**Official** New Zealand Domestic Season 2013/2014

[Flem274*]

Mr Siddons also forgets his team are ****

 

[Kippax]

Tbf to Siddons he did add that "our players" are no exception to struggling with spin (this was on Wellington radio).

Kippax will vouch for the fact he is ripping off the weatherboards and making Papps and now Pollard into structurally different players, which isn't the quick and sugary way to a domestic title by any means. And he was blunt with Hesson about Ronchi's unsuitable technique and temperament for opening these days.

Whether you rate Tamim or not, there's his plaudits -

Tamim returns fresh, modified

The batsman claimed that he had gained a 'special trust' with Siddons, something that had been built during the Australian's three-year stint with Bangladesh.

“Ex-cricketers in Bangladesh are obviously capable of addressing my mistakes. However, I think every cricketer has a coach whom they trust and for me that's Jamie,” said Tamim.

The opener stated that he had spent long hours in the nets with Siddons, the effect of which was felt towards the end of his spell. “I think in the last couple of matches I realised what I was doing wrong and I batted with a mixed technique, which included things from the past and the newer lessons. Its something that I can change in time,” said the 23-year-old.

Describing one such problem that bothered the left-hander, he said, “In 2010, I used to have one short foot movement. But at the moment I have two-three foot movements. This was just one of the problems that I worked on. I'll work on it whenever I find a gap.”

Apart from working on his batting technique, Tamim also relished the experience of playing in a 'more challenging' cricketing atmosphere. “Domestic cricket there [in New Zealand] is a lot more serious. For instance, the kind of planning, discussions and meetings that we had before the matches, resembled the ones that I attended before an international match,” said Tamim.

“Every game is recorded and that gave me an opportunity to have a look at my opponents. I actually didn't know any bowler there when I reached and that helped me a lot,” he added.

 

[Bahnz]

Glad to see that McIntosh is taking young Raval under his wing and is tutoring him in the ways of the wide brimmed floppy.

 

[Kippax]

slating a coach for batting on with an 'A' level bowling line-up on a road

It was VJ's choice to play Bradley Scott and that left-armer Soper who's never swung a ball back in in his life though, rather than get some red ball overs into Duffy.

Heaven forbid an injury to Duffy with an HRV campaign to worship at the altar of, "Champions League's in South Africa next year" to boot.

 

[Immenso]

It was VJ's choice to play Bradley Scott and that left-armer Soper who's never swung a ball back in in his life though, rather than get some red ball overs into Duffy.

Heaven forbid an injury to Duffy with an HRV campaign to worship at the altar of, "Champions League's in South Africa next year" to boot.

It's like Johnson's Otago have quickly become Strang's Auckland after a single taste CLT20 cash.

I don't want him to grind 19 year old Duffy into the ground with a full season in all forms. But to rest both McMillan and and Duffy stinks a bit, with Wagner overseas - that is the time not to rotate them out.

Maybe NZC and the Players Association can work a deal where some of that CL cash gets split into prize money for the Plunket Shield and Ford Trophy winners as well.

I think some of it is split already to the 6 associations, not all to the Volts and their players.

Was it 200k this year?

How about 50% split to the HRV champs players, 50% to the 6 Associations, 25% to Plunket champs players, 25% to Ford Trophy champs players. Etc, or close to ...

Even up the incentives a little bit. I don't want to start hating Otago, too many players I like in their squad.

 

[Immenso]

Anyway, fairly cautious start by at least 2 of the teams to Plunket Shield. Early season conservatism? Or change of mindset?

I can't believe how 'good' early season wickets are. My lawn is still almost a quagmire yet the Basin could have probably lasted 7 days before a result

 

[Kippax]

Yeah, you know how after a footy match there's the obligatory footage of the players doing gentle strides down the length of a pool? That's the Plunket Shield.

 

[RxGM]

Anyway, fairly cautious start by at least 2 of the teams to Plunket Shield. Early season conservatism? Or change of mindset?

I can't believe how 'good' early season wickets are. My lawn is still almost a quagmire yet the Basin could have probably lasted 7 days before a result

I think also it is a result of alot of big scores been chased down last season in the forth innings for the loss of not many.

It is good that our pitches are not minefields on day 1 but we really need to do something about the lack of deteriation

Our two premier spinners were toothless on a last day wicket

 

[hendrix]

It's like Johnson's Otago have quickly become Strang's Auckland after a single taste CLT20 cash.

