Flem274*
123/5
Anyway, might as well post it here. May have said it already but I forgot.
I despise the way it came about, but I was wrong. Brendon McCullum is the right man for the captaincy. He's gone from nearing passenger territory to ridiculously good. He's running around fielding things, batting for a million hours as a stone waller, an accumulator and as the aggressor he was always touted as and making tactical decisions with a back that would earn him a one way ticket to a hole behind the shed if he was a horse. The captaincy has brought out something in him I think we all knew might be there but had lost hope of ever seeing.
His greatest achievement though is uniting a team that loves a good falling out after one of its beloved fall outs and helping that team believe it can win games. Taylor built a foundation but McCullum pulled the team from 45 all out and the shadow a pissed off best player who wasn't sure if he wanted to play anymore into a consistently good outfit.
And now despite the team not even wanting to be playing this series anymore, he's been at the forefront of breaking the UAE fortress.
Hesson is also the right man for the job. Again, his involvement in the Taylor saga where let's be honest, it was his word against Taylor's and considering the circumstances he was likely caught telling porkies, was dire and exposed him for acting like a bit of a **** during that period but I've always liked his carefully planned and methodical style. I don't agree with half of his tactical quirks and I think we've gotten away with it to date through other players in the team being awesome but what separates him from previous coaches is his emphasis on preparation, his attention to detail and bringing in the right people to do the nitty gritty batting/bowling coaching. So while three spinners, the Devcich love etc is irritating, we've gone from coaches who offer up "we batted like dicks" to someone who actually digs a bit deeper.
Plus, while I slammed him for the mess he made during the Taylor saga, Ross has come back into the fold and there hasn't been a similar incident since. I don't know whether the captaincy saga was a cynical move or a man management screw up of epic proportions but Hesson has had some tricky situations on his plate (like this test) since then and nothing has exploded. Credit to him.
But just in case you think I've bought into sunshine and daisies, I assure you David White is still a ****.
I despise the way it came about, but I was wrong. Brendon McCullum is the right man for the captaincy. He's gone from nearing passenger territory to ridiculously good. He's running around fielding things, batting for a million hours as a stone waller, an accumulator and as the aggressor he was always touted as and making tactical decisions with a back that would earn him a one way ticket to a hole behind the shed if he was a horse. The captaincy has brought out something in him I think we all knew might be there but had lost hope of ever seeing.
His greatest achievement though is uniting a team that loves a good falling out after one of its beloved fall outs and helping that team believe it can win games. Taylor built a foundation but McCullum pulled the team from 45 all out and the shadow a pissed off best player who wasn't sure if he wanted to play anymore into a consistently good outfit.
And now despite the team not even wanting to be playing this series anymore, he's been at the forefront of breaking the UAE fortress.
Hesson is also the right man for the job. Again, his involvement in the Taylor saga where let's be honest, it was his word against Taylor's and considering the circumstances he was likely caught telling porkies, was dire and exposed him for acting like a bit of a **** during that period but I've always liked his carefully planned and methodical style. I don't agree with half of his tactical quirks and I think we've gotten away with it to date through other players in the team being awesome but what separates him from previous coaches is his emphasis on preparation, his attention to detail and bringing in the right people to do the nitty gritty batting/bowling coaching. So while three spinners, the Devcich love etc is irritating, we've gone from coaches who offer up "we batted like dicks" to someone who actually digs a bit deeper.
Plus, while I slammed him for the mess he made during the Taylor saga, Ross has come back into the fold and there hasn't been a similar incident since. I don't know whether the captaincy saga was a cynical move or a man management screw up of epic proportions but Hesson has had some tricky situations on his plate (like this test) since then and nothing has exploded. Credit to him.
But just in case you think I've bought into sunshine and daisies, I assure you David White is still a ****.
