KEY POINTS:
If I didn't see Tim Southee getting the nod ahead of Kyle Mills in Australia I certainly didn't see this coming - Tim McIntosh for Aaron Redmond.
Boy, it's a harsh call on Redmond. After all, it was only two innings ago he scored 83 against Australia but it's also a loud message to others in the top order that mediocrity will not keep you in the side if others are scoring runs at the provincial level.
For too long players have been allowed to average in the 20s for extended periods and obviously in this case seven test matches is too long.
As for Tim McIntosh, he is the type of player for whom we have been crying out for so long. So often you hear comment that Australia is better off because they select players with proven first-class records; players who have scored thousands of first-class runs and many centuries before being elevated to test level.
McIntosh has played 75 first-class matches, scored 4000 runs and made 13 centuries. That must surely be the most by any New Zealand player not to have played for New Zealand. As far as a debutant goes, McIntosh offers experience and, at 29 years old, he should bring a level of maturity with him too.
That is not too old to be making your debut. He could have at least eight years of test cricket in him and that is a substantial career.
The advantage of making one's debut a little later in life, and I speak from experience here, is you are most likely to be pretty set in your ways. You know your game by that stage and have a sound set of basics you know work for you.
You would have experienced form fluctuations and should be able to minimise the troughs by referring to the past.
You know you are about to take your game to the next level but understand that it is the only game you have and just have to rely on it.
That provides for a great deal of clarity, something that is invaluable when you are placed under the stress and pressure of test cricket. The last thing you want to be doing is 'searching' - something too many of our batsmen are doing right now.
McIntosh has 13 centuries and 14 half centuries and a high score of 268 which shows that, if he gets in, he makes the most of it. However, he only averages in the mid-30s, which indicates he does not get himself in enough.
That will be his biggest test. Getting established at the crease is harder at test level simply because the quality of bowling is better and it is harder to convert starts because that quality continues through the day. Conversely the batting surfaces are generally better on average at the test level and McIntosh will find that to his advantage. He is quite possibly the best flat track batsman in the country.
Don't expect an attractive shot maker in McIntosh but expect a simple, well-organised player who should, if he gets in, make life easier for our expansive middle order.
