Three Waters, A&E wait times and climate change are all over the news but if either of the major political parties came out and said they'd abolish PlayHQ in favour of CricHQ, I believe they'd win in a landslide.
Mar 10, 2023·edited Mar 10, 2023Liked by Dylan Cleaver
Possibly (definitely) a controversial take but hear me out - Losing to Sri Lanka will be a good thing.
If we lose two nil, it means (provided Aussie win - off to a good start) India miss out on the WTC final and Sri Lanka get there instead. Pretty good underdog feel good story and a bit of an F U to the BCCI.
From our perspective it might be the kick up the butt NZC needs to make the changes the public is screaming for. Something has to change whether it be Coaching, selection and/or players.
Maybe I'll pop a cheeky 2 zip for SL at the TAB...
Jarred I’m with you! I said to my long suffering wife today that a lost test to SL is what we need. I’ve been pretty critical and frustrated for a while now, and I’ve only just put my finger on why - NZC seems to be in a state of denial. We haven’t effectively cycled players in and out to maintain our standards. OK, it’s not easy to replace Taylor, Boult, Jamieson et al in short order but where has been the planning? It feels slightly premature to get stuck in again, mid test, but SL’s bowlers were a class above ours today - did I just hear myself say that? I can’t think of a team less used to a Kiwi green seamer than them, but still they managed it. It certainly put Tickner and Wagner in the shade anyway. The crown has slipped big time, we’re 8th out of 9 in the current cycle of the WTC only heading off Bangladesh. It’s a little embarrassing to see NZC and Spark Sport squeezing every last drop out of the Basin win, going as far as to call it “the greatest test” - a great test for sure, but not sure you can say that. And it’s obscuring the fact that we are sliding the slippery pole….anyway I do believe if this test goes SL’s way that NZC will finally be forced to face the inevitable. I’m looking Gary Stead’s way - it’s one thing to inherit the greatest ensemble of NZ cricketers in our history and succeed, but it’s another to identify and wean in new talent and achieve success when the cards aren’t in your favour. On the issue of Conway Dylan, I agree with your assessment. I’m not sure he’s elegant and he’s certainly been tied down with a middle stump line, but he tends to come good if he can get through the first hour and a half. I favour keeping him opening, I think he and Latham can do really good things for another 2-3 years. On the issue of No. 4 I’ve previously said that Nicholls is not no. 4 material, having had an armchair ride behind a superior Kane and Taylor in recent years. Asking him to bat there is more than he can handle and he’s too much of a poker and prodder. Not to mention the average is dropping like a stone with every innings. At this rate he’s going to end up with a record like Mark Greatbatch. There might be a place for him at 6, but we need to bring Mitchell up a place or two and give Young an extended run.
I’m with you Andy and Jarred .. it seems like Groundhog Day with our Black Caps at the moment .. since we won the world test championship..there has been zero forward planning , we ended up in this terrible hole, caused by our team selection .. actually lacked of it .. think you are right ..it’s time for new ideas and new management.. it’s just sooo frustrating to watch our Black Caps especially in test cricket .. we got no third or 4 seamer .. we got no spinner, Henry is not a number 4 ..the stats back this up .. yet stead ..won’t dropped him or make changes in the batting order .. here was the perfect time to bring in new players and make changes to our test team, but no we stick to the status quo ..yet we wonder we are struggling .. yes highlight is lot easier but after Neil bowling performance.. would made sense to rest him for this test match .. Brought in a bowler like Duffy who can swing the ball.
There has to be overall change in our high performance with cricket ..we need younger players coming through .. where is the next Conway with the batting in our domestic league, we have to wake up and smell the coffee, we can’t have the same players in our batting trying to save another test match, Since June last year .. we have struggle to win test matches, we can’t rely on our world test championship win, where is the planning .. even England took a punt with bazball,
I agree with all. I'm normally an eternal optimist. Indeed, I have a screenshot of a message in a group chat on day two of the Basin test where I assured my friends we'd win on day 5.
However, we need a bit of freshening up: Duffy is top wicket taker in Plunket Shield- why not reward him? Glenn Phillips has played one test against Aus in Aus and picked up a 50 and a duck in a game where we were rinsed- but he's 26 and has shown the ability to improve and learn. I also think more could be invested in Rachin Ravindra, particularly if Kane decides he's had enough. These three are all under 20. Aside from that, it'd be cool to see us do something sexy like finding the fastest bowler in domestic cricket and just picking him. Screw it.
Just about underway on Day 3. Been fun reading and making comments on here, maybe they should leave it to us! Breaking it down place by place we’ve got four lock ins in the top 6, a great keeper, and two seamers doing the job. That leaves four places in the starting XI and a few more for squad depth that we need to sort out.
