***Official*** New Zealand in Australia

[Flem274*]

On paper, our side is still better than New Zealand's even without Gilly. So losing Gilly isn't really an excuse.

Last year however, we had 5 experienced ODI players out. And that many players out does make an enormous difference to one's side.

Sorry if I sound like I'm losing my temper, I've just being listening to some dire stuff on the radio. This is our worst team ever apparently.

Very true 5 players out makes a huge difference. We've lost:

Fleming
Astle
McMillan
Fulton
Bond
Franklin

So obviously an injury and retirement deleted side will struggle but if we win I guarantee you the media and a fair chunk of the Aussie public will say we can only beat you lot with your players missing, even if we are missing most of last years first XI. That was my point. My other point was Aussie should be very very careful not to get ****y and do a Graham Henry. We had the greatest depth too and we still ****ed up major but so far they've been intelligent with their resting, ableit last years CH series.

 

[Mister Wright]

I only realised the other day that last week's 20/20 was the first time the captain of Australia has been younger than me...

Getting old.

 

[sideshowtim]

Sorry if I sound like I'm losing my temper, I've just being listening to some dire stuff on the radio. This is our worst team ever apparently.

Very true 5 players out makes a huge difference. We've lost:

Fleming
Astle
McMillan
Fulton
Bond
Franklin

So obviously an injury and retirement deleted side will struggle but if we win I guarantee you the media and a fair chunk of the Aussie public will say we can only beat you lot with your players missing, even if we are missing most of last years first XI. That was my point. My other point was Aussie should be very very careful not to get ****y and do a Graham Henry. We had the greatest depth too and we still ****ed up major but so far they've been intelligent with their resting, ableit last years CH series.

I see what you are saying. Although I believe the first three players you named have now retired, so they're not really players you could have in your squad.

Dunno how we're doing a Graham Henry. Like the All Blacks, we rested players before the World Cup, except we managed it well enough to still win the World Cup. They didn't.

 

[Burgey]

I think you are re-enforcing what Flem was trying to pint out... what if you had won the series in NZ last year.. you would have falling into the All Blacks situration (we cabn win with any 15 on the park) I think the loss was a blessing in disguise and it high lighted how improtant some of those individuals from the 5 rested are...

by the way NZ hasnt lost an ODI to Bang.. what was your excuse for that game which included...some of those big name rested players..???

But last year Buchanan sent the ODI side into a mid-season heavy training regime to have them peak for the WC. That training regime coincided with the drop off at the end of the series here and the CH in NZ.

Gilly's got back to back tests starting next week at age 36 or whatever he is. He's been scheduled not to play this game for 3 or 4 weeks apparently. If they lose, they lose.

With all due respect, I'm just over these ODI series except the WC (even our series out here). I'm not slagging NZ here - there's a good rivalry between the sides which makes any contest between the teams interesting to some extent.

It's just these one dayers - they all just blend into each other. Sure I watch 'em, but if Australia lose, it's just "Oh well, so be it. There's another one in two days' time/ next week/ month or whatever", WC excepted.

I feel a lot different about tests though.

And I don't think this is NZ's worst ever team either. The media always exaggerate these things. I don't follow NZ cricket closely enough to purport to have answers, but from a distance I would have thought:
- brush Bracewell and put Wright in charge of the national side.
- have the selectors bite the bullet and pick some young blokes who may not be ready, but who have the right attitude and mental approach to succeed/ be competitive long term.

The latter is what the Australian selectors did in the mid-late 80s. Greg Chappell tells the story of how they plucked guys like Boon, Waugh, Healy and played them despite their not being ready, becuase they could see they had the right approach to the game. And here's the thing - then they stuck with them. Waugh had 50 odd innings before getting a ton. Healy was dire in his first few series. Boon got dropped but was brought back and stayed there. they also found a loyal deputy to Border in G Marsh who was a great team man.

I'm not syaing NZ can do these things, maybe they don't hav eth edepth, I dunno. But you can put structures in place which maximise the potential of the players you do have.

