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*Official* New Zealand in Australia 2022

ashley bach

Cricketer Of The Year
A huge psychological problem for the Black caps is not knowing what to do when they have their opponents on the wrack.
It happened in the tests in England, and now it's happening all over again in ODI's.
They have the ability to get into good positions but not ruthless enough to finish the job.
It's a bit like getting a gorgeous woman into the sack, producing all this great foreplay then forgetting what to do for the slam dunk.
 

ashley bach

Cricketer Of The Year
swap stoinis for green and I think I can just about get behind this structure for the line-up. when green inevitable misses, it's tricky bringing in a replacement though (as stoinis sucks)
I was thinking about him yesterday when I was listing in my mind all the all-rounders better than Stoinis
What's wrong with Abbott? Surely a teams got no selection problems if you can't squeeze a player like him into the side.
 

RossTaylorsBox

Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
A huge psychological problem for the Black caps is not knowing what to do when they have their opponents on the wrack.
It happened in the tests in England, and now it's happening all over again in ODI's.
I don't think this is the case here, we just absolutely **** our pants whenever we play Australia in Australia.
 

ashley bach

Cricketer Of The Year
I'm predicting someone in the Australian selection camp says to Usman Khawaja mate you're in, start preparing for the cup next year.
Outrageous that a class act like him isn't in the team at the moment. He's the man for the job in Indian conditions, or any conditions for that matter.
 

Nintendo

Cricketer Of The Year
I'm predicting someone in the Australian selection camp says to Usman Khawaja mate you're in, start preparing for the cup next year.
Outrageous that a class act like him isn't in the team at the moment. He's the man for the job in Indian conditions, or any conditions for that matter.
Ehh, khawaja's numbers when he's not opening in ODI'S are pretty piss poor, and before this summer finch and warner's spot's where pretty settled. Only been this year that finch's ODI batting went off the boiler, and marnus was outputting better numbers then ussie was when batting below 3. Even now head should be the preferred replacement for finch. McDermott also had runs in Pakistan and deserves a chance. No point randomly bringing in the 36 year old uzzie who's gonna get binned after the next WC, no matter his recent form.

Let him focus on being the best test opener he can be and prolonging that part of his career as long as he can, god knows we need it. Our opener stocks outside of him and warner+ the concussion prone pucovski are fairly bleak right now.
 

ashley bach

Cricketer Of The Year
Ehh, khawaja's numbers when he's not opening in ODI'S are pretty piss poor, and before this summer finch and warner's spot's where pretty settled. Only been this year that finch's ODI batting went off the boiler, and marnus was outputting better numbers then ussie was when batting below 3. Even now head should be the preferred replacement for finch. McDermott also had runs in Pakistan and deserves a chance. No point randomly bringing in the 36 year old uzzie who's gonna get binned after the next WC, no matter his recent form.

Let him focus on being the best test opener he can be and prolonging that part of his career as long as he can, god knows we need it. Our opener stocks outside of him and warner+ the concussion prone pucovski are fairly bleak right now.
You make excellent points no doubt. Needless to say my thinking of playing the best man for the job at the world cup is the main priority.
Does it really matter if a player is going to get binned after the world cup? Perhaps that's when he'd like to bin himself.
The idea would be to open with him, as you say his stats aren't great down the order, they're piss poor in fact.
But he still averages 42, with poor batting down the order that only means his opening batting stats are very good, and he's scored plenty on his last
tour of India in 2019, in 5 innings he scored 2 tons, 91, 50, 38 and at a very handy strike rate.
It's obvious his mindset is in a healthy place, he looks like one of those players who peak at the end of his career.
Besides all this is only because Finch looks shot, and I'm thinking he could only do a better job no doubt. Not sure about Travis Head as an opener,
nor Ben Mcdermott for that matter.
 

