*Unofficial* New Zealand Black Caps Thread

[Bahnz]

4/10 is harsh on Boult, I know he looked poor at times but he averaged 18 for crying out loud! His 2 wicket burst after tea at edgbaston on day 1 was vintage Boult. Yeah, besides that he mostly just wrapped up the tail with a couple good dismissals here and there, so those figures definitely flatter him, but I’d say he’s probably more deserving of a 7/10.

 

[Moss]

4/10 is harsh on Boult, I know he looked poor at times but he averaged 18 for crying out loud! His 2 wicket burst after tea at edgbaston on day 1 was vintage Boult. Yeah, besides that he mostly just wrapped up the tail with a couple good dismissals here and there, so those figures definitely flatter him, but I’d say he’s probably more deserving of a 7/10.

All right, the ability to still get wickets when not bowling at your best and to deal with lower order (historically an achilles heel for NZ sides) makes 4/10 a harsh call - will meet halfway on that and give him a 5.5 (7 still too high IMO)

 

[M0rphin3]

7/10 for Boult is way too much. Bowled a lot of trash and could've easily gone the other way real fast. But yeah, still took wickets at crucial junctures, but nowhere near good where most of them from both sides looked good for the most part.

 

[Zinzan]

4/10 is harsh on Boult, I know he looked poor at times but he averaged 18 for crying out loud! His 2 wicket burst after tea at edgbaston on day 1 was vintage Boult. Yeah, besides that he mostly just wrapped up the tail with a couple good dismissals here and there, so those figures definitely flatter him, but I’d say he’s probably more deserving of a 7/10.

You were right 4 was too harsh, but 7 is going the other way.

Tough 5 or a generous 6 for me. Let's not forget his jammy leg-side strangle of Rahane.

 

[Moss]

Santner should be done. If Nz want to look at a batsman who can get through some overs they’ve got Rachin and Rippon to experiment with.

Re that series what would your first choice side be?
My XI
Latham, Conway, KW, Conway, Nicholls, Rachin, Blundell, Jamieson, Southee, Sommerville/Boult, Ajaz

I suspect CdG will get more opportunities though.

Agree on Santner, but I think the selectors will continue to be swayed by the idea of Santner the allrounder (thanks in no small part to that Mt Manganui test). Would be surprised if he isn't in the squad for the India series.

CdG didn't let anyone down (at least not with the ball) during the tours of UAE and Australia but I can't see him being much of a factor in India.

If you mean first choice XI for the India tests, I’m thinking of a reshuffle along the lines of:
Conway, Rachin, KW, Latham, Nicholls, Phillips*, Blundell, Jameison, Southee, Somerville/Wagner/Boult, Ajaz.

*if Taylor is still in the frame, wouldn’t mind him at 6

Too many left handers in the top 6 so Ashwin will probably have a blast, but have gone for Latham in the middle order being a better player of spin. India usually a more forgiving place for new openers so might be a good place to introduce Rachin.

 

[Zinzan]

I'm not totally against Santner as a 3rd spinner/all-rounder in India, where his accuracy might help in burning through overs in the heat. He did take 10 wickets on our 2016 tour there, albeit @ 52.

 

[M0rphin3]

Why though? I mean his batting's been almost tailender like, can't see him scoring anything vs India tbh. Rachin surely can fill in that third spinner (if not second) shoes

Time to bin Santa in Tests imho

 

[Days of Grace]

I think Rachin will spell the end of both CDG and Santa, tbh.

 

[M0rphin3]

I think Rachin will spell the end of both CDG and Santa, tbh.

Honestly, I dunno about his bowling still, I hope it turns out to be good. I'm way more confident about his batting tbh. Really banking on him, should settle it once and for all if he comes good.

 

[SteveNZ]

not quite how I remember it. Donald didn’t really have long enough to have much of an influence, he left after 6 months afterall, and the results during that period were pretty up and down.

The period when he was dropped after that Dunedin test was genuinely transformative though. He came back into the team midway through 2012 bowling imo the best Southee’s ever bowled. Looked awesome on difficult surfaces in the subcontinent, took a 10fer at Lords in 2013, lead the bowlers to a series win v India (their first series win against a major side since India in 2003) and then a first series win outside NZ since 2002 v WI. Rounded it off with that spell v England at the 2015 WC. I honestly thought at that point that he might be a sub-25 average career bowler. And then of course his bowling dropped off a cliff and wouldn’t recover for nearly 3 years. Not sure what happened, would be interesting to get the views of Trent or Kane about what was going on at the time. Finally we came full circle when he got dropped for the first test v SA in 2017 - that reportedly really shook him up, he was apparently on the verge of tears on the morning of the game. And then when he came back the following season he was bowling well again - he’d admittedly lost a yard of pace which was the first thing we all latched on to given that we’d all had our Southee voodoo dolls out for a while by that point, but he was actually hitting good areas and building pressure again. He’s even bowling well in limited overs now, which he hasn’t since probably 2015. Hope it continues on for a few more years and that he doesn’t get too comfortable now that they’ve finally got some silverware in the cabinet.

Yeah, my view of the Donald period doesn't exactly add up - although he did bowl well at the 2011 World Cup. I remember thinking that if anything, it was Southee's desire to prove himself to an ATG like Donald in their camp.

