Yeah, it's funny (not funny) how much you realise that the Black Caps woeful fielding this summer has impacted the results. It's like an attitude barometer; we can forgive them a bit more when you watch them loosing skin chasing everything down and snaffling half chances. But when you witness catches falling between bemused fielders and regulation stuff getting shelled it makes for a tough watch. Embarrassing even.
I can live with the lack of depth on the bowling/batting front. We've always been in that position. But shit fielding?
Nathan Smith is one that I would have loved to have seen get an opportunity at some point during this home summer. His first-class stats are pretty appealing (averaging 27 with both bat and ball - clearly better in both roles than the six-years-older Kuggeleijn). A subcontinent tour is probably not the best way to bring him in, but I hope his time will come in the not-too-distant future.
I know I have my non-cricketing reasons for not enjoying seeing Kuggeleijn representing our national team, so I'm hardly objective, but I hope we've established now that he's not the guy.
Best posting ever mate, just outstanding. Agree 100%. Re Southee, his bowling and fielding were below poor, his batting just irresponsible (inexcusable in a captain) his field positions lacked any imagination and often even a plan, his bowling changes always ALWAYS too late and his captaincy uninspiring. I'm a Northlander and previous fan but he failed us big time. Gotta retire or be retired.
Hi Dylan, great account, very honest and revealing. I’m unused to that from those covering cricket in the NZ media, except you of course!! And I think it is a time for some honest reflection. There are some growing holes in the team. Perhaps most alarmingly form dips in a reasonably large group of players who we would have expected to carry us through the next 2-3 years - Southee, Conway, Blundell, Latham. Here’s hoping some of this is temporary, but age and wear and tear know no prisoners. There’s a hell of a lot there that you’ve covered and I agree with virtually all of it but just wanted to pick up on a few points:
- Production line: you are right, NZ is not really a cricket country, and so there is not generally a crop of players ready to step in to the BCs who are “good to go” as you put it. The Super Smash (sure it’s a T20 comp) illustrated this. By Australian standards it’s basically a club comp with a smattering of guys better than that. That said, we have been conservative with bringing guys in. We saw Sears, O’Rourke etc outperform their more experienced team mates and in general it was a completely different set of names that carried us in this series, and that was against Australia. So I think it can become self fulfilling to think there’s no one better than who’s already in the team.
- Production line #2: this is bigger picture and drawing on my involvement with junior cricket here. On one hand I am optimistic about our future because cricket is popular and in our neck of the woods numbers high. However, on the other the abolition of junior representative cricket and “shits and giggles” T20 cricket has debased the fundamentals and due to this I can’t really foresee a strong conveyor belt of future test players. NZCs organisational focus is also very distracted away from high performance. At international level I can see us continuing to beat corrupt third world nations but given the distractions referred to above and associated poor allocation of resources we will not beat Oz, Eng or India.
- BC test team: I’d like to see a rebuild which is based around a new core group including Phillips and Ravindra and utilising older players who are still up to the mark in caretaker roles that are clearly communicated. This would recognise our limited talent pool but also the need for managed attrition. Personally I think Southees time has come and unfortunately his ego got in the way of correct management of bowling changes.
I look forward to the ongoing chat on this subject!!
As much as it pains me to say it, I think Stead needs to go and Southee step down as captain. Sometimes it not a case of a coach doing anything 'wrong' just that their voice and message loses its impact when the players are so used to it.
As players and skill sets change, so should tactics (and Stead's refusal to pick Ajaz is verging on a vendetta here) and I think a fresh approach is needed.
The bowling unit needs a rebuild and while Henry, KJ, O'Rourke and Sears look great I'm worried about their durability medium term so we'll probably need a couple from Smith, Duffy, Foulkes and Clarke et al to step up. The fact we haven't seen any of them yet speaks to the Black Caps succession planning (or lack of it)
I'd probably keep Southee around until the England test series for his experience, but you're mad if you think he should play most of the test in Asia this year or be first choice.
The Hagley Test was a great match. We started to tire the Australian bowling attack, but needed another 30-40 runs and a fit 4th seamer/spin option. An exhausted Southee plus an injured Kuggeleijn didn't help our chances.
A Jamieson (29), Sears (26), Henry (32) and O'Rourke (22) seam attack looks decent on paper. Any other future prospects? Nathan Smith (25), Zak Foulkes (21)?
As an aside Ravindra looked to be playing on a damaged left knee, with a knee brace. He never looked comfortable in the field, lacking pace when chasing the ball. I love watching him strike the ball though, like a Caribbean Ganguly.
Now is the hour to invest in the next wave of talent. We have four Tests against Australia in 2026-27 and that can either be an invigoration in our Test side or a final ignominy, really. I doubt they'd be much interested in playing us much again if it's a similar clock cleaning.
Unfortunately, apparently, Stead is Stead-fast in wanting to continue to clog the team sheet up with 32+ year olds, while Wells wants to bring in the Nathan Smiths, Sears and other up-and-comers. There is clearly a disconnect at the selectorial table, when we keep getting the spinner thing wrong, the woeful Kuggeleijn selection etc.
