The 'NZ' batting 'performance' was a hard headed bloke from South Africa doing his thing as an outlier, while the same bunch of softies who flopped in Australia did theirs. The score-card shows what an 'oil and water' scenario this was. One classy batsman with a clear head just out there playing test cricket, and then a group of guys who crumple like a wet paper bag when outside of the comforts of home & their favoured 'fish out of water on NZ decks' sub-continental opponents.
What a total embarrassment. Should have been 450 at least when one bloke scored such a commanding double-century, and England should have been batted right out of the game. I've heard a lot of talk about 'fight' and 'grit' with respect to NZ sans Conway, but not much on display except for 60 odd 'homegrown Kiwi' runs from Nicols.
BJ Watling is a microcosm of NZ's batting ineptitude overseas against better sides. 'Nuggety, gritty, doughty'......at home on flat decks like Bay Oval and the Basin. Get him to Australia or England or India and he'll likely not trouble the scorers. Always goes into these series' hyped as an immovable object who will grind out big runs, and it doesn't happen. But he remains tidy with the gloves.
Yes, the batting totally flopped on their last big international assignment, that afore-mentioned disastrous Australian tour. Come to think of it, so did the bowling. The bowling was cannon fodder, Mitch Santner (the non-spinning spinner) was a laughing stock to the Aussie commentators, and the sole bowling performance of note came from a hard headed bloke from South Africa doing his thing as an outlier.
As far as tail end resistance goes in that 1st innings at Lords, it was a flop except for a hard headed bloke from South Africa doing his thing as an outlier. Why inept batting bunny Tim Southee would be batting ahead of Neil Wagner no-one will ever know. Wagner showed last year that he can now actually turn in some eye-catching performances as a lower order batsman, while Southee is clearly all at sea with his boat getting further from shore by the day.
Interesting to see NZ set up talking about 'when you lose one wicket you can lose a clump' to explain away a disastrous spineless collapse.
What a collection of weak dismissals. Poor prep? Conway was batting on kitty litter in the nets as his prep, and he still came out with the right attitude and performed. I'd back him to shut out all the negatives and just bat like that no matter what the location: could be Eden Gardens, the MCG, or Seddon Park.
Unfortunately for him - and us - the NZ team is still a collection of psychologically frail characters who can only really perform in their 'safe zone': a nice flat NZ pitch where the batsmen feel coddled and able to perform, and the bowlers can fall back on the tireless outlier Neil Wagner to break his back carrying them when the swing isn't there or the shine is off the new ball.
