In praise of: Tim McIntosh

In the first Test of the current series New Zealand are playing in, Tim McIntosh became the first NZ opener to bag a pair in India. These things happen, often to the best of players. Graham Gooch bagged a king pair on debut for England, for instance, and went on to become that country's leading run scorer. This game isn't called Test cricket for no reason and a player can be judged not on such failings, but how they respond to it. How strong are they mentally? Can they put failure behind them, not dwell on it and come back? McIntosh can.
First, he saw his opening partner, Brendon McCullum, perish for just four and moments later Martin Guptill edged behind to MS Dhoni and set off back for the pavilion. What Guptill had failed to notice was the umpire's outstretched arm. He'd been caught off a no-ball and was recalled to the crease. Some five and half hours later, a clearly exhausted McIntosh was fourth man out having made a gritty hundred in New Zealand's 253/4.

That's how you respond to getting a pair, by growing a pair.

New Zealand

1. International team made up almost exclusively of all-rounders who like a bit of long-handle and bowl military medium dobbers (see also Oram, Jacob and Styris, Scott). Consistent over-achievers thanks to being more than the sum of their parts and occasionally unearthing genuine class like Sir Richard Hadlee.

2. Not Australia

Jesse Ryder: A modern hero

We've not learnt an awful lot from the current New Zealand vs India series, apart from the fact that New Zealand Cricket knows what side its bread is buttered and has prepared some lovely batsman-friendly tracks for their visitors, whose governing body throws its weight around like Craig Bellamy in a Cardiff nightclub. We have, however, witnessed the emergence of a major star in Jesse Ryder, the rotund left-hander from Napier who scored 201 on his home ground last week, his maiden double-ton in international cricket.

Ryder burst (or should that be waddled) onto the scene last year by scoring 198 runs @ 49 in the ODI series against England, only to ruin his chances of selection for the return series over here by getting mighty sloshed in Christchurch and putting his hand through a glass window. Faith has been shown in him, however, and he has rewarded the selectors' patience with some devastating one-day performances and back to back big scores in the current series.

A natural hitter, Ryder is the perfect addition to the New Zealand team which, in test matches at least, has struggled with a less-than-adhesive top order. Martin Guptill's emergence gives them a hope of forging a decent opening partnership for a long time in a while, but Ryder's contribution in the middle order, alongside the talented if infuriating Ross Taylor, offers Kiwis a bit of stability there too. Since the retirements of the likes of Fleming, Astle and McMillan gaps have emerged that have yet really to be filled until now. Ryder's appearance, which initially strikes you as less than athletic, does not get in his way when it comes to the game as evidenced by his bowling, which gets more wickets than you imagine it should (in the best traditions of Kiwis like Craig McMillan and Scott Styris). Dubious though his fitness may seem, he is still able to remain at the crease for the best part of 8 hours to compile 200 and for this reason he is an inspiration to us all. Of course, not all of us can hit the ball quite as well as he can, but I'd rather not let that get in the way just now. He also seems to have the measure of Ishant Sharma, which by my logic makes him better than Ricky Ponting.

Yeah, alright, maybe in a few years....