I don't want him to grind 19 year old Duffy into the ground with a full season in all forms. But to rest both McMillan and and Duffy stinks a bit, with Wagner overseas - that is the time not to rotate them out.

If Duffy becomes a t20 specialist I will strangle Johnson.

 

[SteveNZ]

It was VJ's choice to play Bradley Scott and that left-armer Soper who's never swung a ball back in in his life though, rather than get some red ball overs into Duffy.

Heaven forbid an injury to Duffy with an HRV campaign to worship at the altar of, "Champions League's in South Africa next year" to boot.

It was, and I'd predict it had something to do with Duffy's hammie that packed his bags from the CL. Only a guess.

There has been some conservatism but you wouldn't say either Otago or Auckland were in imperious positions and dropped their nerve when victory was at least an even-money bet. At the end of the day, everyone's a contender at this early stage - you drop points to someone in the pursuit of your own, you risk that being the difference at the pointy end. Auckland risked playing with their order and giving ND early momentum, with a spinner who for all of his noted 4th innings woes, was coming off a 5-for and there was another leggie at the other end. Otago had a barely A standard line-up on a road against a side with enough quality to get the job done - albeit under the disadvantage of playing under the banner 'Wellington'.

 

[Flem274*]

Haven't watched the entire innings, just the boundaries, but I like how Raval got either well back or used his feet to the spinners during his ton.

 

[Flem274*]

How the hell do you make the vault cooperate again btw? I remember having to sign into the fanzone, which has disappeared from the main page...

 

[Bahnz]

Yeah, it's also nice to watch an opener score a hundred without scoring a third of his boundaries through edges down to third man. Though that may well have something to do with the pitch flattening out.

 

[Flem274*]

Watching his bad KPIs in the vault now, but I really should have filtered it to make it more recent. Early on he did like to lunge forward with his bat beside his pad to the spinners.

 

[Flem274*]

Bartlett looks so awkward to face. Watching his good KPIs. Bounce and sharp movement back in to the batsmans testicles or ribs. He's one of those bowlers. Auckland better play him in the HRV Cup so we can get him under a gun.

 

[Kippax]

New Zealand Cricket | Coaching system cops blame... | Stuff.co.nz

New Zealand's coaching system is setting the Black Caps' batsmen up to fail on every overseas tour they undertake, says Jamie Siddons.

The Australian masterminded Bangladesh's first one-day international series whitewash over the Black Caps, in 2010, and wasn't shocked to see a repeat on Sunday night.

Defending 308, New Zealand lost by four wickets at Fatullah, condemning themselves to a 3-0 series clean sweep.

The now-Wellington coach believes players in this country are ill-equipped to combat bowling that is anything but gun-barrel straight, which comes back to a fundamental flaw in coaching and skill levels. Until those are addressed, Siddons says fans can expect undesirable outcomes like Sunday night's.

"It looked pretty similar [to 2010]. The conditions are a bit foreign to the boys, not that they turned a lot, just slower pace and facing some reasonable spinners with a bit of variation," Siddons said yesterday.

"I don't think they [Bangladesh] were clearly better. I think they utilise their conditions pretty well and we weren't prepared for it or good enough to handle it."

Which comes back to coaching. In the last year New Zealand have been utterly humiliated by South Africa's quick bowlers, struggled against the swing of England's James Anderson and now been undone by Bangladesh's modest spinners.

None of which can be fixed by the throw-downs that batsmen tend to favour as a means of honing their game.

"We need to practice tougher. We need to have wickets that turn, practice how to face faster bowling and swing bowling," said Siddons.

"As soon as it's tough your batsmen are vulnerable and it's the coaching, it's the technical side of things, it's the mindset. It's certainly not mental.

"I hear a lot of people say it's mental problems with the players, but everyone's trying. These guys don't get out because of mental mistakes, it's the skill levels.

"It's hard work on the road. Those guys will come back here and it's flat and it's not swinging and it's not spinning and they'll be okay. But as soon as you go away and you're under pressure again against something you haven't practised against, then you'll have problems."

Siddons was batting coach for New Zealand A during the winter and is sure that there's talent in this country. But he's equally certain that nearly all New Zealand batsmen have an array of flaws that can't be fixed in a play, travel, play environment.

He's also sceptical about some of the selection choices he sees being made.

"It's near-impossible [to coach players on tour], they're supposed to be ready when they get there. Supposed to be," he said.