 

[NZTailender]

Yeah, ODI's are a dime a dozen these days. Not really interesting whatsover.

 

[Fiery]

Yeah, ODI's are a dime a dozen these days. Not really interesting whatsover.

So you're not interested in tomorrow's game?

 

[slugger]

But last year Buchanan sent the ODI side into a mid-season heavy training regime to have them peak for the WC. That training regime coincided with the drop off at the end of the series here and the CH in NZ.

Gilly's got back to back tests starting next week at age 36 or whatever he is. He's been scheduled not to play this game for 3 or 4 weeks apparently. If they lose, they lose.

With all due respect, I'm just over these ODI series except the WC (even our series out here). I'm not slagging NZ here - there's a good rivalry between the sides which makes any contest between the teams interesting to some extent.

It's just these one dayers - they all just blend into each other. Sure I watch 'em, but if Australia lose, it's just "Oh well, so be it. There's another one in two days' time/ next week/ month or whatever", WC excepted.

I feel a lot different about tests though.

And I don't think this is NZ's worst ever team either. The media always exaggerate these things. I don't follow NZ cricket closely enough to purport to have answers, but from a distance I would have thought:
- brush Bracewell and put Wright in charge of the national side.
- have the selectors bite the bullet and pick some young blokes who may not be ready, but who have the right attitude and mental approach to succeed/ be competitive long term.

The latter is what the Australian selectors did in the mid-late 80s. Greg Chappell tells the story of how they plucked guys like Boon, Waugh, Healy and played them despite their not being ready, becuase they could see they had the right approach to the game. And here's the thing - then they stuck with them. Waugh had 50 odd innings before getting a ton. Healy was dire in his first few series. Boon got dropped but was brought back and stayed there. they also found a loyal deputy to Border in G Marsh who was a great team man.

I'm not syaing NZ can do these things, maybe they don't hav eth edepth, I dunno. But you can put structures in place which maximise the potential of the players you do have.

i except what you are saying some good points.. i think nz gets caught up in trying to win the battles but losing the war...

 

[NZTailender]

So you're not interested in tomorrow's game?

Moreso than usual. Only because NZ is playing.

 

[Flem274*]

But last year Buchanan sent the ODI side into a mid-season heavy training regime to have them peak for the WC. That training regime coincided with the drop off at the end of the series here and the CH in NZ.

Gilly's got back to back tests starting next week at age 36 or whatever he is. He's been scheduled not to play this game for 3 or 4 weeks apparently. If they lose, they lose.

With all due respect, I'm just over these ODI series except the WC (even our series out here). I'm not slagging NZ here - there's a good rivalry between the sides which makes any contest between the teams interesting to some extent.

It's just these one dayers - they all just blend into each other. Sure I watch 'em, but if Australia lose, it's just "Oh well, so be it. There's another one in two days' time/ next week/ month or whatever", WC excepted.

I feel a lot different about tests though.

And I don't think this is NZ's worst ever team either. The media always exaggerate these things. I don't follow NZ cricket closely enough to purport to have answers, but from a distance I would have thought:
- brush Bracewell and put Wright in charge of the national side.
- have the selectors bite the bullet and pick some young blokes who may not be ready, but who have the right attitude and mental approach to succeed/ be competitive long term.

The latter is what the Australian selectors did in the mid-late 80s. Greg Chappell tells the story of how they plucked guys like Boon, Waugh, Healy and played them despite their not being ready, becuase they could see they had the right approach to the game. And here's the thing - then they stuck with them. Waugh had 50 odd innings before getting a ton. Healy was dire in his first few series. Boon got dropped but was brought back and stayed there. they also found a loyal deputy to Border in G Marsh who was a great team man.

I'm not syaing NZ can do these things, maybe they don't hav eth edepth, I dunno. But you can put structures in place which maximise the potential of the players you do have.