Podcast recommendation to help deal with the (formerly??) ugly aussies getting one over us on the cricket pitch once again: The Imperfects recently interviewed Pat Cummins. I listen to this podcast faithfully but originally decided to skip this episode as I find the Aussies hard to like. Listening to Pat Cummins, I actually think his temperament wouldn’t be out of place in the Black Caps setup, and I have a whole new level of respect for the guy. Give it a listen, if only begrudgingly.
Some great points in there Dylan. Mitchell would definitely needs to learn the art of "clearer communication than his father" if he's going to be speaking as captain!
I never thought I'd say this, but I've seen enough from Phillips to pick him as my first choice spinner, batting at seven. I'd drop Blundell down to eight at the moment (and on notice) and bring in another batter... Perhaps Young at five and Mitchell at six after Conway returns? The pace attack needs to be Henry, Jamieson when fit, and Sears/O'Rourke, with another spinner brought in for the third pace bowler when in Asia. Unfortunately Southee is no longer troubling anyone at 125kph.
Finally, I wondered whether you'd accidentally omitted BMac from your list of can't-misses. I remember seeing the scores pop up on TV from an A series against South Africa around 2001 and thinking he must be in the team before long (ODI, at least).
Nailed it on the Black Caps but I think there should be positivity around the potential seam attack I thought had no depth. Being at the ground for four days the biggest concern was the lack of ambition or a plan on the final day. It felt like we were just waiting for something to happen.
I’d love to hear more about the next generation coming through First Class cricket - Rhys Mariu is 22 years old, averaging 50+ after 12 innings, as an opening bat for Canterbury. Worth keeping an eye on over the next couple of years maybe?
Interesting comments on NZ A, rushing guys in and development. What works in other countries? Is it just a lack of population/depth issue that England, Australia and India don’t have to worry about? What would it take to make Cummings, Mariu or whoever into a genuine test cricketer and do New Zealand Cricket provide that?
Great read as always Dylan! Henry's performance on the last day was disappointing - he bowled poorly and leaked too many runs. If he'd been able to build pressure with Southee at the other end, who while not threatening was keeping it tight, we may have created more chances. A big shame given he'd been a big part in putting us in the position to win the test.
Southee's captaincy has been a bit of a disappointment. I expected more positivity and innovation. What about giving Williamson it back and someone else (Santner?) to take over the white ball forms?
While Mitchell’s comments weren’t great in the context, I am growing a bit tired of Ian Smith turning into the grumpy old man of cricket. Like his commentary, Coney is still great, but I think his off the cuff comment about Scotty Stevenson has soured his reputation as a great commentator a little bit.
Yeah, it's funny (not funny) how much you realise that the Black Caps woeful fielding this summer has impacted the results. It's like an attitude barometer; we can forgive them a bit more when you watch them loosing skin chasing everything down and snaffling half chances. But when you witness catches falling between bemused fielders and regulation stuff getting shelled it makes for a tough watch. Embarrassing even.
I can live with the lack of depth on the bowling/batting front. We've always been in that position. But shit fielding?
Nathan Smith is one that I would have loved to have seen get an opportunity at some point during this home summer. His first-class stats are pretty appealing (averaging 27 with both bat and ball - clearly better in both roles than the six-years-older Kuggeleijn). A subcontinent tour is probably not the best way to bring him in, but I hope his time will come in the not-too-distant future.
I know I have my non-cricketing reasons for not enjoying seeing Kuggeleijn representing our national team, so I'm hardly objective, but I hope we've established now that he's not the guy.
Best posting ever mate, just outstanding. Agree 100%. Re Southee, his bowling and fielding were below poor, his batting just irresponsible (inexcusable in a captain) his field positions lacked any imagination and often even a plan, his bowling changes always ALWAYS too late and his captaincy uninspiring. I'm a Northlander and previous fan but he failed us big time. Gotta retire or be retired.
Hi Dylan, great account, very honest and revealing. I’m unused to that from those covering cricket in the NZ media, except you of course!! And I think it is a time for some honest reflection. There are some growing holes in the team. Perhaps most alarmingly form dips in a reasonably large group of players who we would have expected to carry us through the next 2-3 years - Southee, Conway, Blundell, Latham. Here’s hoping some of this is temporary, but age and wear and tear know no prisoners. There’s a hell of a lot there that you’ve covered and I agree with virtually all of it but just wanted to pick up on a few points:
- Production line: you are right, NZ is not really a cricket country, and so there is not generally a crop of players ready to step in to the BCs who are “good to go” as you put it. The Super Smash (sure it’s a T20 comp) illustrated this. By Australian standards it’s basically a club comp with a smattering of guys better than that. That said, we have been conservative with bringing guys in. We saw Sears, O’Rourke etc outperform their more experienced team mates and in general it was a completely different set of names that carried us in this series, and that was against Australia. So I think it can become self fulfilling to think there’s no one better than who’s already in the team.
- Production line #2: this is bigger picture and drawing on my involvement with junior cricket here. On one hand I am optimistic about our future because cricket is popular and in our neck of the woods numbers high. However, on the other the abolition of junior representative cricket and “shits and giggles” T20 cricket has debased the fundamentals and due to this I can’t really foresee a strong conveyor belt of future test players. NZCs organisational focus is also very distracted away from high performance. At international level I can see us continuing to beat corrupt third world nations but given the distractions referred to above and associated poor allocation of resources we will not beat Oz, Eng or India.
