Just a thought

Jesse Ryder showed us mere glimpses of his free stroking ability as a number three at the Gabba. However, given that he is the incumbent opener in the limited overs format, it shouldn't be beyond him to perform the same role at the test level.

A blazing start to the innings may not quite be the order of the day when confronted with sort of pitch we saw at Brisbane, but aggressive test openers remain in vogue. New Zealand has problems at the top with both Aaron Redmond and Jamie How struggling for form, despite How's big hundred in the game against New South Wales. Perhaps then, if New Zealand are to come hard at the Aussies on the allegedly benign surface at Adelaide, it might be a good move to allow Jesse Ryder to open the batting?

There's much to be said for both sides of the debate. Under the Bracewell regime in particular, quite a few middle order players were unsuccessfully tried as openers. This led to needless shuffling of the order on many occasions, something the management will be looking to avoid. Also, at such an early stage of his career, you wouldn't want Ryder to be moved about. It is usually a done thing to give inexperienced players a long run in their preferred batting position, allowing them to develop. For instance, I would like to see Daniel Flynn remain at number six for a while, despite the calls to move him up the order following his impressive showing at the Gabba.

Ryder, however, strikes me as a different case. Having already opened the batting in the limited overs version, the transition from number three to opener in tests should not be too great, especially when you consider he will get exposed to the new ball quite often anyway. The experts might point out that opening requires a different mindset, but for all his off-the-field shenanigans Ryder appears to have an uncomplicated approach to batting, and an equable temperament on the field which suggests he will not be affected by the change. He is an instinct player, yet on the whole his strokes are orthodox. He does have a tendency to lose his wicket to a lazy shot, but the extra responsibility may iron all that out. Sanath Jayasuriya, Chris Gayle, Virender Sehwag and Justin Langer all begin their careers in the middle order, yet managed to fashion themselves as attacking opening batsmen by sticking to the basics without compromising on psoitive strokeplay. It's tempting to think that Ryder might be of the same breed.

It's early days yet in Ryder's career, and for now it appears the NZ think tank wants to show some consistency in selection matters by sticking with the Brisbane lineup. Still, if the search for an opening batsman continues into the home season, Ryder might be the man. I'd go so far as to suggest this might be the sort of attacking move that might catch the Aussies by surprise at Adelaide.