SteveNZ

Cricketer Of The Year
Someone else said it, but this side is symptomatic of its leader at present - as most teams, organisations, businesses are. Bundles of ability, hit peak a couple of years ago and whether it's COVID, lack of direction from the coach, whatever it is, there's a distinct lack of confidence and ability to take the game on at present against quality opposition.

Another reason I would pick Finn Allen on Saturday is maybe, just maybe, he doesn't have the mental block against Australia and the scars that others have. I really, really hope they pick him. That run chase last night was a bit sad to watch in the way that we were playing the colour of the shirts, not the ball. You could advocate for Glenn Phillips for a similar reason.
 

Starfighter

Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
I'd like to see Ben Sears just to see if he's a quick as everyone is hyping him to be.

I totally don't understand the continuance of conservative selection after you've lost the series, but it's what I'd expect to see.
 

Bahnz

Hall of Fame Member
I don't think this is the case here, we just absolutely **** our pants whenever we play Australia in Australia.
In recent years, I'd say we **** our pants v Aus everywhere. Fell apart against them in the 2019 WC chasing a similarly modest total, racked up 240 in a T20 at Eden Park in 2018 and let Australia romp home with an over to spare etc. The team's become more fragile against them over time, and the retirement/decline of the older players (McCullum, Taylor, Guptill) who had greater experience of success (despite being part of weaker sides) has exacerbated the trend.
 

SteveNZ

Cricketer Of The Year
Add the T20 World final, where they cruised 8 and a half an over. Boult had 3-0-8-2 and the rest got absolutely pummeled.
 

straw man

Hall of Fame Member
Ehh, khawaja's numbers when he's not opening in ODI'S are pretty piss poor, and before this summer finch and warner's spot's where pretty settled. Only been this year that finch's ODI batting went off the boiler, and marnus was outputting better numbers then ussie was when batting below 3. Even now head should be the preferred replacement for finch. McDermott also had runs in Pakistan and deserves a chance. No point randomly bringing in the 36 year old uzzie who's gonna get binned after the next WC, no matter his recent form.

Let him focus on being the best test opener he can be and prolonging that part of his career as long as he can, god knows we need it. Our opener stocks outside of him and warner+ the concussion prone pucovski are fairly bleak right now.
Didn't realise he was that old tbh. That might go some way to explaining why he's seemingly not in the picture for ODI WC late next year.
 

Flem274*

123/5
tl;dr - its knowing they don't see anything wrong that gets me. they sure love being called the strongest nz ever (they haven't been since mid 2021) and having a giggle in the dugout while losing and handing out caps to the good boys.

Ben Sears played those Bangers tour t20s. He bowled a few in the high 140s, but hard to tell if he can maintain it because it was a meme series and he had to bowl variations, slower balls etc.

He's definitely sharp though, in that he could sit at a comfortable low 140s if he wanted to.

I agree with the consensus in here. IMO the past 18 months require a massive course correction mentally. Most of the players are the right ones, but choking is a habit and a few guys are also in steady decline. We need to be putting games into Allen, Sears, Phillips, Ravindra, Rippon, Ajaz, Chapman, Clarkson and looking ahead even young Nathan Smith if we're so concerned about the 5th bowler that we delay going for the kill.

To provide an example of how little this regime tries to build depth (remember we said this before the 2019 world cup?), in domestic cricket we have an opener with 6000 one day runs to his name at an average of 45 and a strike rate of 81. He has played 10 odis and scored three 50s, one at least against a pretty decent SA side.

Like I put George Worker in the same modern ODI opener bracket as Guptill and Roy when it comes to what I think would happen in a world cup knockout but **** me with our opener issues since McCullum retired he was worth a proper look.

The selectors literally don't care about actual performance though, its all about jobs for the good boys.
 

Flem274*

123/5
To interrupt a solid kiwahhhhh, well played Straya. Aussie have their dramas but when you have good bowlers you can win from almost anywhere. I don't think Aus are far off either, life would be easier if a better opener was brought in and the hard decision was made with Finch.
 

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