Fuller Pilch
Hall of Fame Member
Could just be that injuries, bad form, and perhaps reduced motivation/hunger(finally won a world title) all came at a bad time along with superb performances by the opposition (Bangla batting and Ebadot's bowling, Erwee, Verryenne & Rabada, and now English bowling and Root) and we couldn't respond.The clique of about 4 guys on here who have been posting every hour for the last decade have seriously lost perspective on the NZ cricket team, and probably it's from going over the same stuff with a fine tooth comb day in and day out for year after year. That would undoubtedly have a debilatating effect on critical thinking and deductive reasoning. Out in the real world, the perception is now that the team are more concerned with IPL contracts and worrying about the pitch than about actually knuckling down and playing good, hard cricket. And who is to say that the knowledgable NZ cricketing public is wrong?
It is now apparent that the increasingly soft head coach and selection group are behaving like headless chooks. Their bizarre treatment of people like Ajaz Patel and Matt Henry is now totally unfathomable. They profess to take a 'horses for courses' approach, but when the course suits the horse we find that the horse has been scratched from the race. The abiding sense is that we are back with a group that suffers from muddled thinking and are overly influenced by a clique of older players that are once again having an inordinate influence that goes well beyond what it should.
The disgusting loss to Bangladesh at home and consequent pathetic excuse making and whingeing about the pitch was really sickening to see. Devon Conway is now even starting to let his standards slip in this light-weight environment. It was notable he didn't push on some ocassions in the home summer, when he had the opportunity to nail really big scores. He is starting to get out in lazy ways, and you start to wonder if the lackadaisical and mentally soft habits of some of the other players are starting to infect his game as well.
The team desperately needs to find some new leaders, and get away from the soft spoken and mild mannered approach which sounds like it doesn't give a fig about losing. One bloke who is in the current leadership mix sounds like he has had a tracheotomy as he grunts out every strained word through gritted teeth. Lets find inspiring and articulate leaders who look like they give a damn about on-field results.