Cricket: Franklin should be used says Hadlee

By RICHARD BOOCK

Cricket's convener of selectors, Sir Richard Hadlee, says he was disappointed by Wellington's decision not to play James Franklin in the domestic Shell Cup competition yesterday.

The 20-year-old Franklin is expected to feature in discussions over the composition of the New Zealand side to play Zimbabwe in three one-day internationals starting on Tuesday.

But he was left out of the Wellington team which played Northern Districts at Mt Maunganui yesterday.

"It's a pity he isn't playing for Wellington," Hadlee said yesterday.

"We released him from the test squad to free him up for the three Shell Cup games after Christmas.

But so far he has been left out of the team for the first match, and was made 12th man for the second.

"There's some disappointment in that, but we've got to respect the wishes of the province, and at the end of the day, they'll make their decisions and we'll make ours."

Hadlee forecast at least one new face and perhaps two in the national one-day side, with the unavailability of left-armer Geoff Allott giving the selectors some extra room to move.

New Zealand's one-day side reached new heights by winning the ICC Knockout Trophy in Kenya, but managed to lose their first one-day series to Zimbabwe just before that, and were taken to the cleaners by South Africa immediately afterwards.

The main concerns identified from that tour, Hadlee said, had been the bowlers' inability to keep a lid on the scoring rate in the last 10 overs, and the batsmen's tendency to lose momentum at the same stage.

"We tend to concede too many runs in the closing overs, and when we're batting first, our batsmen struggle to get enough runs at a similar stage of the game.

"Things tend to slow down a bit, pressure is placed on other batsmen, and we often lose wickets and don't get the scores we should be getting."

Hadlee said that could open the door for an aggressive batsman, or "multi-skilled" player who could accelerate the scoring and provide a boost in momentum at the critical time.

"We may need another pinch hitter in the side as an option - someone who can get the ball to, and over, the boundary."

That may open the door for a player such as Auckland's Tama Canning, who is seen as a cricketer who can hit the ball a long way and also provide a capable bowling option.

A possible one-day squad: Stephen Fleming (capt), Nathan Astle, Chris Nevin, Roger Twose, Chris Cairns, Craig McMillan, Chris Harris, Adam Parore, Scott Styris, Brooke Walker, Chris Martin, Shayne O'Connor.