*Official* 2024 South Africa tour of New Zealand: 2 tests

[Athlai]

 

[Immenso]

Ugh. What a way to lose a wicket of one of the actual test class players in the side. That sucks.

 

[straw man]

On a semi-related note, Southee will probably only captain NZ for ~18 months so we'll need another captain soon. Don't think they're looking at Rachin or Phillips yet, have a sneaking suspicion Santner might end up the one.

And with the ability to take wickets like that, why not .

 

[Jezroy]

Southee is an interesting one. He will play enough tests against opposition that he will do quite well against, that they won’t drop him despite the fact that Australia will probably maul him. But yeah, KJ, Henry, and O’Rorke would be interesting to watch.

 

[The Hutt Rec]

On a semi-related note, Southee will probably only captain NZ for ~18 months so we'll need another captain soon. Don't think they're looking at Rachin or Phillips yet, have a sneaking suspicion Santner might end up the one.

And with the ability to take wickets like that, why not .

Latham? Wouldn't be my pick, but surely he's Stead's preference.

 

[straw man]

OTOH Jamieson and Henry might get injured, all the young fast bowlers might actually suck and Southee might play til he's 41.

 

[straw man]

Latham? Wouldn't be my pick, but surely he's Stead's preference.

The Specialist
captain. Maybe. Would need to still be scoring runs.

 

[thierry henry]

Given that after years of Latham being back up captain they went for Southee instead, I’d suggest Latham is very much not in favour as a captaincy option

 

[Bahnz]

Given that after years of Latham being back up captain they went for Southee instead, I’d suggest Latham is very much not in favour as a captaincy option

Well if you believe the rumors, Southee basically said "Make me captain or I'm following Boulty into the T20 circuit", so Latham might still be in line to take over when Southee does retire.

 

[Flem274*]

Well if you believe the rumors, Southee basically said "Make me captain or I'm following Boulty into the T20 circuit", so Latham might still be in line to take over when Southee does retire.

That was a bold ultimatum to make if true.

 

[thierry henry]

Yeah he probably still is in lieu of better options tbf but I still reckon him not getting the gig is at least partly related to him not being very good at it (also who is lining up to pay 35 year old Southee to play T20s ffs)

 

[The Hutt Rec]

Latham still getting plenty of opportunities as ODI captain, so I think he's still highly thought of in that area. 23 ODIs as captain in 2023 I think?

 

[SeamUp]

Pity about the Hamza dismissal.

 

[thierry henry]

Latham still getting plenty of opportunities as ODI captain, so I think he's still highly thought of in that area. 23 ODIs as captain in 2023 I think?

Well yeah he’s been the back up captain for years which is why it’s particularly striking they gave the test captaincy to Southee

 

[Bahnz]

Yeah he probably still is in lieu of better options tbf but I still reckon him not getting the gig is at least partly related to him not being very good at it (also who is lining up to pay 35 year old Southee to play T20s ffs)

If true (which I doubt by the way), there's enough rubbish t20 leagues going on these days that he could probably make a good deal more playing in the CPL, BPL, MLC, PLC etc etc than he could staying contracted with NZC.

 

[The Hutt Rec]

I dunno if it was the rumoured Southee ultimatum, but I do think he was much higher risk of doing a Boult than Latham was, and we'd have been in a spot of bother at the time if he did that, so that was a big part of the decision.

 

[thierry henry]

Well jeez…if it’s an accepted truth that we picked an inferior test captain to keep him happy then that sucks pretty hard. I still prefer to think that they didn’t really mind because Latham kinda sucked anyway.

 

[Flem274*]

Wasn't it immediately after Bazball?

I reckon we just went with the left field and bold option as a reaction rather than any shady stuff, plus Southee is the leader of the attack in respect if not results. He is always the guy going to a struggling bowler to give advice and he's always involved in tactics. The team hold him in high esteem, it's just us sports nerds whinging about the gaps in his record and his pace that don't rate him as much.

 

[thierry henry]

I reckon the brains trust at least deluded themselves into believing it was a genuine choice

 

[StephenZA]

Brand taking 6 wickets is dire indictment of that bowling attack. And just poor from the debutants. Want to show some fight. I mean this is your opportunity to show what you made of and force yourself into first team selection. Gotta take the opportunity.