I just want to speculate and ramble a bit because I cbf going to sleep. There will be some doom and gloom in the ramble somewhere so it fits the thread. Settle in or skip.
I'm fascinated by how Baz has adapted his approach to changing the culture of how New Zealand sides are expected to play. It's hard to tell what's going on from the outside so I'm just going by his words and the words of the players here. When he took over we knew what was coming - aggression, intent, natural game yadda yadda. Before and just after 45 all out Baz was a cliche and gibberish machine (who could forget the topic of aggression rights?).
He said he and the team did deep soul searching after South Africa about how they needed to change. They settled on taking what CW kiwis think is the tired cliche of kiwi fighters and team spirit (usually meant as boring blocking untalented bits and pieces by overseas media) and rebranded it into a resolute attacking style built on absolute belief in the man beside you that could immediately switch gears to a refusal to die (The Basin v India, the Sri Lanka test this summer), always played in the spirit of the game.
They blend hyper-aggression with stone walling and it's so great to watch and clearly inspires the young side. McCullum doesn't talk weird anymore, his messages are simple and succint and if he's easy for us to understand he's probably easy for his players too. I love how he's trying to change the "culture of mediocrity" I always used to whinge about. It looks like he's trying to leave something behind. My only criticism of the old guard from previous good sides is they bought into the underdog status too much (Hadlee telling Bond not to talk it up at press conferences, Wright always saying if we fight hard and play our best we can "compete" not "win" etc).
Little Kiwi Me doesn't breed long term success. That doesn't mean be arrogant, but too much humility is almost false. Baz has found the middle ground where the team respects the opposition without either putting them on a pedestal or belittling them.
Hesson plays a part too. Everyone says he's a details man and a meticulous planner. When I look at recent NZ sides, Greatbatch dealt in sound bites about batting like dicks, Bracewell loved a good theory and Wright trusted talent more than tactics (telling Ryder to "not get out" as his game plan in the 2011 WC). The side needed a strategist and Hesson fills in the details while Baz says "follow me!" The fact man to the sixth sense captancy of Baz. They're like Southee and Boult, Williamson and Taylor. McCullum and Watling.
He makes us 2012 doubters taste it over and over and over and I love it.
But.
NZC must not drop the ball again when McCullum and later the rest of this team retires.
After Hadlee came the early and middle 90s. After Fleming came the late 00s. There is no good reason for generations to alternate between being good and being ****. NZC must keep this culture revolution going.
I have a theory our success is dictated less by prodigies and more by Watlings'. A Watling is defined as a limited domestic cricketer who transforms into anything between decent test cricketer to the best in the world in his role through working out his game and determination to succeed (Watling himself is the WPWB).
Vettori had himself, Taylor, Ryder, McCullum the world class keeper batsman, Oram and sometimes Bond as prodigies. We sucked, and I think it was because half the team contributed nothing. Marto and O'Brien were Watlings' who made the bowling decent-ish but we needed one more test standard quick. The batting had zero middle ground. McIntosh was the closest to being a Watling but ultimately failed. The batsmen averaged either 45 or 25.
Fleming's prodigies were either permanently injuried or underachieved (including himself). His side was stacked with Watlings' though. Richardson, Astle, Styris, Parore, early Tuffey, early Franklin, Martin...they were so damn good for a side that had a horrible time trying to get the various second comings of Hadlee and Crowe to achieve it.
The 80s had Wright, Edgar, Jones, Reid, Coney, Smith, Bracewell, Cairns and Chatfield in the Watling department. Only two prodigies but it didn't matter.
McCullum is blessed to have both prodigies and Watlings' coming out of his ears. This won't last forever though, and behind Kane and Latham we haven't seen another batting prodigy. Baz has a short time left, Ross has 5 or so years and Ryder is a lost cause. We have plenty of bowling prodigies but we desperately need Macewell, Young, O'Donnell, Mitchell etc to be Watlings'. We also need Watlings' in the opener department.
If no batsmen become Watlings' this renaissance will be short lived and we will slowly slide back to where we started.