Good post. We selected Crowe, Parore, McMillan, Rutherford, Cairns and Vincent pretty early and they went on to have good careers. The only issue is as Crowe says, young players can be ruined if picked too early. Crowe reckons he and Rutherford never quite recovered from their first few series where they were humilliated.

If we were to do it, we'd probably pick:

Ryder
Hay
Broom
Nicol
Todd

 

[Days of Grace]

Good post. We selected Crowe, Parore, McMillan, Rutherford, Cairns and Vincent pretty early and they went on to have good careers. The only issue is as Crowe says, young players can be ruined if picked too early. Crowe reckons he and Rutherford never quite recovered from their first few series where they were humilliated.

Crowe recovered, but Rutherford ended with a test average of 28, despite having quite a good last half of his career.

Rutherford must have had the most daunting debut of any player I can think of. Imagine debuting and opening the batting against Holding, Garner, Marshall


I am a big believer in playing your best side at any time, unless you are building up to a big tournament. Guys like Oram and Bond won't be around for so long so you might as well play them now.

This may sound strange, but this current NZ team is really missing McMillan. His new role of batting at no.6 or 7 was suiting him down to the ground and we wouldn't have been missing the firepower at the death overs if he hadn't retired.

 

[pup11]

Eh? He's already 30 and his knees must already be feeling the strain. By the time Gilly calls it even on his ODI career, Haddin will be well past 'peak age'. He's probably past it now, only goes downhill from here for 'keepers. Personally, I think he's being looked at as a caretaker 'keeper until Ronchi or someone else steps up because he won't have long as Gilly's successor.

Yeah i agree Haddin as good as he is but still he ain't going to be Gilly's long-term replacement due to his age and somebody like Ronchi or Wade are the probable long-term prospects.

 

[Mister Wright]

I think that due to Gilchrist being rested for an international match because of risk of player burn-out he should not be allowed to play in the IPL, as simple as that.

 

[Craig]

I see Johnson is rested.

 

[Fiery]

Pissing down rain forecast

 

[Craig]

At least on the bright side we are finally getting some rain in this country.

 

[howardj]

It really gets up my nose that Gilchrist is being rested on Friday, especially for a Decider. It's just the principle of the thing. It's like a director packing up and pissing off up to the Coast in the middle of the week - after he's just had a few months off. These guys, I guarantee you, do not play any more cricket than what guys like Border, Waugh and Healy played- especially considering current day players barely play domestic cricket, unlike back in the 1990's. Furthermore, will he be putting his hand up for a rest during future IPL tournaments?

Edit - rested on Thursday.

 

[sideshowtim]

It really gets up my nose that Gilchrist is being rested on Friday, especially for a Decider. It's just the principle of the thing. It's like a director packing up and pissing off up to the Coast in the middle of the week - after he's just had a few months off. These guys, I guarantee you, do not play any more cricket than what guys like Border, Waugh and Healy played- especially considering current day players barely play domestic cricket, unlike back in the 1990's. Furthermore, will he be putting his hand up for a rest during future IPL tournaments?

Edit - rested on Thursday.

Border, Waugh and Healy will never have played the amount of international cricket in a period of 2+ years that our guys have got coming up. The rest is about preserving Gilly over the course of an incredibly, incredibly long 'season'.

 

[howardj]

Border, Waugh and Healy will never have played the amount of international cricket in a period of 2+ years that our guys have got coming up. The rest is about preserving Gilly over the course of an incredibly, incredibly long 'season'.

You don't do that in a Decider though.

 

[MoxPearl]

Not sure if it's been mentioned before, but the series will be extended to five games next season.

Awesome!

I actually really enjoy the series.. ... however there is a great chance that we will have a new coach next year with a decent selection policy and then i can enjoy the games even more

 

[MoxPearl]

This may sound strange, but this current NZ team is really missing McMillan. His new role of batting at no.6 or 7 was suiting him down to the ground and we wouldn't have been missing the firepower at the death overs if he hadn't retired.

true that.. watching the replays of last years series... joy to watch him in action