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*Unofficial* New Zealand Black Caps Thread

_Ed_

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Yeah, GP is a no for me too. Let him concentrate on the individual brilliance he brings.

I like the idea of Mitchell in the medium term, at least until someone like Ravindra is ready.
 

Moss

International Vice-Captain
If anyone’s planning to make it to Bangalore for the first test, let me know. Planning to watch one of the first 3 days, maybe another if it goes into the weekend (too bad it’s starting on a Wednesday, won’t be able to get more than one day off).
 

Jezroy

State Captain
Yeah a real mess at the moment. Hard to tell who’s actually in charge. Have heard from someone who’s close to the team that Stead is awful. Not a good manager of people. And yes, the mediocrity thing IS real. It’s all about performance, not results (a weird one - because when you perform you win).

Have heard that Rachin is good, but suffers a bit from the “I’m naturally good, I’ve done all the hard stuff already, do I really need to keep working to stay in the team?” syndrome.

I kind of lost interest once I saw they’d picked Southee in the first test, had a bit of interest piqued when they were doing well, then collapsed, then couldn’t buy a wicket for a while in the second innings.

But once I saw unchanged team for the second test, I just thought “do these guys even care? Do they even want to TRY something different?”. Turns out they broke records of a different kind.

Yep it was Tim’s time to retire from red ball cricket. But once again it’s all murky BS about him being on the plane to India, looking forward to the England tour. But yeah… great place to tell your captain he’s gone in a hotel room in Galle. It should have been in an NZC boardroom ahead of this tour. They SAID Tim would not play all 6 tests in the subcontinent (no one did - LOL Afghanistan). But get some balls. Be proactive, not reactive. Do something different when it’s not working. They were almost good enough to get a 1-1 against both Australia and SL, even in the state of flux they’re in.

Honestly worried for when England come here. What should have been a competitive series is, in all likelihood, going to come off the back of 7 consecutive test losses. Maybe Baz will feel bad and make England have a few “attacking declarations”?
 

Jezroy

State Captain
Mind you… if the team ends up having a bowling line up containing Sears, O’Rorke, and Henry. That’s a good start.

The batting line up is a massive concern for me. Captain Latham opening against England pre-Xmas… Conway still looking out of form even though he smashed a career saving however many, KW will be fine at home, Rachin you stick with, Mitchell seems to have lost a bit of that dominant swagger and seems a bit skittish, plus he’s shown some weaknesses to spin, Philips batting at 7 (I hate the message that sends to him when we have **** tail - he’s either supposed to bash and save us… or bash some quick runs), and I don’t know about Blundell… just goes through too many peaks and troughs to feel reliable - and troubled by quality spin.
 

Jezroy

State Captain
It’s hard to present options when you know that the team won’t ever select them for the England series (barring injury).

Obviously Will Young still hanging in there. But would rather he was used in the SC to start with.
 

thundaboult

International Debutant
Its a very realistic possibility that by the end of the last test against england, we're on a 10 test losing streak. England might not be as solid as they were a year or 18 months ago but they've got all the signs of the young fighter being too energetic and free flowing for the senior citizen new zealand side. Could be a massacre especially for our batting order. Can definitely see sears, henry, nathan smith and o'rourke pulling off nearly wins by themselves, only to have the batters squander it.

I agree with Jez tho, Kane will be fine. Should make a couple fifties against england and come out alright overall. Facing mid to s**t bowling attacks at home in tests is his bread and butter since 2019. From what I've read on here and in general when fans speak of NZ greats, Crowe usually stepped his game up even more when he faced top tier bowling, unlike Kane.
 

SteveNZ

Cricketer Of The Year
I get the distinct feeling that Williamson doesn’t have the fight that he once had. Struck with the malaise afflicting the squad as a whole.
Honestly, I don't think it ever leaves you if you are a person like Kane. I don't believe that. He's not necessarily a milestones guy but all he knows is batting. He wants to bat and score tons for NZ. I don't know what the pitches are like in India but if he gets flat ones there and at home in Dec, expect 1-2 more
 

ataraxia

International Coach
I'm getting sold on the idea of Phillips as test opener. Not only does it appear the perfect job for Mr. Everything, but it feels like he fits there. Has he done it before?
 

SteveNZ

Cricketer Of The Year
I'm getting sold on the idea of Phillips as test opener. Not only does it appear the perfect job for Mr. Everything, but it feels like he fits there. Has he done it before?
See this is where we get to with Stead being such a boring useless bastard...we start coming up with crazy strategies that even if they wouldn't work, are preferable to the boring rubbish we're wheeled out at the moment.

GP ain't an opener and he isn't a captain. But if he was, at least we'd start the game with some level of enthusiasm and buzz like we used to, right?
 

Immenso

International Vice-Captain
If Phillips was made captain, when would he be able to find the time to re-model his batting stance 178 times per season?
 

Immenso

International Vice-Captain
Would be really handy to have had an 'A' tour happening this spring.

Last domestic season progressed enough newer names that this time it wouldn't be 11 guys exactly same ages as the test incumbents.
 

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