12-months-a-year T20 franchise-driven sportotainment enterprise is the most horrible, vomit worthy turn of phrases and prospects I have ever come across in all my days 🤢
Thanks for your great work Dylan. Please allow me a peek behind the curtain? When you wrote "It is worth remembering that Williamson has been frequently unavailable for..." did you know where you were going to place Kane and his family? It made me chuckle. I'll ignorantly assume the other possibility is that you were dared to fit 'Mongolia' somewhere into today's newsletter.
More great work Dylan, certainly interesting times. A few thoughts from me having read that:
- fascinating point re: NZC revenue from ICC. It’s been obvious someone dropped a big dollop of cash in over recent years but I assumed it was Indian TV rights or similar, directly or indirectly. The giveaway for me has been the astronomical growth in support staff, not just in the BCs but in the associations. Otago has 25 staff listed on its www, all sorts of weird and wonderful roles and titles, that’s more than the number of contracted players they have!! And for an association with woeful mens and women’s teams. I’ve heard NZC has a silly number of staff but can’t recall the number. My question is this - if the money dries up, and when someone at the ICC lands on what you have pointed out Dylan, it will, what will NZC have done with that cash in terms of sound forward planning and investment? Looks to me like it’s been wasted on mission creep.
- Any thoughts Dylan on the makeup of the NZC management and coaching staff? Bryan Stronach seems to be growing in prominence but I know little of him. Does that collective group, alongside the board have the clout to set a new direction for the playing group? I’m concerned about the stranglehold the senior players and players association have on things and the handbrake that may place on regeneration. Kyle Mills was quoted this week as saying that Gary Stead must stay!! A case of the brother of the players association head doing his piece to keep a weak and compliant coach in place?
- also on the playing side there’s been a lot of talk from the likes of Kane, Santner, Southee etc about how good it is to have “experience” in the side. It really has become a self fulfilling prophecy and I think back to the early McCullum days when punts were taken on guys like Reece Young, Bruce Martin, Taryn Nethula, Mark Craig etc as they were tried and discarded. There’s been none of that in the last couple of years....
Danny Morrison and Simon Doull, less in the pockets of NZC than the milquetoast local scribes are unequivocal that things must change....
I can stump up a stewpot of outrage against the Chinese swimmers and more particularly their coaches and administrators. Their performances at Tokyo were akin to the blatant drug taking (and record breaking) of their swimmers in the 90's. Three of those exposed recently had also tested positive a couple of years ago and no action was taken. according to the NY Times. The IOC and FINA are too gutless to make a stand.
Re the US Golf Open: I do not know who the golf writer from The Ringer is who provided your quote; "Meanwhile, by the painstaking distance of 6 feet of putts, Rory has very slightly diminished his legacy," but he couldn’t be more wrong. Those two putts will have an ever-lasting effect on Rory’s legacy. One from which he may never recover. The context: Rory lost this most enthralling contest by one shot from Bryson DeChambeau due, in large part, to missing two short putts, both under 4 feet long, on holes 16 and 18, in the last round. Up until the first miss, Rory had completed 496 putts of 4 feet and less, this year, without missing one! So, here he is at the pointy end of a major, again, and for reasons due probably to mental anxiety, misses two from two. "Very slightly diminished his legacy?" Yeah, right. One has to feel for Rory, but on the other hand,, the much-changed Bryson deserved the title.
He he Virat Kohli’s beard oil budget. Seriously though this does feel like a big crack in the NZ cricket game. Why didn't we give the younger players any game time against the minnows?
Otherwise GO THE CHIEFS!!! (Just in case the name didn't give it away).
I will eat some humble pie and congratulate the Blues on a well played game. They smothered the chiefs and made it look easy. Well done, maybe next year is our year (starting to sound like a warriors supporter 😉).
I’m with Hogie - great work Dylan. A lot to think about, including trying to work out where women’s cricket fits into all of this.
The NY Times obituary of Willie Mays was a great read - I know nothing about baseball but that didn’t stop me enjoying the description of an athlete and a person.
