Fuller Pilch
Hall of Fame Member
Phillips did well again. He must be close to taking no 5 off Nicholls in the test side- could be our version of Pant.
I'll never understand why you'd play Tickner over Sears (assuming he's fit).no sears again?
Mitchell imoPhillips did well again. He must be close to taking no 5 off Nicholls in the test side- could be our version of Pant.
Will need to rewatch that game some time, but even then I cannot recall Henry being quite near 148kph, low 140s tops from memory at best. Henry was bowling well around that time, but it wasn't genuine pace even thenyeah he was never a genuine quick, but he did bowl a lotta deliveries between 140-148 in that semi final, definitely quicker than mclenaghan at that time...
It cannot be undersold how outstandingly well Hesson and McCullum put together that World Cup campaign. Grant Elliott was a hugely controversial selection before the Sri Lankan ODI series preceding the WC, but they stuck to their guns knowing the experience would tell at the right time. It would have been far easier to pick Neesham. And they always had Henry lined up to play deep into the tournament, knowing he was actually playing - unlike McClenaghan (who played against Bangladesh and got biffed) and Mills who didn't play a single game. They also backed Boult to the hilt, even though very unlearned posters (OK, that was me) were unsure why he'd been picked in the WC squad with little ODI experience or results to show.Its disappointing. These are the moments I miss Brendon Mccullum's New Zealand. He always went for the more exciting/entertaining option as he saw it being more attacking. One such instance I vividly remember is when Milne couldn't make the ODI WC semi in 2015 against SAF...now he could have gone ahead and picked Mitch Mclenaghan, who has a wonderful record and could be relied upon....but instead drafted in Matt Henry who was also slowly carving out a dope ODI record, plus he was bowling heat...much quicker than Mclenaghan at that time. I agree when he says that cricket has an obligation to entertain as well. So ffs, bring out the genuine quick and let him do what he does best. Get some actual excitement back into the game. This was the perfect chance to have him play all 3 t20 games.
McClenaghan's record was outstanding, 2nd = fastest to 50 ODI wickets (now 3rd). Always admired the passion he brought to the NZ shirt. Also McCullum's licence to just take wickets regardless of runs was essential to his success. McCullum also said in an interview (maybe the Eng ODI series post WC 2015) that McClenaghan was the smartest bowler in the side in terms of knowing exactly what his plans were and what his fields needed to be.Never rated McClenahgan in the slightest tbh
yeah at intl level i mostly remember mclenaghan for 3 thingsMcClenaghan was certainly a very effective wicket-taker in ODIs but in terms of his pace the only thing I remember was how disappointingly not fast he was. Henry was definitely faster during the times they overlapped. McClenaghan was sold to us as this "enforcer" and ended up being this canny white ball specialist who seemed to bowl a lot of slow junk and/or clever variations. Never *looked* as good as he actually was which probably detracted from the perception of him.
McCullum's influence and knowledge of how to use him effectively probably made the world of difference for Mitch considering he averaged 25 with the ball under McCullum vs. 41 under Williamson.McClenaghan's record was outstanding, 2nd = fastest to 50 ODI wickets (now 3rd). Always admired the passion he brought to the NZ shirt. Also McCullum's licence to just take wickets regardless of runs was essential to his success. McCullum also said in an interview (maybe the Eng ODI series post WC 2015) that McClenaghan was the smartest bowler in the side in terms of knowing exactly what his plans were and what his fields needed to be.
Also benefitted from working with Bond lots, first with NZ then with Mumbai Indians for many years in the IPL.