*Unofficial* New Zealand Black Caps Thread

[HeathDavisSpeed]

I noticed that stuff are putting an automatic stop on any comment involving the word "Kuggeleijn". I attempted to reply to a 'Bahnz1985' on there for the lols, but my post automatically failed when I used the term "Scott Kuggeleijn", but was accepted when I changed this to "Scott Kuggelijn"

But yep, FP, I can see it coming too. He'll probably take a few wickets against Sri Lanka and become a long term locked in player and, if that happens, I think I'll have to give up on cricket entirely.

 

[Bahnz]

I sadly expect he'll start. Nicholls at 4 (Young dropped), Bracewell 7, Kuggeleijn 8 for his batting.

I really hope SL beats us

Yeah this is totally happenin.

 

[Moss]

Jeez, couldn't savour the win for even 24 hours before learning that nothing will change for the SL tests.

NZ winning the test was a combination of the top order finally clicking strongly as a unit and England refusing to play it safe. If they see it as vindication for refusing to fix things, just don't know what to think.

 

[morgieb]

With that squad, was winning the last Test worth it?

 

[nzfan]

All our domestic contracted players should be playing overseas during winter, in club cricket wherever they can find a place. I often wonder if domestic fortunes change so dramatically for a lot of our players who aren't in the Black Caps because they literally just don't play cricket for a good few months. Seems like barely any player can string two good seasons together.

You do make a valid point but it is not easy for anyone to just go elsewhere and play. There are eligibility criteria to play in UK now. I think there is a bare minimum of 3 fist class games you need to have played in the last one year to play club cricket in UK. Besides the max a very good player can earn in club cricket is like 300 pounds a week. That is barely enough to make ends meet in UK. You'll probably spend more than you earn. It's just not viable for a player that's not like in early 20s. Aussies won't play a cent for Kiwi cricketers to play for their clubs.

The domestic contracts are only between Sept to March. Some of the players with kids and mortgage to pay have to find work outside of cricket in winter to make ends meet. I don't think domestic payments have changed since a decade. The expecatations in terms of effort as in being fit, skills etc have gone through the roof. If a bloke is not in the top 5 contracts for a domestic side he can earn more by flipping a burger. It's a tough life as a domestic cricketer in NZ unless you make sure to get some education during off times and keep building a career outside of cricket. I wouldn't suggest anyone yet in NZ to rely on cricket as a profession. Ideally it should be seen as a hobby if you are not super good.

 

[nzfan]

I've posted this before but now that cricket is fully pro and the team is stable, domestic cricketer needs to be an upper middle class job.

It would soothe both the wait for opportunities and lessen the financial anxiety of being dropped from the Black Caps with a fresh mortgage.

NZC can pay for it from the same magical well they found the PCB simp money in.

The least contracted player in any domestic side with 3 appearances in each format would have earned 38k including match fees. That's still a reasonable money for someone that is juggling studies and cricket, living with parents but not for someone that's trying to set up a home unless your partner is earning 150k plus salary.

Can you imagine the physical and mental stress a player who's got a pretty low ranked contract has to go through each season? Neither here nor there. There were few good cricketers in town like Pollard, Josh Brodie, Twose, BJ Crook etc gave up way earlier as they saw the reality of the situation.

Iain O'Brien played first class cricket for a decade and has 32 appearances for NZ. He was fund raising to buy flight ticket to get to UK during covid. Imagine that...

 

[Fuller Pilch]

With that squad, was winning the last Test worth it?

Short answer, no

 

[Bahnz]

It’s worth noting that Wagner’s 3 wickets in his last spell were all in the 130-135 kmh range. Just goes to show how much difference that little bit of pace makes. Unfortunately that’s him bowling absolutely flat out these days, which is only ever going to be an option in rare match situations like this.

 

[NZTailender]

You do make a valid point but it is not easy for anyone to just go elsewhere and play. There are eligibility criteria to play in UK now. I think there is a bare minimum of 3 fist class games you need to have played in the last one year to play club cricket in UK. Besides the max a very good player can earn in club cricket is like 300 pounds a week. That is barely enough to make ends meet in UK. You'll probably spend more than you earn. It's just not viable for a player that's not like in early 20s. Aussies won't play a cent for Kiwi cricketers to play for their clubs.

The domestic contracts are only between Sept to March. Some of the players with kids and mortgage to pay have to find work outside of cricket in winter to make ends meet. I don't think domestic payments have changed since a decade. The expecatations in terms of effort as in being fit, skills etc have gone through the roof. If a bloke is not in the top 5 contracts for a domestic side he can earn more by flipping a burger. It's a tough life as a domestic cricketer in NZ unless you make sure to get some education during off times and keep building a career outside of cricket. I wouldn't suggest anyone yet in NZ to rely on cricket as a profession. Ideally it should be seen as a hobby if you are not super good.

Ok let's get them playing a Wii Sports version of cricket after they finish their shifts at burger fuel then

 

[Fuller Pilch]

It’s worth noting that Wagner’s 3 wickets in his last spell were all in the 130-135 kmh range. Just goes to show how much difference that little bit of pace makes. Unfortunately that’s him bowling absolutely flat out these days, which is only ever going to be an option in rare match situations like this.

I reckon he was straining for that sort of pace (and failing) at the Mount which is why he bowled so many no balls.

