Moles wants say in selection

Andy Moles, the New Zealand coach, has expressed his desire to join the selection panel after initially turning down the role when he was appointed last December.

"I feel my thoughts were taken into consideration when final decisions were made but I'll be talking to New Zealand Cricket around that and we have to make sure we get the best XI on the field every time we play," Moles told the Dominion Post. "As long as we are being consulted and have our views put forward and debated well, it will work, but ideally I would like to be on the selection panel in future.

"We need to make sure that my views and the captain's views are taken into consideration so we get the balanced side to win games of cricket," he said.

When Moles took over from John Bracewell, he didn't want a dual role as a selector because it would hinder him from interacting with the players at a more personal level. But he changed his mind after a testing summer in which New Zealand failed to win both Test series - against West Indies and India - and the one-day series against India.

Reflecting on the summer, Moles said the emergence of Jesse Ryder was the highlight of the season. Ryder, who scored his maiden double-century, was New Zealand's leading run-scorer with 327 runs (avg. 65.40) in the three Tests. His next assignment is in South Africa where he will represent the Bangalore Royal Challengers in the IPL.

"Jesse is a remarkable young man," Moles said. "He has improved as an individual tenfold from where he was three-six months ago. He knows what is expected of him.

"There is support group around him and the team [Bangalore] he is going to is aware of the protocols around Jesse, so we expect him to score runs and take wickets and be in the limelight for the right reasons."