Cricket: One-day team composition a mockery

The New Zealand cricket selectors yesterday made a mockery of their pledge to develop a specialist one-day side when they named their 14-man squad to tour Zimbabwe, Kenya and South Africa.

Amidst much rhetoric about the different demands of the shorter game, the new, Sir Richard Hadlee-led panel eventually opted for a squad containing three suspected crocks, two wicketkeepers and a couple of batsmen who continue to defy selectorial logic.

The changeover at the end of the test series in Zimbabwe will bring specialist one-day players Roger Twose, Chris Harris, Geoff Allott and Chris Nevin into the touring party for Mark Richardson, Matt Horne, Mathew Sinclair, Daryl Tuffey and Shayne O'Connor.

Nevin faces a fitness test before his selection is rubber-stamped, but if the criterion is anything like as vague as that recently used to measure Dion Nash and Geoff Allott's capacity, he can start packing his bags now.

To safeguard against the Wellington gloveman's breaking down again, the selectors will keep Adam Parore in the party, while Craig Spearman - apparently not required during the Zimbabwe test series - has been retained as opening batting cover.

Hadlee suggested when releasing the team that the development of specialist one-day and test sides was likely to produce the best overall results for New Zealand cricket.

"It makes sense to be heading towards specialty sides," he said. "While there's a nucleus of players in both teams, the skills required for each form of the game are different, and the programme is also becoming more demanding."

He then proceeded to include Spearman and Craig McMillan, both of whom possess woeful inernational one-day records.

McMillan hit rock bottom last season and was dropped for two matches against Australia, eventually ending the series with an average of just 13.33.

In the series before that, McMillan averaged 10.75 against the West Indies.

Spearman ranks only marginally better, averaging 18.08 last summer compared with his overall average of 17.41.

New Zealand: Stephen Fleming (captain), Nathan Astle, Chris Nevin, Roger Twose, Chris Cairns, Craig McMillan, Chris Harris, Dion Nash, Scott Styris, Daniel Vettori, Geoff Allott, Paul Wiseman, Adam Parore, Craig Spearman.