He isn't in the invitational XI because Otago needs him for the state shield semi final. But it would be good to see him out of the test side.
I thought that too, but they selected Fulton, who is also set to appear for Canterbury.
That 42 odd Taylor played was one of the better knocks i've seen him play, because he played to the conditions. He was a bit scratchy early on but peeled off some fantastic shots later on when he got himself in some form. He looked really good.
Man of the Series has to be McCullum. He's a fantastic player. This could be his breakthrough series where he is more recognized internationally. A far as i'm concerned, he's the most dangerous opener going around right now. The scary thing has been his consistency. Averages 53.66 since opening the innings for the first time since he began on 25th November 2007. Strike rate i'd imagine is well over 100, though I don't think cricinfo can give me that figure.
That last six he hit was giant. I've never seen a six get close to landing up there before. Man he's strong for a short guy. It's also amazing how often he hit sixes over cover and extra cover. A few years back he smashed 50 off 25 and hit about 4 over extra cover to win us the game against Australia at the same ground. He loves Christchurch.
Ryder has turned out to be the perfect match. He' left handed. He's aggressive. He's got good defensive technique. I'm glad he worked out. He really surprised me with his maturity. A good example of the guy who averages under 30 in ODI cricket with the bat and makes it at the International level.
I think the big advantage we had over England is the opening partnership and Vettori. Obviously we got off to much better starts. England's bowlers arn't terrible, they were just made to look that way by McCullum and Ryder who just took them apart. Even on that Christchurch pitch, wasn't a belter but cCullum smashed it all over the place with only one mis-hit I can remember. England need to start using Panesar or else one of these second rate guys they seemed to bring and continue using them. Nasser I think made a good point on our broadcast that Vettori's figures after about 100 games weren't that flash in OD cricket, but now he's the best ODI bowler in the world. I think he said Vettori averaged 40 from the first 100.