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*Official* Australia tour of New Zealand Feb-Mar 2024

jcas0167

International Regular
Same thing that happened to Colin Munro - Devon Conway happened.
That didn't help his chances although Raval initially got replaced by Blundell after the tour to Australia. He would probably fare better than Latham who was looking like being the next captain a couple of years ago.
 

HeathDavisSpeed

Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
An article here from stuff about how poor the selection of the SP was: https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/35020...s-test-call-backfires-black-caps-vs-australia

Worth noting again that Stead is trying to justify the SP's underperformance because he chose to bowl into the wind. There was barely a gust of wind on day 1 - I even posted about how still it was at the start of play. Also, compared to all of the other bowlers in the game, I bet he's bowled more overs at the Basin Reserve than any of 'em. He played for Wellington for two seasons from 2011-2013. What a load of tripe, Stead.
 

Chubb

International Regular
An article here from stuff about how poor the selection of the SP was: https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/35020...s-test-call-backfires-black-caps-vs-australia

Worth noting again that Stead is trying to justify the SP's underperformance because he chose to bowl into the wind. There was barely a gust of wind on day 1 - I even posted about how still it was at the start of play. Also, compared to all of the other bowlers in the game, I bet he's bowled more overs at the Basin Reserve than any of 'em. He played for Wellington for two seasons from 2011-2013. What a load of tripe, Stead.
If they wanted a bowler used to the wind, they could have selected someone who actually plays for Wellington. But, y'know, let's select the most despised cricketer in the country instead.
 

HeathDavisSpeed

Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
I just can't get over how much of a bare-faced lie it is though, given it wasn't at all windy on day 1 and day 2 only had a light breeze. Sure, if he had a heavy load on day 3 when there was a strong wind then fine, but he bowled all of 3 overs and 1 of them was with the wind at his back if I remember correctly.
 

Howsie

International Captain
I just can't get over how much of a bare-faced lie it is though, given it wasn't at all windy on day 1 and day 2 only had a light breeze. Sure, if he had a heavy load on day 3 when there was a strong wind then fine, but he bowled all of 3 overs and 1 of them was with the wind at his back if I remember correctly.
Remember this is Gary Stead you’re talking about here. Always has plenty of excuses at his disposal
 

Bahnz

Hall of Fame Member
Kugz just has a crap action in my opinion, at least in terms of repeatability. Looks very unbalanced and round-arm. I can understand why he's still averaging 31 after a decade of FC cricket despite having really good patches from time to time, and why his stock ball varies between 129 and 145 at random.
 

NZTailender

I can't believe I ate the whole thing
Kugz just has a crap action in my opinion, at least in terms of repeatability. Looks very unbalanced and round-arm. I can understand why he's still averaging 31 after a decade of FC cricket despite having really good patches from time to time, and why his stock ball varies between 129 and 145 at random.
I think it's awful. it's like he decided that trying to have a round arm slinging action for pace would be good to combine with trying to have a high arm action for bounce and seam movement and then get the worst of both worlds.
 
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RMBolton

U19 Debutant
The whole time I'd been thinking "how were Bancroft &co so crap against that, & worse at home?"
Was it part of some scheme by CA to get him selected? I still struggle with how he did it.
 

Bahnz

Hall of Fame Member
Also fuming at all of Gary Stead's crap about "Oh yeah, we mucked up with leaving Santner out, but the basin never spins so you can't blame us for doing it." Fake News! The pitch at the basin was spinning sharply on days 4 and 5 in last year's test v England. Leach picked up a 5fer and was really getting it to fizz by the later stages of day 4. Bracewell didn't get any wickets, but that's just because he's an ascended part-timer who did all his bowling to Joe Root.
 

Spark

Global Moderator
The whole time I'd been thinking "how were Bancroft &co so crap against that, & worse at home?"
Was it part of some scheme by CA to get him selected? I still struggle with how he did it.
Bancroft specifically thrives against medium fast and somewhat mediocre bowling on true pitches. He has always struggled the moment he's asked to face anything beyond that.
 

Xix2565

International Regular
Also fuming at all of Gary Stead's crap about "Oh yeah, we mucked up with leaving Santner out, but the basin never spins so you can't blame us for doing it." Fake News! The pitch at the basin was spinning sharply on days 4 and 5 in last year's test v England. Leach picked up a 5fer and was really getting it to fizz by the later stages of day 4. Bracewell didn't get any wickets, but that's just because he's an ascended part-timer who did all his bowling to Joe Root.
To be frank, this tends to happen quite a lot vs SA/AUS/ENG in NZ compared to when BAN/IND/PAK/SL come touring. Really don't get Stead being confused by this, I'd have to assume he's been watching the game for a while, right?
 

NZTailender

I can't believe I ate the whole thing
Also fuming at all of Gary Stead's crap about "Oh yeah, we mucked up with leaving Santner out, but the basin never spins so you can't blame us for doing it." Fake News! The pitch at the basin was spinning sharply on days 4 and 5 in last year's test v England. Leach picked up a 5fer and was really getting it to fizz by the later stages of day 4. Bracewell didn't get any wickets, but that's just because he's an ascended part-timer who did all his bowling to Joe Root.

Seems like there is a strong history of touring spinners doing well in the past two decades, maybe they just saw Dan Vettori not turning it and decided against it forever.
 

Flem274*

123/5
The Basin has a recent history of being unfriendly to spinners, but in general you want to be including one. We got away with it for years because we had Neil Wagner, a two in one player. Now we have to be a normal test team, though tbf a better 4 pronged pace attack could have made some difference (thinking the last wicket stand). It's not quite WTC Final Southee/Boult/Jamieson/Wagner out there is it.

Will O'Rourke and Scott Kuggeleijn aren't going to be Wagner. Even the domestic Wagner copycat Hazeldine won't be Wagner, because to my eye he looks quite quick and you'd want to use him as a traditional sharp spell bowler. Plus he gets some nice movement too.
 
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Fuller Pilch

Hall of Fame Member
If we'd had Jamieson this talk about a spinner would've been irrelevant. He'd have been no worse at no 8 than the bloke we picked and a million times better with the ball.
 

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