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*Unofficial* New Zealand Black Caps Thread

ataraxia

International Coach
Hi Gary,

You know what would be great? There are weaknesses in the opening and second all-rounder positions. What if I told you that one player, this Ravindra bloke (he's 31 years old by the way), can fill both positions! Then that means you have another middle-order batting slot to play anyone you choose! (except Nicholls, you left him out of the squad, but don't worry about that now)

Thanks, ataraxia.
 

Prince EWS

Global Moderator
Wait is that actually a thing lmao
I do think it's a true in a sense, but only in a sense that would apply to like 35% of all cricket games.

India had the better team, and when you lose with the better team it's always unlucky in that sense - you'd have won most of the time.

But the better team not always winning is what makes sport worth watching in the first place. You celebrate your wins, not your theoretical superiority.
 

BeeGee

International Captain
Crowe's legacy lives on. We'll open the batting with Ravindra (a la Greatbatch) and the bowling with Phillips (a la Patel).

Stead has been lulling the opposition into a false sense of security, thinking he's a dumbass, when really he's ****ing cricketing savant who's going to win the world cup, get his junk out in the press conference and invite everyone suck it.
 

Moss

International Captain
Wait is that actually a thing lmao
In my experience yes. Being the best team is in the group stages and then ambushed by NZ (who weren’t very highly regarded on the basis of how their previous few games had gone) was very hard to take for a lot of fans, especially younger fans who weren’t around in the 90s and 00s. To date, a lot of the cricket-following public here (again, in my personal experience) tend to make that game *all* about India. If you do bring NZ playing well into the conversation, it’s usually on the lines of “well they were lucky that rain brought it into the second day and provided ideal new ball conditions, wouldn’t have defended 239 otherwise”.
 

SteveNZ

Cricketer Of The Year
Crowe's legacy lives on. We'll open the batting with Ravindra (a la Greatbatch) and the bowling with Phillips (a la Patel).

Stead has been lulling the opposition into a false sense of security, thinking he's a dumbass, when really he's ****ing cricketing savant who's going to win the world cup, get his junk out in the press conference and invite everyone suck it.
He's got the first part covered, let's see if he follows through with the rest 😅
 

SteveNZ

Cricketer Of The Year
In my experience yes. Being the best team is in the group stages and then ambushed by NZ (who weren’t very highly regarded on the basis of how their previous few games had gone) was very hard to take for a lot of fans, especially younger fans who weren’t around in the 90s and 00s. To date, a lot of the cricket-following public here (again, in my personal experience) tend to make that game *all* about India. If you do bring NZ playing well into the conversation, it’s usually on the lines of “well they were lucky that rain brought it into the second day and provided ideal new ball conditions, wouldn’t have defended 239 otherwise”.
In fairness, two periods of rain in both the last two semi finals were pretty decently timed. The first one definitely helped, the second didn't hurt. You've still got to play good cricket at the right time, and we did. Neither SA or India could say they did all they could...nor us in the final
 

SteveNZ

Cricketer Of The Year
Ravindra opening two games out from a World Cup after a year of insisting he's a bowling all-rounder who finishes the innings is the biggest LOL. I mean, he literally batted 6 in a series three days earlier. Or maybe that indicates he's not in line to play in the best XI, and is cover if an opener goes down...which still wouldn't make great sense.
 

Moss

International Captain
In fairness, two periods of rain in both the last two semi finals were pretty decently timed. The first one definitely helped, the second didn't hurt. You've still got to play good cricket at the right time, and we did. Neither SA or India could say they did all they could...nor us in the final
Yeah completely agree. A disproportionate amount of attention seems to be given to that game among Indian fans, and it happened during a coming of age phase for a lot of them (can relate, felt similarly about the Eden Park ‘92 and Eden Gardens ‘96 semifinals at the time). Add in the amplification on social media and the popular narrative that NZ gets the better of India at ICC tournaments, you can see why Gavaskar and co play to the gallery. Wouldn’t be surprised if the broadcasters may bill the group game as a revenge match.
 

Mike5181

International Captain
Williamson and Taylor top scored in that game for us and by that point they were averaging 48 each, and the bowling attack was genuinely world class with Boult, Henry, 2019 Ferguson, plus Santner. So it's not like they randomly got beat by a bunch of nobodies, most of them will end up NZ greats. I could understand it if like Nicholls or CdG were the top contributors.
 

Flem274*

123/5
The rain on day 1 came at a great time for India. They got great early pitch conditions then just as our death overs were underway nz had to stop then bat 2 slog overs the next day in tricky conditions.

I understand it was tough out there to bat early but it was the same for both sides and only one team had their innings interrupted.
 

thundaboult

International Debutant
The rain on day 1 came at a great time for India. They got great early pitch conditions then just as our death overs were underway nz had to stop then bat 2 slog overs the next day in tricky conditions.

I understand it was tough out there to bat early but it was the same for both sides and only one team had their innings interrupted.
no no no no
india lost cuz kane n taylor used spring bats plus boult n henry used spring balls
😭
 

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