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

[thundaboult]

i used to be a hardcore latham in the middle order for odis guy but yeah those stats in tournaments are yikes

he will be 35 by the next odi wc ... which btw will be on fast bouncy pitches of south africa .... and bouncy tracks are something he has not enjoyed

yeah 35 aint super old but we're just better off blooding a newbie wktkeeper bat at this point

 

[thundaboult]

here comes theekshana and his jawline

 

[thundaboult]

sri lanka need to really target matt henry when they come out to bat....cant just be another game of henry killing an asian team with line length + nibble at 128k in nz/eng conditions

 

[Howsie]

This isn’t flash… From either team tbf. Can we go a single game without dropping damn catches

 

[NZTailender]

What holds sport back in this country in a lot of respects is the level of familiarity and comfort that goes along with most environments. Cricket is a classic example of that at present. The senior players (men) have been able to run their own race, pick and choose if they have a contract, and there is no accountability through the media and broadcast team.

Contrast that with rugby where the All Blacks are heavily scrutinized and always have been, which drives accountability of performance.

It's all well and good if Sumo wants to be chummy with that side and say nothing but nice things...that will never create an environment of high performance. Yes we won a world cup last year but we lost every other game we played, and we are that fsr off Australia it's a different sport.

Can't have it both ways

I don't know if the media was as harsh during the Bracewell period but I think we're seeing the elastic opposite of that period (players always fearing, getting dropped easily). Hopefully it comes back to a sensible middle soon.

As for commentators, Stevenson is really the only one without an excuse. He's a "professional" with many years experience. All the ez players tend to be a bit cringe post retirement as they are inexperienced, and will either grow into the role or not. I.e. Rutherford may improve, and Cumming is way better than he used to be.

 

[anonymouskefe]

Why on earth has he reviewed that

 

[Zinzan]

Poor finish to NZ's batting Innings after that solid start, but gawd this Sri Lankan side are poor in challenging overseas conditions.

I swear the Glenn Phillips circa 2021/22 including his days opening in the CPL was a better batsman than he is now. Been quite underwhelming with the bat pretty much from the time he's been more valuable with the ball.

Incidentally, couldn't help giggle at this overseas fan's Ross Taylor video.

Clearly their passion exceeds their due diligence.

 

[Moss]

What a difference conditions make. These two sides faced off in ODIs in Lanka not long back and there NZ were playing catch up all through.

 

[Immenso]

Stumping and runout, the umpires should make a call. No umpire reviews.

Players can use their review if they want to challenge.

Honestly. Umpires have become pathetically cautious.

 

[Bahnz]

Nah

 

[Howsie]

That Nathan Smith catch will be hard to top for the test of the year.

 

[wellAlbidarned]

What holds sport back in this country in a lot of respects is the level of familiarity and comfort that goes along with most environments. Cricket is a classic example of that at present. The senior players (men) have been able to run their own race, pick and choose if they have a contract, and there is no accountability through the media and broadcast team.

Contrast that with rugby where the All Blacks are heavily scrutinized and always have been, which drives accountability of performance.

It's all well and good if Sumo wants to be chummy with that side and say nothing but nice things...that will never create an environment of high performance. Yes we won a world cup last year but we lost every other game we played, and we are that fsr off Australia it's a different sport.

Can't have it both ways

A few months back I got called out for being annoyed at the team for being too chummy with the opposition, and I think this more summarises what I was frustrated about. There's this level of unseriousness in NZ cricket which has been building for a while which I think many are uneasy about, but it's hard to pin down as it's a reaction to the old-school hard man archetype (which to be clear is not what I'm after).

 

[wellAlbidarned]

Fine I'll do comms

this but unironically

 

[SteveNZ]

A few months back I got called out for being annoyed at the team for being too chummy with the opposition, and I think this more summarises what I was frustrated about. There's this level of unseriousness in NZ cricket which has been building for a while which I think many are uneasy about, but it's hard to pin down as it's a reaction to the old-school hard man archetype (which to be clear is not what I'm after).

I completely get your sentiment. I guess the explanation would be that these guys are now more connected thah ever through franchise cricket, social media etc and it makes it harder to have genuine frostiness or distaste for an opposition (although Ashes and BGT have proven capable). But yeah there's definitely a feeling at times like these guys are paid to tour the world, not worry too much about the ups and downs - especially with a side like ours that seems hard to be dropped from if you are established.

To the point of the women, I think what women's sports struggles with and why it doesn't hold the interest compared to men is heroes and villains. Women don't want to be villains, to have the media be critical, to get a glimpse into that side of male sport that puts bums on seats. If women's cricket - and actually now, men's in our country somewhat - want to have full public investment, they have to expose themselves to a sharper media lens, to create narratives that the public buy into. That doesn't exist right now.