Brace yourself, things just got interesting
This terrible pun was chosen ahead of some truly awful attempts at working "Irish" and "luck" into the headline.
At a rough guess, not many of you good folk stayed up through a midwinter Sunday night to watch a cricket match in an increasingly unloved format against a low-profile opponent at a venue that had a touch of the village green about it.
Well, you missed a sensational match, where Michael Bracewell, who had scored 3 and 1 against the Netherlands in his only two bats at one-day international level, was the one man standing between his country and a second chastening defeat against Irish opposition this weekend.
While nobody is going to forget Ireland’s first win against the All Blacks on New Zealand soil for a while, ODIs tend to fade into the ether almost as soon as they’re played - unless something otherworldly happens.
Well, something not of this world happened at Malahide, a lovely venue that looks a bit like a low-key Hagley Oval.
Batting at No7 with an undistinguished tail behind him, Bracewell scored 127 not out; he did it in 82 balls with 10 fours and seven sixes; he came to the crease at 120-5 and scored 69 percent of New Zealand’s remaining runs.
Even that really doesn’t do the innings justice. New Zealand were 217-8 when Matt Henry nicked out for a duck. You couldn’t get a price on them winning from there. When Lockie Ferguson (8) was bowled off the last ball of the 49th over, the Black Caps were still 19 runs short of a tie. Facing the unfortunate Craig Young, who set an off side field and tried to bowl wide and full, Bracewell manipulated the field beautifully to lap the first two balls for four to long leg. That scrambled Young’s brain somewhat and the southpaw boofed 6, 4, 6 to finish it with a ball to spare.
“The way Michael held his composure with the tailenders was outstanding,” said skipper Tom Latham. “It is obviously one of the great knocks.”
It set a record, too, for the most runs successfully chased in the last over of an ODI.
It also set a record in my lounge for most cases of a middle-aged man saying, “OK, just two more overs and then I’ll go to bed.”
It was a nice way to finish the weekend and even if you have general concerns about the downward trajectory this team seems to be on, Bracewell’s intervention was an antidote to some of the angst that marked Saturday night.
Phil Gifford has watched a fair few rugby tests. He pondered whether this was the worst he’d ever seen ($).
The damage to the All Blacks' reputation was considerable, but just as bad was the fact that what should have been a showcase for rugby was actually about as poor an advertisement for the sport as you could get.
Gifford wasn’t the only bloke of a certain vintage pondering the decline and fall of an empire.
What I was really looking forward to was Chris Rattue’s take ($). Back in the day, when rounds were an actual thing, Rattue had the Chiefs beat when Foster was coach of that club. I’m not sure Chris was convinced of Foster’s credentials then, and he certainly hasn’t been since 2019.
Succession planning only works if you have the right people. Otherwise, it becomes a millstone around the neck.
All organisations need to understand when they have arrived at a watershed moment, as occurred after the epic 2019 World Cup failure… appointing Foster is one of the greatest bungles in the history of New Zealand rugby.
Stuff’s Richard Knowler is not as strident, but kind of labels the All Blacks an “ill-disciplined rabble”, or at least says that’s what people are accusing them of being, which is probably the kindest way of describing it.
I would have just settled for “a shit show”.
Sport and music are similar in that you tend to make value judgements about people you’ve never met, let alone take the time to get to know.
It’s why I missed the Wimbledon men’s final, preferring instead the above low-consequence bilateral ODI. There are no draws in tennis and frankly I couldn’t deal with the thought of either Novak Djokovic or Nick Kyrgios winning.
I need to give myself a slap.
It sounds like it was an excellent match played in good spirits by one immensely talented underachiever and a guy who might yet go down as the GOAT.
This is a very nice NYT piece on Djokovic, detailing the work he did with late coach Jelena Gencic as a child, work that has translated into him being the most flexible man in tennis, even at 35.
“That’s the heaviest thing he had to handle when he was young,” Gencic said in 2010, holding up a tennis racket. “We worked only on the legs, only quickness.”
For more detailed analysis of the match, this BBC report covers the bases.
At the US Open he’ll be gunning for Rafael Nadals’ 22 grand slams - oh, wait a minute, he probably won’t be there…
“I’m not vaccinated and I’m not planning to get vaccinated so the only good news I can have is them removing the mandated green vaccine card or whatever you call it to enter United States or exemption. I don't know. I don't think exemption is realistically possible,” he said.
Twenty-four hours earlier, ‘Kazahkstan’s’ Elena Rybakina beat Tunisian world No2 Ons Jabeur. Never one to miss an opportunity for outrage, the Daily Mail has feasted on the irony of Russian-born and domiciled Rybakina’s victory, given the All England Club’s banning of players from there and Belarus.
Things got a bit spicy in the Supercars, with Shane van Gisbergen refusing the offer of a handshake from the guy who just turned him around at the final corner, Anton de Pasquale.
Van Gisbergen recovered to cross the line second and won after de Pasquale was inevitably penalised.
Emotions tend to run hot in the immediate aftermath of a race but I couldn’t help but think this is a moment SvG would like to have back. He’s noted as one of the most aggressive drivers ever to have strapped on a helmet and said when questioned earlier this year about a couple of elbows-out passing manoeuvres, “What, would you rather me just follow them around?”
SvG is a genius behind the wheel, one of the greats, but a little humility wouldn’t have hurt him in Townsville, though he did appear to make amends later in the evening.
“I was angry at the time and I wanted to celebrate with my guys. Then after the interviews, I went and saw him… I don’t mind that he had a go, I’m angry that I got spun out but I’m happy we’re having a battle and I’ve got no problem with that.”
Meanwhile, in Austria, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc got his title challenge back on track.
Unfortunately, the on-track action was overshadowed by noxious behaviour in the stands, and we’re not talking about the flares at the spectacular Red Bull Ring venue.
THIS WEEK
Eyeing up a newsletter-free day tomorrow so that’ll be one less spam for your inbox to filter. The BYC returns on Wednesday and there’ll be the usual Friday offering and the outlook for Thursday is… we’ll play it by ear. Remember, too, the Black Sticks women face a quarter-final against Germany on Thursday morning (Spark Sport).
.
Yep, Bracewell certainly saved our blushes but it was great to watch. Foxy teeing up a 2nd Open at St Andrew’s will be a story to follow later this week (hopefully!) -
he made the cut in 2015, be nice to add a 3rd major to the NZ Golf history. Given it’s Grant’s last test with the AB’s, a Fox quinella be just what this sports head would love to see this weekend