Three Waters, A&E wait times and climate change are all over the news but if either of the major political parties came out and said they'd abolish PlayHQ in favour of CricHQ, I believe they'd win in a landslide.
Possibly (definitely) a controversial take but hear me out - Losing to Sri Lanka will be a good thing.
If we lose two nil, it means (provided Aussie win - off to a good start) India miss out on the WTC final and Sri Lanka get there instead. Pretty good underdog feel good story and a bit of an F U to the BCCI.
From our perspective it might be the kick up the butt NZC needs to make the changes the public is screaming for. Something has to change whether it be Coaching, selection and/or players.
Maybe I'll pop a cheeky 2 zip for SL at the TAB...
Jarred I’m with you! I said to my long suffering wife today that a lost test to SL is what we need. I’ve been pretty critical and frustrated for a while now, and I’ve only just put my finger on why - NZC seems to be in a state of denial. We haven’t effectively cycled players in and out to maintain our standards. OK, it’s not easy to replace Taylor, Boult, Jamieson et al in short order but where has been the planning? It feels slightly premature to get stuck in again, mid test, but SL’s bowlers were a class above ours today - did I just hear myself say that? I can’t think of a team less used to a Kiwi green seamer than them, but still they managed it. It certainly put Tickner and Wagner in the shade anyway. The crown has slipped big time, we’re 8th out of 9 in the current cycle of the WTC only heading off Bangladesh. It’s a little embarrassing to see NZC and Spark Sport squeezing every last drop out of the Basin win, going as far as to call it “the greatest test” - a great test for sure, but not sure you can say that. And it’s obscuring the fact that we are sliding the slippery pole….anyway I do believe if this test goes SL’s way that NZC will finally be forced to face the inevitable. I’m looking Gary Stead’s way - it’s one thing to inherit the greatest ensemble of NZ cricketers in our history and succeed, but it’s another to identify and wean in new talent and achieve success when the cards aren’t in your favour. On the issue of Conway Dylan, I agree with your assessment. I’m not sure he’s elegant and he’s certainly been tied down with a middle stump line, but he tends to come good if he can get through the first hour and a half. I favour keeping him opening, I think he and Latham can do really good things for another 2-3 years. On the issue of No. 4 I’ve previously said that Nicholls is not no. 4 material, having had an armchair ride behind a superior Kane and Taylor in recent years. Asking him to bat there is more than he can handle and he’s too much of a poker and prodder. Not to mention the average is dropping like a stone with every innings. At this rate he’s going to end up with a record like Mark Greatbatch. There might be a place for him at 6, but we need to bring Mitchell up a place or two and give Young an extended run.
I’m with you Andy and Jarred .. it seems like Groundhog Day with our Black Caps at the moment .. since we won the world test championship..there has been zero forward planning , we ended up in this terrible hole, caused by our team selection .. actually lacked of it .. think you are right ..it’s time for new ideas and new management.. it’s just sooo frustrating to watch our Black Caps especially in test cricket .. we got no third or 4 seamer .. we got no spinner, Henry is not a number 4 ..the stats back this up .. yet stead ..won’t dropped him or make changes in the batting order .. here was the perfect time to bring in new players and make changes to our test team, but no we stick to the status quo ..yet we wonder we are struggling .. yes highlight is lot easier but after Neil bowling performance.. would made sense to rest him for this test match .. Brought in a bowler like Duffy who can swing the ball.
There has to be overall change in our high performance with cricket ..we need younger players coming through .. where is the next Conway with the batting in our domestic league, we have to wake up and smell the coffee, we can’t have the same players in our batting trying to save another test match, Since June last year .. we have struggle to win test matches, we can’t rely on our world test championship win, where is the planning .. even England took a punt with bazball,
Chaps,
I agree with all. I'm normally an eternal optimist. Indeed, I have a screenshot of a message in a group chat on day two of the Basin test where I assured my friends we'd win on day 5.
However, we need a bit of freshening up: Duffy is top wicket taker in Plunket Shield- why not reward him? Glenn Phillips has played one test against Aus in Aus and picked up a 50 and a duck in a game where we were rinsed- but he's 26 and has shown the ability to improve and learn. I also think more could be invested in Rachin Ravindra, particularly if Kane decides he's had enough. These three are all under 20. Aside from that, it'd be cool to see us do something sexy like finding the fastest bowler in domestic cricket and just picking him. Screw it.
I meant to say under 30... :-)
Just about underway on Day 3. Been fun reading and making comments on here, maybe they should leave it to us! Breaking it down place by place we’ve got four lock ins in the top 6, a great keeper, and two seamers doing the job. That leaves four places in the starting XI and a few more for squad depth that we need to sort out.