
31-year-old all-rounder http://www.senore.com/Cricket/JEC-Franklin-c1684 has featured as a vital cog in the New Zealand batting order, ever since he made his international debut in 2001. However, it wasn’t until 2006 that he had a chance to play a T20I for the national side.
Nevertheless, owing partly to experience with the national team, and partly due to his ventures in the domestic circuit, and T20 leagues such as the Indian Premier League (in which he was affiliated with the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mumbai-c820 Indians), Franklin has managed to play
a total of 151 T20s, from which he has 3025 runs under his belt.
The left-hander remained the team’s third-highest run-scorer in the recent World T20 in Sri Lanka, where he contributed a total of 120 runs in five matches, with a top-score of 50 against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/England-c56013 at Pallekele. New Zealand will be banking on Franklin to rack
up similar scores in Sri Lanka, as they take up the daunting task of attempting to defeat the Lankan http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Lions-c808 on their home soil.
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