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*Unofficial* New Zealand Black Caps Thread

G

Ghost75

School Boy/Girl Cricketer
What changes do you think we'll see in the central contract list. Will it simply be Ravindra, Sears & O'Rourke in for Williamson, Wagner and Ferguson, "Steady" as she goes and all?
 
Nintendo

Nintendo

Cricketer Of The Year
If NZ are gonna persist with Allen should he maybe move down the order?

Past 2 years he's averaging 23@150 vs pace and 35@170 vs spin. He's obviously more set when he faces spin, but I've not been impressed with his game vs pace. Maybe you send Mitchell to open and move Allen down to 4?
 
Prince EWS

Prince EWS

Global Moderator
Nintendo said:
If NZ are gonna persist with Allen should he maybe move down the order?

Past 2 years he's averaging 23@150 vs pace and 35@170 vs spin. He's obviously more set when he faces spin, but I've not been impressed with his game vs pace. Maybe you send Mitchell to open and move Allen down to 4?
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Rachin should probably open if he's ever gonna be useful in T20 cricket (which I'm actually not sold on to begin with tbh).
 
Nintendo

Nintendo

Cricketer Of The Year
Prince EWS said:
Rachin should probably open if he's ever gonna be useful in T20 cricket (which I'm actually not sold on to begin with tbh).
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Rachin's hard to judge. I've heard Wellington posters on here talk him up for ages, and I've seen him make good runs enough times to think it's not a fluke (ODI WC, made some solid 50's across formats against us when we toured, 50 vs RCB in the IPL this season) but there's just not been enough between those highs.

He reminds me a bit of Cameron Green a year ago when he had some sporadic international performances and got into the IPL before he was ready, but green had a far more robust domestic resume behind him and adapted to t20 faster.
 
Zinzan

Zinzan

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Nintendo said:
Rachin's hard to judge. I've heard Wellington posters on here talk him up for ages, and I've seen him make good runs enough times to think it's not a fluke (ODI WC, made some solid 50's across formats against us when we toured, 50 vs RCB in the IPL this season) but there's just not been enough between those highs.

He reminds me a bit of Cameron Green a year ago when he had some sporadic international performances and got into the IPL before he was ready, but green had a far more robust domestic resume behind him and adapted to t20 faster.
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I didn't mind Rachin's IPL at all tbh, yes an 22 average is on the low side but I did like that he was striking at 161 which means unlike batters like KW he doesn't stuck dotting up and running the risk of being dismissed for 15 off 18 balls or something, & I'd actually prefer 22 @ 161 than an average of 28 @ 130 as a modern day T20 bat.
 
_Ed_

_Ed_

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SteveNZ said:
Yep, this is a major issue. They've clung onto this Test side without much of a succession plan (Ravindra recently the exception)
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In Rachin's case, I really feel like he's got to where he is in spite of Stead rather than because of him. I don't think Stead went into that 2023 World Cup planning to bat him in the top order.
 
R

RMBolton

U19 Debutant
Zinzan said:
I didn't mind Rachin's IPL at all tbh, yes an 22 average is on the low side but I did like that he was striking at 161 which means unlike batters like KW he doesn't stuck dotting up and running the risk of being dismissed for 15 off 18 balls or something, & I'd actually prefer 22 @ 161 than an average of 28 @ 130 as a modern day T20 bat.
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At the moment, he's seems like an Indian conditions specialist, or he can capitalise on IPL roads.
I would still choose Seifert, or even Robinson over him. I just can't be convinced on him in T20s. If you're looking at dropping Allen, dropping him for a guy who can't even average 18 is mad to me.
 
Zinzan

Zinzan

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I like Seifert & Robinson (in particular), but I wouldn't be dropping Finn Allen from the T20 side any time soon even with his horrible recent run, besides all NZ's batsmen were garbage this WC maybe save Phillips.

Allen's likely always going to be inconsistent with his ultra aggressive approach but only needs to come off 1 in every 3-4 innings in T20s since he wins matches when he does.
 
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R

RMBolton

U19 Debutant
Yeah, if it was just Allen struggling, I'd understand. None of our lot are in the Top 40 run scorers, & only Conway & GP scored more than 50 runs (chasing <100 targets don't give opportunities to plunder PNG & Ugandan bowlers).
 
S

SteveNZ

Cricketer Of The Year
_Ed_ said:
In Rachin's case, I really feel like he's got to where he is in spite of Stead rather than because of him. I don't think Stead went into that 2023 World Cup planning to bat him in the top order.
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Yep, agreed. Played him at 7 as a bowling all-rounder who wasn't capable as a late hitter, until KW's injury at the World Cup forced him to change the script.

Nintendo said:
I don't think allen should be dropped. More that his numbers suggest facing more spin at 4/5 could suit him better.
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I don't think he should be dropped either but at some stage he's going to have to give a **** that he's not fulfilling his talent. Everything I hear suggests he doesn't. Happy to play franchise cricket for places around the world, take some pictures for the Gram along the way, and make the odd score in NZ colours to justify his existence.
 
R

RMBolton

U19 Debutant
I think NZ teams in the BBL is a stupid idea, almost as stupid as a NZ franchise league. Creating NZ BBL teams would have far reaching consequences, causing a massive upheaval through the NZ system (both men's & women's). A franchise league will be an instant failure, as the money just isn't there.

For all the dimwit moves from NZC, this is an area where they're rational & realistic. As much as I want Super Smash to have centre stage in the NZ summer (which might actually happen this summer), it's bilaterals that pay the bills, so NZC needs to load up on them as a matter of financial survival.

Yes, SS is low budget, but it does the job in preparing players for international cricket well, especially from a ROI perspective. I think it needs tweaks, but fundamentally it needs to grow an audience at home instead of trying to pander to overseas markets. Even so, I think it's far better off positioning itself as a "stripped down, back to basics" T20 comp without the glitz, if you will a T20 comp for "cricket hipsters" who want an alternative to the franchise leagues instead of joining the pissing contest to be 2nd to the IPL.

Kiwi teams in the Big Bash League? The Grade Cricketer on NZ’s T20 future
 
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Flem274*

Flem274*

123/5
County performance doesn't move the dial for me but his performances for 2 NZ summers certainly puts him high in my depth chart. He's exactly the sort of cricketer who excels in English domestic, but also bowls respectable Shield pace.

It's nice his base stats are beginning to reflect his value in the Shield.
 
Bahnz

Bahnz

Hall of Fame Member
Seriously if Smith doesn't get a test cap this summer it'd be criminal. The guy would do so much to balance the side if he's a success. Can you imagine a world were NZ are 6 down and we don't know for a fact that the innings will be wrapped up inside 15 overs?
 
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