Tim's definitely had motivational ebbs and flows throughout his career. He definitely didn't mature as a person until I would say around 2018, and that level of maturity and focus on his cricket has seen him become the bowler he is now. As much as Baz was a magnificent leader, I feel like he pumped Tim's tyres too much at times, at least publicly through some of his quieter periods. And he was made VC at times where he hardly deserved to be in the side. The batting and lack of application only added to the frustration around his attitude.

I see no reason, unless his body packs up, that he hasn't got another few years in him. I don't see that he'll become comfortable in such a competitive environment, with great mates to push him and having tasted real success now.

 

[SteveNZ]

I think Rachin will spell the end of both CDG and Santa, tbh.

Probably right. Santner shouldn't even be in the conversation now. He's coming up 30, been a test player for 5 and a half years and hasn't improved as a bowler. Rachin is a better bat and bowler.

 

[hendrix]

I'm not totally against Santner as a 3rd spinner/all-rounder in India, where his accuracy might help in burning through overs in the heat. He did take 10 wickets on our 2016 tour there, albeit @ 52.

Darts can be useful in India I agree.

But yeah, really hoping Rachin comes good.

 

[The Hutt Rec]

I saw Mark Geenty at stuff rated Boult higher than Wagner for the tour which seemed absolutely insane to me … (7.5 vs 7)

 

[nzfan]

I saw Mark Geenty at stuff rated Boult higher than Wagner for the tour which seemed absolutely insane to me … (7.5 vs 7)

Probably didn't watch the game and just looked at the scorecard. Classic...

 

[nzfan]

The test matches is quite some distance. Pakistan and Bangladesh white ball tours next up. Going to be interesting picking a squad without

Kane, Santner, Sodhi, Kyle, Boult, Allen, Seifert, Milne, Lockie, Neesham...

That's core white ball bunch that'll miss.

Is Rosco going to make a comeback one last time in T20s then?

 

[nzfan]

Batters: Guptill, Munro, Taylor, Phillips, Chapman, Rosco, Young

All rounders: CDG, Rachin, Doug Bracewell, Astle, Darryl Mitchell, Cole McConchie

Bowlers: Southee, Milne, Duffy, Kuggs, Tickener, Ben Sears, Rippon

Conway will also get a gig at IPL, no doubt about that.

Doesn't look like a terrible side despite probably missing 11 or 12 players to IPL. Munro has been in good form at PSL so still has a bit in him likely. If Munro can be recalled no reason why Taylor won't be.

Maybe there's a place for Worker or Rutherford but we do have options available.

 

[Immenso]

The test matches is quite some distance. Pakistan and Bangladesh white ball tours next up. Going to be interesting picking a squad without

Kane, Santner, Sodhi, Kyle, Boult, Allen, Seifert, Milne, Lockie, Neesham...

That's core white ball bunch that'll miss.

Is Rosco going to make a comeback one last time in T20s then?

Is this on same time as rescheduled IPL? The path is open then for the Munro comeback...

Actually will be fun team to try and pick.

Guptill
Conway
Munro
Phillips
Young
CdG
Mitchell / Blundell
Rippon
Southee
Sears
Ajaz

I'm considering a Wagner white ball debut ... now that is both awesome and a concern at the young seamers depth.

Round it off with the other 4 in squad

Blundell
Ravindra ( I originally had McConchie)
Duffy
Tickner

Edit. Wait I forgot about Ravindra. And I ignored Rosco thinking this is more T20WC warm up focused.

 

[Nintendo]

Batters: Guptill, Munro, Taylor, Phillips, Chapman, Rosco, Young

All rounders: CDG, Rachin, Doug Bracewell, Astle, Darryl Mitchell, Cole McConchie

Bowlers: Southee, Milne, Duffy, Kuggs, Tickener, Ben Sears, Rippon

Conway will also get a gig at IPL, no doubt about that.

Doesn't look like a terrible side despite probably missing 11 or 12 players to IPL. Munro has been in good form at PSL so still has a bit in him likely. If Munro can be recalled no reason why Taylor won't be.

Maybe there's a place for Worker or Rutherford but we do have options available.

Idk if Conway will get a gig in the redone ipl, only team that need an anchor replacement is DC and feel they'll look elsewhere.

 

[HeathDavisSpeed]

Who are our next cabs of the batting ranks?

Normally, I would have watched more domestix, but new baby in the summer meant I saw much less than normal. McClure had been looking good in the past, but didn't have the greatest year in 2020-21. Anyone that its worth keeping an eye on for 2021-22? Cole Briggs at Auckland obviously had a good start in List A, and I've not seen him bat at all.

 

[Athlai]

Who are our next cabs of the batting ranks?

Normally, I would have watched more domestix, but new baby in the summer meant I saw much less than normal. McClure had been looking good in the past, but didn't have the greatest year in 2020-21. Anyone that its worth keeping an eye on for 2021-22? Cole Briggs at Auckland obviously had a good start in List A, and I've not seen him bat at all.

Fairly crowded field right now with Philips, Young, Ravindra, (Conway), Seifert, Chapman and to an extent Neesham and Mitchell battling for top 6 spots.