Soon after reading David's piece on Kane Williamson, the new Black Cap, I came across a Stuff feature on promising 26-year old Canterbury batsman Dean Brownlie.
I wouldn't go so far as to call Brownlie a potential 'World Cup bolter', because I can't see any more debuts being handed out in the lead-up to the WC (unless they happen to be in the longer version of the game). Still, his string of scores for the 'A' team over in the Emerging Players Tournament in Australia make for impressive reading, and he followed it up yesterday by cracking 81 in a losing cause against the South Africans. Stuff also plays up his impressive first-class averages although on closer inspection you'd find that he has only played a handful of games, having debuted for Canterbury only last season.
His is an interesting background; he was born and raised in Perth and represented Western Australia at under-19 level. The presence of such names as Adam Gilchrist, Damien Martyn, Justin Langer and Michael Hussey kept him and other contenders like Shaun Marsh out of the reckoning just as they were pushing for a first XI spot. When the older generation eventually made way, Brownlie was again overlooked as part of WA's new youth policy. His search for new opportunities led him to Canterbury, thanks to his NZ citizenship via his father. Will WA's loss be New Zealand's gain?
Of course, ever since the departures of several senior players around and after the 2007 World Cup, there's been a tendency to talk up just about anyone on the back of a good domestic season and have him elevated to the national side. This has meant that guys like Guptill and Southee for instance, have been rushed in to the international scene very early in their careers, and have struggled for consistency despite looking the goods. It could be a similar story with Williamson. Add to this the talk of South African imports (Johann Myburgh, Neil Wagner) waiting in the wings, and the hardened NZ fan must feel this obsession with new blood is going too far.
Anyhow, we need candidates to look forward to, and in Brownlie the selectors now have another name to monitor over the upcoming season.
1 comment:
NZ need a few decent batsmen as the batting looks brittle. It is interesting to see Saffers and even Aussies now playing in NZ. I know that few Aussies like Skippy, Styris and co. have played for NZ but it seems like more and more Saffers are now trying their luck in NZ. Other than Elliott I can remember a decent left arm quick who was from SA playing in last year's CL.
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