*Unofficial* New Zealand Black Caps Thread

[Moss]

That’s a pretty thin batting lineup, lot riding on the top 3. They have their task cut out seeing how the SA bowlers hit their stride against India. Time for Latham to correct that record against South Africa.

 

[Fuller Pilch]

I don't see any cricketing reason why tbh. Taylor is absolutely, completely cooked. I really don't think any of the possible replacements could be any worse.

Fair point. Nostalgia clouding my brain

 

[Fuller Pilch]

No pressure Devon Conway, but you need to keep averaging 70. Our tail will need to apply themselves too - can see it being a low scoring series.

 

[_Ed_]

This feels kinda familiar to me as an NZ fan - an old rival that we traditionally struggle against suddenly looks for at least a season or two like a team we can be confident of beating, but then just before we get that opportunity, they improve and something goes awry for us.

 

[thierry henry]

This feels kinda familiar to me as an NZ fan - an old rival that we traditionally struggle against suddenly looks for at least a season or two like a team we can be confident of beating, but then just before we get that opportunity, they improve and something goes awry for us.

Exactly. I know we're not doing it deliberately, but there seems to be a bit of a trend of us getting all amped up for a test series and then it just sort of fizzling out. Like Boult and then Ferguson getting injured in Australia, and then KW and Southee sitting out the third test as we limply folded. Or KW sitting out the second test in India with the series live and us capitulating. Obviously injuries are not deliberate, it's just the trend of us for whatever reason ending up with understrength line ups and then turning in halfhearted performances in the series we are most pumped for.

Yes I know we are world champs btw

 

[HeathDavisSpeed]

I don't see any cricketing reason why tbh. Taylor is absolutely, completely cooked. I really don't think any of the possible replacements could be any worse.

I don't think this is necessarily true, but perhaps past his best. Now, if there were plenty of first class matches to invest in before the start of the series, I could potentially see Taylor getting enough form back to be useful. However, that's not the case, nor really a thing these days. Makes it much harder to select the "in form" player to fill a Test-middle-order sized gap too.

 

[Flem274*]

rip kane. rocky few months for the fab 4.

i want young at #4 for total run maximisation from him but realistically he is our second best opener atm. ravindra did not inspire confidence and hay is not getting a run at 37. below them it is back to rutherford or similar.

glenn phillips about to get his second test i imagine, or maybe mitchell to #4 with ravindra back in.

i would feel more confident if jamieson and boult didn't look a bit faded at the bowling crease right now.

 

[Fuller Pilch]

Keegan Petersen will be missing the tour for SA due to covid

 

[Bahnz]

Starting to get pretty worried about the direction Rachin’s career is taking. The firebirds batting him at 6/7 in the Supersmash makes it seem everyone is buying into the idea that his best option is focusing on becoming a spin bowling alrounder rather than a top order bat with the ability to bowl some occasionally useful pies.

 

[Neil Young]

Starting to get pretty worried about the direction Rachin’s career is taking. The firebirds batting him at 6/7 in the Supersmash makes it seem everyone is buying into the idea that his best option is focusing on becoming a spin bowling alrounder rather than a top order bat with the ability to bowl some occasionally useful pies.

There is a modicum of justification in batting Ravindra down at 6 in a stacked Wellington line-up. In a T20 game, anyway. Hoping this won't be the case in the 50 over stuff and I'm sure he'll open on Friday. If not, that will pretty depressing.

 

[Immenso]

As I've said before, now is when the hopelessness of the NZC domestic scheduling will start to get exposed as the settled batting lineup of the last 8 years starts to disperse.

Will we replace Williamson with the young guy who has played 1 red ball match in the last 2 months, or the other young guy who hasn't played any red ball games for 9 months?

Tim McIntosh redux.

 

[Immenso]

Edit : 6 weeks ago - was the last time Ravindra passed 20 (Has passed 20 only once in last 3 months) :

 

[Moss]

i want young at #4 for total run maximisation from him but realistically he is our second best opener atm. ravindra did not inspire confidence and hay is not getting a run at 37. below them it is back to rutherford or similar.

Any chance Raval might be in consideration purely as a one off? Not the player he was in 2017 obviously, but the experience might be useful and it would help the middle order by ensuring a few players aren’t batting one position too high.

 

[Immenso]

Staying on Ravindra. In the 2 months since returning from India. He has faced 140 deliveries in matches.

Some of that is not anyone at NZCs fault:
- 14 days quarantine
- not really fitting into Wellington's T20 top order (2 DNBs)
- his own form

If Ravindra were to get selected in the test 11 (or 12), he will potentially get 2 x 50-over games in the lead up before the squad assembles.

Every team should be playing Plunket Shield this week, there should be 2 rounds available before the first test of the main summer tour.

But, we will be well prepared for the Netherlands ODIs. It's like Buchanan lives on.

 

[Mike5181]

Starting to get pretty worried about the direction Rachin’s career is taking. The firebirds batting him at 6/7 in the Supersmash makes it seem everyone is buying into the idea that his best option is focusing on becoming a spin bowling alrounder rather than a top order bat with the ability to bowl some occasionally useful pies.

That probably has more to do with him being a rubbish T20 bat.

 

[Athlai]

Williamson was rubbish at t20 for ages.

 

[_Ed_]

Black Cap gets Spirit of Cricket award for unselfish act

Black Caps all-rounder Daryl Mitchell is fourth New Zealander to win award.

www.nzherald.co.nz

 

[SteveNZ]

Those awards feel much better when you're a world champion.

 

[SteveNZ]

I really enjoyed Immenso's analysis of Rachin and how if your schedules aren't set up right for certain players, you can suck any form right out of them.

I'm not a calendar guy but I wonder if domestic schedules can be flexible throughout a summer to suit the demands of our international side. Obviously T20 takes precedence in the holiday period, but around that - can we stage the Plunket and 50-over trophies as required: ie a round of Plunket Shield this week, maybe another to ensure some level of continuation and form in case players need to be called up, then Ford Trophy in the lead-in to the Netherlands ODI series? I understand there's other considerations at play, but I wonder whether we do the respective competitions in clumps because 'that's always what we've done'

 

[SteveNZ]

Incidentally, and I think someone said it previously, this has been such a damp squib of a summer. Easily the most boring I can remember. Tragically, the highlight of it is likely to be (I'm being slightly facetious) the Black Clash. Hope the SA Tests change my mind