- BC test team: I’d like to see a rebuild which is based around a new core group including Phillips and Ravindra and utilising older players who are still up to the mark in caretaker roles that are clearly communicated. This would recognise our limited talent pool but also the need for managed attrition. Personally I think Southees time has come and unfortunately his ego got in the way of correct management of bowling changes.
I look forward to the ongoing chat on this subject!!
As much as it pains me to say it, I think Stead needs to go and Southee step down as captain. Sometimes it not a case of a coach doing anything 'wrong' just that their voice and message loses its impact when the players are so used to it.
As players and skill sets change, so should tactics (and Stead's refusal to pick Ajaz is verging on a vendetta here) and I think a fresh approach is needed.
The bowling unit needs a rebuild and while Henry, KJ, O'Rourke and Sears look great I'm worried about their durability medium term so we'll probably need a couple from Smith, Duffy, Foulkes and Clarke et al to step up. The fact we haven't seen any of them yet speaks to the Black Caps succession planning (or lack of it)
I'd probably keep Southee around until the England test series for his experience, but you're mad if you think he should play most of the test in Asia this year or be first choice.
The Hagley Test was a great match. We started to tire the Australian bowling attack, but needed another 30-40 runs and a fit 4th seamer/spin option. An exhausted Southee plus an injured Kuggeleijn didn't help our chances.
A Jamieson (29), Sears (26), Henry (32) and O'Rourke (22) seam attack looks decent on paper. Any other future prospects? Nathan Smith (25), Zak Foulkes (21)?
As an aside Ravindra looked to be playing on a damaged left knee, with a knee brace. He never looked comfortable in the field, lacking pace when chasing the ball. I love watching him strike the ball though, like a Caribbean Ganguly.
Now is the hour to invest in the next wave of talent. We have four Tests against Australia in 2026-27 and that can either be an invigoration in our Test side or a final ignominy, really. I doubt they'd be much interested in playing us much again if it's a similar clock cleaning.
Unfortunately, apparently, Stead is Stead-fast in wanting to continue to clog the team sheet up with 32+ year olds, while Wells wants to bring in the Nathan Smiths, Sears and other up-and-comers. There is clearly a disconnect at the selectorial table, when we keep getting the spinner thing wrong, the woeful Kuggeleijn selection etc.
Podcast recommendation to help deal with the (formerly??) ugly aussies getting one over us on the cricket pitch once again: The Imperfects recently interviewed Pat Cummins. I listen to this podcast faithfully but originally decided to skip this episode as I find the Aussies hard to like. Listening to Pat Cummins, I actually think his temperament wouldn’t be out of place in the Black Caps setup, and I have a whole new level of respect for the guy. Give it a listen, if only begrudgingly.
Some great points in there Dylan. Mitchell would definitely needs to learn the art of "clearer communication than his father" if he's going to be speaking as captain!
I never thought I'd say this, but I've seen enough from Phillips to pick him as my first choice spinner, batting at seven. I'd drop Blundell down to eight at the moment (and on notice) and bring in another batter... Perhaps Young at five and Mitchell at six after Conway returns? The pace attack needs to be Henry, Jamieson when fit, and Sears/O'Rourke, with another spinner brought in for the third pace bowler when in Asia. Unfortunately Southee is no longer troubling anyone at 125kph.
Finally, I wondered whether you'd accidentally omitted BMac from your list of can't-misses. I remember seeing the scores pop up on TV from an A series against South Africa around 2001 and thinking he must be in the team before long (ODI, at least).
Nailed it on the Black Caps but I think there should be positivity around the potential seam attack I thought had no depth. Being at the ground for four days the biggest concern was the lack of ambition or a plan on the final day. It felt like we were just waiting for something to happen.
I’d love to hear more about the next generation coming through First Class cricket - Rhys Mariu is 22 years old, averaging 50+ after 12 innings, as an opening bat for Canterbury. Worth keeping an eye on over the next couple of years maybe?
Interesting comments on NZ A, rushing guys in and development. What works in other countries? Is it just a lack of population/depth issue that England, Australia and India don’t have to worry about? What would it take to make Cummings, Mariu or whoever into a genuine test cricketer and do New Zealand Cricket provide that?
Great read as always Dylan! Henry's performance on the last day was disappointing - he bowled poorly and leaked too many runs. If he'd been able to build pressure with Southee at the other end, who while not threatening was keeping it tight, we may have created more chances. A big shame given he'd been a big part in putting us in the position to win the test.
Southee's captaincy has been a bit of a disappointment. I expected more positivity and innovation. What about giving Williamson it back and someone else (Santner?) to take over the white ball forms?
While Mitchell’s comments weren’t great in the context, I am growing a bit tired of Ian Smith turning into the grumpy old man of cricket. Like his commentary, Coney is still great, but I think his off the cuff comment about Scotty Stevenson has soured his reputation as a great commentator a little bit.