"Under our system I'm supposed to have these guys ready and they ask me about my guys and I tell them the truth. I say he's not ready, he's not going to be successful, wait, give him time, he's got this problem, he's got that problem.

"They [the NZ coaches] can get them up and talk about plans and stuff, but if they haven't got that ability to run down the wicket, they can't run down the wicket. If they don't have the sweep shot before they get there, they're not going to develop one."

Siddons knows he probably sounds like some Aussie know-all with no actual solutions.

"Well, keep doing what you're doing, that's all I say. It's going well.

"I don't have the answers, I'm just telling you why they're failing and why they're not successful often enough and it's not mental. I'm happy to be part of a panel to try and work it out, but I haven't got the answers."

 

[Kippax]

Cricket | Jamie Siddons' guide to becoming a Black... | Stuff.co.nz

Wellington coach Jamie Siddons talks Fairfax Media through the methods he's using to make Black Caps out of his Firebirds.

Jamie Siddons scored more than 11,000 first-class runs, including 35 hundreds, during a 16-year career with Victoria and South Australia.

His Sheffield Shield tally of 10,643 stood briefly as the all-time record and he was regarded as the most unlucky player of his generation not to play test cricket for Australia.

Except the 49-year-old doesn't see it that way, now. He could only play one side of the wicket and while he could get by at first-class level, test bowlers would've figured him out pretty quickly.

It's one of the reasons he attempts to build complete batsmen now.

Some of Siddons' methods aren't conventional and he knows people whisper behind his back.

"But at least I've got a philosophy," the former Australian batting coach and Bangladesh head coach said.

Which all starts with the backlift. To listen to some people you'd think Siddons' Firebirds all set up like baseballers or guys at the top of golf swings.

It's nothing like that exaggerated, although everyone has been required to adopt a higher one.

"What's the point in going on? I won't coach them unless they change that. It won't work," Siddons said.

"It's not a high backlift, it's having a backlift at the point of [the bowler's] release. It's fundamental."

Even if plenty of players, like former Black Cap Craig McMillan, have survived without any backlift at all?

"You don't get blokes with the strength or the power of him every day. If I look at [new Firebird] Henry Walsh, he probably doesn't need it, but 90 percent of blokes do.

"All the Bangladesh players needed it because they couldn't compete with the big boys. Now they clear the fence no problem.

"It's gone through their system and they're booming it. Mushfiq [Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim], smallest bloke in world cricket, hits it further than anyone.

"It just makes sense. It gives you access to all your shots, it gets your feet moving. If you're picking your bat up, you're moving your feet."

Where you point those feet is an issue too. Opener Michael Papps made it as far as the New Zealand team, while religiously pointing his front foot in the direction of cover.

Now, at the ripe old age of 34, he's got his foot in line with the release of the ball, which is another thing Siddons insists on and, between that and a backlift, Papps can hit the ball down the ground for the first time in his career.

You must be committed to improvement in Siddons' side and Papps' example proves that it can come no matter what your age. A burning desire to be a Black Cap is essential too.

"We talk to these guys every day about what it's going to take if you're facing Dale Steyn or Morne Morkel or Shakib [Al Hasan]. Don't worry about what you're doing here; you've got to worry about being a success when you get to the next level. You have to be able to adjust. You have to be able to change what you're doing or it's not going to work.

"I don't necessarily want you here if you're not going to be good enough to play for the Black Caps. Everything we do is about trying to get better. Whether they've got the skill at the end of the day or whether I'm here long enough to help them, I don't know."

It takes time, especially when you can't devote all your efforts to an individual player like a tennis coach might. Siddons had almost four years with Bangladesh and it was only near the end that his work bore much fruit.

But as he watched the quality of, say, Tamim Iqbal's batting in the just-completed test and one-day series against New Zealand, it gave him certainty that his methods work.

Now in his third season with Wellington, Siddons says things aren't far from fruition here.

"I try what I can and one guy with 20 blokes isn't always going to work that well. You need a great philosophy, you need blokes to buy in and then you've got to believe in something.

"I wouldn't necessarily be believing in some Aussie who comes in and spouts his words. It's your own choice."

 

[Kippax]

"It's gone through their system and they're booming it".

 

[hendrix]

Interesting about the backlift. That might be something I can add to my own batting once I've successfully flat batted the first 10 overs.

 

[Flem274*]

I feel dirty saying this, but Siddons raises some good points in the first article, though I think many issues are mental too.