Superb article from Chris Rattue. It won't please the fanboi's and apologists who are gearing up for a no-doubt riveting 'NZ vs Zimbabwe 2016' tour thread but Rattue is right on the money.
Chris Rattue: Aussie smokescreen fails to paper over the Black Caps' cracks - Sport - NZ Herald News
How convenient. A couple of Aussies lose the plot and, hey presto, it's a handy smokescreen for a dire New Zealand performance over five tests against Australia.
I'm p@##$% off all right, but not at bad-mannered Josh Hazlewood or Steve Smith. The Black Caps were a test disaster, and maybe even distracted by the Brendon McCullum celebrity tour.
Sure, the Aussies take their competitive attitude too far sometimes, but a lot of our blokes haven't taken it far enough.
A potentially great cricket test series, which could have been a landmark, turned into a dud. McCullum is a great Kiwi sports character, but save all the pats on the back until after the series. There was a job to be done, a contest to get into, and New Zealand failed miserably.
The vital combo of attitude, planning and skill was woefully short of the mark. Neil Wagner's second test onslaught was a belated signpost to his teammates, although I'm not sure his short-ball methods will bring sustained test success and it was an ugly, hamfisted way to go about the game, quite frankly.
But his heart and stamina were admirable and there is a skill, of sorts, to what he does. Others, well, not so much. The vaunted new ball attack of Tim Southee and Trent Boult was rubbish. The spin bowling situation is embarrassing. Some batsmen, led by the captain, simply took a punt.
For three big test series, against England once and Australia twice, New Zealand have failed to hit the ground running. McCullum's addiction to slogging and Southee's social league attitude to batting are roll-the-dice methods that don't work. The second innings dismissal of Martin Guptill in Wellington epitomised the problems. Rather than riding out on white charger, McCullum is actually leaving a test mess.
Yes, the lure of Indian T20 money has had an effect and, yes, it has been a long year for some of the players since the World Cup. But if you can't get off the floor to give it everything against Australia, something is amiss. McCullum and coach Mike Hesson's side has been disjointed and looked poorly prepared.
As for the Aussies, they step over the line of acceptable behaviour and need to take stock. But that is nowhere near as annoying as the McCullum-led move to position New Zealand as cricket behaviour-saviours if it leads to the surrender we've just witnessed.
Australia's relentless drive for victory is a huge part of what makes world cricket tick. I love watching them play, and they have been brilliant in this series.
Usman Khawaja is a joy to watch, a lazy-looking left-hander who evokes the great David Gower. The Adam Voges phenomenon is a story in itself. Their fast bowlers were superbly skilled, and one James Pattinson over to Guptill will live long in the memory.
Australia are No 1 and New Zealand a long, long way from that.
The same Chris Rattue who wrote that also wrote this 3 weeks ago:
Warning: this column will tempt fate. But you can almost smell the fear coming out of Australian cricket after they were crushed at Eden Park.
The tourists have found themselves in a lion's den, and they don't have many big rocks to throw at the beast.
Their media and former players like Michael Slater are turning the spotlight on selections (particularly the non-selection of Usman Khawaja at Eden Park) and the selectors (particularly head Rod Marsh).
New Zealand's mammoth one day victory against the mighty foe makes it very tempting to gloat. So let's gloat. Brendon McCullum's cricket revolution spat Australia with close to disdain.
I say that with all due respect to Australia, the finest of cricket nations. The gloating only comes because Australia has been so amazingly good for such an amazingly long time, and they've dished out so many beatings.
But they are operating on thin resources right now, they have a relatively inexperienced captain, their bullish coach Darren Lehmann is stranded at home for health reasons, and in a crazy turnaround it is the Kiwis who have the scary fast bowlers.
Australian cricket teams don't lie down, but this might be shaping as the worst team they've sent here. Turn a few screws, and it could turn to disarray.
In contrast, McCullum's mob appears so high on confidence that they can charge into the cauldron even without leading lights Ross Taylor and Tim Southee.
The remaining one dayers on Saturday and Monday are important in themselves, but they are further chances to demoralise Australia before the test series.
Is this treading dangerously considering it's Australia we are talking about? Never. The demolition job at Eden Park is something to be wildly celebrated. We've had so many dark days against Australia that a win like that deserves fireworks.
And Steve Smith is facing a potential firestorm. New Zealand cricket teams can get away with sub-par performances, but the world caves in on Australian sides who don't live up to a glorious past.
Smith's rise to the Aussie captaincy and status as one of the best batsmen in the game has been somewhat surprising. That tells a story, because he doesn't have a lot of experience to turn to, and certainly not in the class of previous Australian teams.
Now is the time for New Zealand to put a foot on the throat in the one dayers, and hopefully in front of packed houses at Wellington and Hamilton.
It feels as if New Zealand is consistently punching above its weight like never before, despite relative disappointments such as last year's tour of England. These players can write their names loud in history, by landing knockout blows in the test arena. Hopefully, Taylor will make it back from injury in time for that.
Chris Rattue: You can smell the Aussie fear - Sport - NZ Herald News
It is easy to be wise after the event.