 

[Moss]

Also Wagner’s radar was way off, several deliveries well wide of the left hander down the leg side. Made it all the more fortunate that the penultimate ball to Anderson was not called wide. Never seen him go off-target this much.

 

[Moss]

When The Well Runs Dry | Sportsfreak

Glad there seems to be wider recognition of the problem among NZ fans, though probably needs way more comment in the media.

 

[SteveNZ]

Jeez, couldn't savour the win for even 24 hours before learning that nothing will change for the SL tests.

NZ winning the test was a combination of the top order finally clicking strongly as a unit and England refusing to play it safe. If they see it as vindication for refusing to fix things, just don't know what to think.

Yeah...it was always coming, though wasn't it. In fact if we'd lost by 1 wicket, the same would've happened. We'd still have been the plucky flightless bird that punches above its weight in Gary's eyes.

 

[SteveNZ]

Short answer, no

I'm a cynical guy too, but to me the answer is absolutely yes. If you'd said at 130-7 in reply to 430, or when we followed on, that I'll barter you this unchanged line-up for Sri Lanka for a Test win, I'm taking that every time.

Mind you, we should be allowed to have both.

 

[Jezroy]

Now I’ve had time to come down from the test win, and digest the fact that we are going into the two test series against Sri Lanka with an unchanged squad… I was going to say “I can’t believe they’ve made changes”, but I can believe it.

The fact they’re staying so loyal to Nicholls, when someone like Guptill who was a white ball LEGEND got the arse much much faster makes no sense to me.

No idea who thinks Scott K should be there. Surely Macewell should have bowled himself out of contention… he’s there to BOWL. I’d rather have McConchie there if you want a bits and pieces spinner. And despite his heroics, unless Wagner’s turned a corner and his picked up that zip in his short stuff again… I think he should be bowing out too.

But replacements… that’s tough.

Would still love to see Ish or Ajaz get a decent run (but that won’t happen).

I don’t think a bowling trio of Southee, Henry, and Duffy is a great call. I’d like Duffy to get a chance, but I don’t want any of those 3 guys to have to try and “be” Neil Wagner.

Then we just need a number 4, or an opener so Conway can float down the order!

Easy.

 

[Fuller Pilch]

I'm a cynical guy too, but to me the answer is absolutely yes. If you'd said at 130-7 in reply to 430, or when we followed on, that I'll barter you this unchanged line-up for Sri Lanka for a Test win, I'm taking that every time.

Mind you, we should be allowed to have both.

Yeah, fair enough. I'll never forget this test win, while I'll get over this stupid selection policy (or non selection policy) in time.

 

[Magrat Garlick]

What happened to that Leopard guy, also the Zoltan.

changed his sports

Code-swapper: Speedy Leopard pounces after sporting switch - NZ Herald

Former top domestic cricket player tosses in bat for football's National League.

www.nzherald.co.nz

 

[SteveNZ]

Yeah, fair enough. I'll never forget this test win, while I'll get over this stupid selection policy (or non selection policy) in time.

Trust me, I hear you. The selection policy is hard to take. And they're learning nothing.

 

[Binkley]

I just checked the latest ICC player rankings, and one surprise was to see Tom Blundell is currently rated the 7th best batsman in the world (just behind Williamson at 6).

I tried to see where Michael Bracewell rated, but couldn’t find his name anywhere in the top 100 for either batting or bowling. Amusingly though, there is a bowler from New Zealand apparently named “null” ranked at 74 (between Michael Neser and Lutho Sipamla). I wonder if that name is the result of the algorithm attempting to analyse Bracewell’s contribution over the last two weeks?

 

[Howsie]

Stuff

i.stuff.co.nz

Just a couple of things on this article, firstly on Wagner. His comments on Jimmy Anderson scare me, as they clearly show he has no intentions on retiring. And as I’ve said before, this current New Zealand regime would never have the guts to tap someone on the shoulder and tell there their time is up. If Wagner wants to keep on going trust me they’ll keep selecting him..

Secondly and more importantly, Gary Stead has not only run this team into the ground, he is going to make sure we stay there for the next decade. Anyone who believes he’s done a good job as coach I have absolutely no time for. He took over a team that was built by Mike Hesson that contained some of our greatest cricketers, that’s it.

His comments on New Zealand punching above their weight over the past 10 years are face palm worthy, laughable and honestly made me even more dejected and less interested in cricket than I was five days ago. We’ve been one of the best teams across all three formats for the better part of that decade, one of the more talented teams at that, and this guy has the gall to say something like that.

He’s a man that has absolutely no vision, and we as a country are now paying the price for that. The team as a whole is probably one of the oldest in test cricket history, the 13 man squad named for Sri Lanka only one player (Blair Tickner at 29) is under 30. It’s almost like he’s purposely trying to age the team, or solely stick with guys who are over 30 with 10 plus years of domestic experience. Hell even the recent NZ A team that toured recently I think there was only two or three players under 30. How is that even possible?

I’m a cricket tragic obviously, I’ve been posting on a cricket forum for well over 10 years. I hadn’t missed a test match involving New Zealand since 2007. I would stay up and watch one day series played during the night. That’s all done now, he’s absolutely killed my desire to watch this team. We’ve become such a boring, tired and old team I just don’t have the motivation to watch us anymore.

So well done you old prick, you have made one wife out there very happy.