Cumming handed contentious opening spot

CRAIG SIMCOX/Dominion Post

CUMMING GOOD: Craig Cumming's form against fast bowlers has seen him take an opening berth in the NZ test side.

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Craig Cumming's reputation as a resolute player against fast bowling has secured him the second opener's role ahead of Jamie How for the two-test cricket series in South Africa in November.
Papps ready for fast bowlers

Several factors had pointed toward How, age for one. But even more notably, he has a professional contract and Cumming does not.

New Zealand coach John Bracewell defended the decision yesterday, saying Cumming, a 32 year-old Dunedin advertising rep, was better equipped to deal with a barrage of "short and fast" deliveries.

Michael Papps of Canterbury was named New Zealand's other opener, a predictable selection after he scored 1005 first class runs at 91.36 last summer.

"We only wanted to take two (specialist openers) and we felt that Craig's skill and technique slightly overshadowed Jamie's," Bracewell said.

"(South Africa) feel we are vulnerable to short-pitched bowling."

The coach regards Cumming as a "quality player of pace" and said he had the tools to cope with the varied South African pace attack, which is likely to revolve around body shots delivered by Makhaya Ntini and fast outswing by Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel.

Papps had to go to South Africa after a cracking domestic season, but there will be nervousness about his inclusion given he has played five of his six tests against South Africa and passed 22 only once. His last test series was in South Africa in May last year, when he was seriously worked over but soldiered on to post 22, 20, 0 and 15.

Papps has a test record of 229 runs at 20.81. Cumming's is slightly better with 327 at 27, while How has struggled with 131 at 15, though he has time on his side. Papps is aged 28, Cumming 32 and How 26.

Bracewell said Peter Fulton would be the back-up opener in South Africa.

New Zealand's 15-man squad is notable for two news caps, Ross Taylor and Mark Gillespie, and the naming of test captain No26 in Daniel Vettori.

Not for the first time, Lou Vincent is the unlucky one, Bracewell saying he is too hard-handed to succeed as a test opener. Craig McMillan and Mathew Sinclair also missed the cut as did Wellington left-armer bowler James Franklin, who admitted he was disappointed that the selectors were not prepared to gamble on his fitness.

The Wellington allrounder had a blood injection in the patella tendon of his right knee on Monday to ease discomfort and believed he would be fit for a training camp in Christchurch next week.

"I wanted the opportunity to prove myself. But they've made their decision so I have to accept it, and now aim at getting in the one-day leg of the tour," Franklin said.

"I'm naturally disappointed but I have to move on and now try and find some cricket somewhere."

New Zealand have pace bowlers coming out of the ears: Shane Bond, Chris Martin, Kyle Mills, Michael Mason, Jacob Oram and Gillespie.

All are tall right-armers but Bracewell argued there was enough variation among his selections with Mills and Mason leaving the bat, Bond and Martin coming into it and Gillespie "reasonably straight and reasonably sharp".

New Zealand play two warmup matches against South Africa A before test matches at Johannesburg and Pretoria, starting on November 8 and 16, respectively.

THE TEAM: Daniel Vettori (captain), Shane Bond, Craig Cumming, Stephen Fleming, Mark Gillespie, Peter Fulton, Chris Martin, Michael Mason, Brendon McCullum, Kyle Mills, Jacob Oram, Michael Papps, Jeetan Patel, Scott Styris, Ross Taylor.

- © Fairfax NZ News