• Welcome to the Cricket Web forums, one of the biggest forums in the world dedicated to cricket.

    You are currently viewing our boards as a guest which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our free community you will have access to post topics, respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join the Cricket Web community today!

    If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us.

*Official* Sri Lanka in New Zealand, 2024–25 (ODIs / T20Is)

KungFu_Kallis

International Debutant
Stunning turnaround. At least a few must have left the ground in dismay and will find out what they missed tomorrow 🤣 Crowd still looks pretty packed though
 

_Ed_

Request Your Custom Title Now!
Really enjoyed that game. One of the few instances of my overly optimistic "we can still turn this around" being proven right in the face of my partner's pessimism.
 

straw man

Hall of Fame Member
Wow, 53 needed from 42 balls with 10 wickets in hand and we collapsoed them.

Duffy is such a curious bowler, for someone who is pretty much a standard low 130s tall outswing guy. Been around the edge of the NZ side forever, has looked toothless at times when he's played for NZ, and even when he missed out on the England test series he went back to Otago and didn't manage to take a single FC wicket. FC record has been up and down like a yo-yo. But... when his action is good, front arm punch is high and he's hitting mid 130s, he can get his bouncer down quick and does get the regulation outswing (which surprisingly, hardly any of our other right arm seamers have now Southee's gone). Has probably the best List A bowling record in the domestic scene, for whatever that's worth - has good variations. And he's been around forever but is only 30. I don't know quite where he fits, but bowled great today when I thought he'd be the weak link.

Foulkes seems to have the standard problem that he gets huge hoop when it's a little straight and swings to miss leg, but if he tries to start the ball wider he loses the hoop. Though tbf still has plenty of bowled and lbw in domestix, so that might have been just a today problem. Good surprise bouncer, as expected.
 
Last edited:

Skyliner

International Debutant
Rachin may have been an opener in the past but I cannot see what good playing him now as an opener in any format is doing when his future is to be that premier top order player that will eventually supplant Kane and become our batting lynch-pin. I cannot see anyone else who has the innate class that Rachin has that can take on this role, and how likely is it that someone will suddenly emerge from the ether in domestic cricket within the next 18 months who can that absolute top-drawer number 3 or 4 across formats.

NZC also has to get away from this mind-set of ‘we will just primarily use our contracted players’. We desperately need to run the rule over all genuine candidates for higher honours prior to 2026. The size of the opportunity in test cricket in 2026 is just tremendous. But it seems like they’ve decided to have a real good look at some blokes like Foulkes and leaves the likes of Fisher out in the cold. White ball cricket is the place where you get people into the environment and see how they respond. Our talent pool is too shallow to flip a coin and say ‘ok, we’ll have a real good look at this bloke but not this bloke’.
 

ataraxia

International Coach
Rachin may have been an opener in the past but I cannot see what good playing him now as an opener in any format is doing when his future is to be that premier top order player that will eventually supplant Kane and become our batting lynch-pin. I cannot see anyone else who has the innate class that Rachin has that can take on this role, and how likely is it that someone will suddenly emerge from the ether in domestic cricket within the next 18 months who can that absolute top-drawer number 3 or 4 across formats.
We don't need to "supplant" Kane in his exact role. This is precisely the sort of rigid thinking that has led to Stead consistently making strange selection calls.
 

jcas0167

International Regular
Given Kane is essentially a de facto opener anyway I wouldn't worry too much about Ravindra opening in T20's. A lot of players who normally bat 4 or 5 in red ball cricket have successfully opened in limited overs.

Fisher played in the NZ XI game and if he has a good Super Smash will presumably get a call up at some stage.
 

Skyliner

International Debutant
We don't need to "supplant" Kane in his exact role. This is precisely the sort of rigid thinking that has led to Stead consistently making strange selection calls.
All I’ve said is that when Kane eventually retires we do need that ‘the sides best batsman’ person batting at 3 (sometimes they bat at 4) and Rachin is the obvious candidate. Every side has ‘that guy’ be it Steve Smith, Joe Root, Virat Kohli, Sachin Tendulkar, Greg Chappell, Martin Crowe. I don’t know what benefit there is in having Rachin open in T20 cricket but maybe there is some.
But, yeah, in a post where I advocated casting a wider net and looking at more candidates for higher honours I’m a ‘rigid’ Gary Stead thinker.
 

Top