12-months-a-year T20 franchise-driven sportotainment enterprise is the most horrible, vomit worthy turn of phrases and prospects I have ever come across in all my days 🤢
Just wait until the Saudis throw a couple of billion at it! Then we might as well start enjoying the shell trophy again 🫣
Thanks for your great work Dylan. Please allow me a peek behind the curtain? When you wrote "It is worth remembering that Williamson has been frequently unavailable for..." did you know where you were going to place Kane and his family? It made me chuckle. I'll ignorantly assume the other possibility is that you were dared to fit 'Mongolia' somewhere into today's newsletter.
More great work Dylan, certainly interesting times. A few thoughts from me having read that:
- fascinating point re: NZC revenue from ICC. It’s been obvious someone dropped a big dollop of cash in over recent years but I assumed it was Indian TV rights or similar, directly or indirectly. The giveaway for me has been the astronomical growth in support staff, not just in the BCs but in the associations. Otago has 25 staff listed on its www, all sorts of weird and wonderful roles and titles, that’s more than the number of contracted players they have!! And for an association with woeful mens and women’s teams. I’ve heard NZC has a silly number of staff but can’t recall the number. My question is this - if the money dries up, and when someone at the ICC lands on what you have pointed out Dylan, it will, what will NZC have done with that cash in terms of sound forward planning and investment? Looks to me like it’s been wasted on mission creep.
- Any thoughts Dylan on the makeup of the NZC management and coaching staff? Bryan Stronach seems to be growing in prominence but I know little of him. Does that collective group, alongside the board have the clout to set a new direction for the playing group? I’m concerned about the stranglehold the senior players and players association have on things and the handbrake that may place on regeneration. Kyle Mills was quoted this week as saying that Gary Stead must stay!! A case of the brother of the players association head doing his piece to keep a weak and compliant coach in place?
- also on the playing side there’s been a lot of talk from the likes of Kane, Santner, Southee etc about how good it is to have “experience” in the side. It really has become a self fulfilling prophecy and I think back to the early McCullum days when punts were taken on guys like Reece Young, Bruce Martin, Taryn Nethula, Mark Craig etc as they were tried and discarded. There’s been none of that in the last couple of years....
Danny Morrison and Simon Doull, less in the pockets of NZC than the milquetoast local scribes are unequivocal that things must change....
Hi Dylan
I can stump up a stewpot of outrage against the Chinese swimmers and more particularly their coaches and administrators. Their performances at Tokyo were akin to the blatant drug taking (and record breaking) of their swimmers in the 90's. Three of those exposed recently had also tested positive a couple of years ago and no action was taken. according to the NY Times. The IOC and FINA are too gutless to make a stand.
In this day and age you’d think they’d nip this in the bud quick smart! Unreal
Re the US Golf Open: I do not know who the golf writer from The Ringer is who provided your quote; "Meanwhile, by the painstaking distance of 6 feet of putts, Rory has very slightly diminished his legacy," but he couldn’t be more wrong. Those two putts will have an ever-lasting effect on Rory’s legacy. One from which he may never recover. The context: Rory lost this most enthralling contest by one shot from Bryson DeChambeau due, in large part, to missing two short putts, both under 4 feet long, on holes 16 and 18, in the last round. Up until the first miss, Rory had completed 496 putts of 4 feet and less, this year, without missing one! So, here he is at the pointy end of a major, again, and for reasons due probably to mental anxiety, misses two from two. "Very slightly diminished his legacy?" Yeah, right. One has to feel for Rory, but on the other hand,, the much-changed Bryson deserved the title.
He he Virat Kohli’s beard oil budget. Seriously though this does feel like a big crack in the NZ cricket game. Why didn't we give the younger players any game time against the minnows?
Otherwise GO THE CHIEFS!!! (Just in case the name didn't give it away).
I will eat some humble pie and congratulate the Blues on a well played game. They smothered the chiefs and made it look easy. Well done, maybe next year is our year (starting to sound like a warriors supporter 😉).
I’m with Hogie - great work Dylan. A lot to think about, including trying to work out where women’s cricket fits into all of this.
The NY Times obituary of Willie Mays was a great read - I know nothing about baseball but that didn’t stop me enjoying the description of an athlete and a person.