A Year On

Hello and welcome back to my blog

The Black Caps home season is over and pundits up and down the country can take a moment to compare the young and inexperienced team before them now with the younger and more inexperienced team that lost 1-0 to India in April 2009. For me the moment is more important because April 1st marks the 1-year anniversary of this blog (and the day I stopped boring my non-cricket friends on facebook with cricket status'). My first entry included criticism of one Tony Greig who has appeared many times in entries since then. Today I will include perhaps a more measured criticism of a commentator but a year on I think the task is just as important and enjoyable
As for the end of the Australian tour of New Zealand, you might say it concluded in a fashion similar to how it began with the home batsmen being nicked out by pace (as they were in the 2020 in Wellington). Writers, bloggers and commentators will talk about the little things but for me this is a huge problem. It's not just that the batsmen had trouble against Australia but it betrays a weakness that will be exploited by South Africa and England who have strong fast-bowlers (not to mention the West Indies who may just head that way soon) and while this weakness persists New Zealand will never rise above middle-of-the-table positions. The other side of the issue is that there is little that can be done about it because there is no pace at domestic level. When you combine this with increasingly benign pitches the problem cannot be solved. The players don't play enough international (test cricket) to improve, and nor should they be looking to that arena for improvement in this area, thus domestic cricket must be the answer. Looking forward this must be solved whether through new talent or bringing in more international fast bowlers
As an extra note: Australia wrapped up a 2-0 series win after dismissing NZ on day five. The home team will lament their loose batting in the first innings where they needed to gain a lead of 100+. I congratulate Chris Martin for his great cover drive (for 4) off Johnson but one feels this may be his last achievement at international level (and his only one against Australia)

As for the entire season, getting to the final of the Champions Trophy (after a poor tour of Sri Lanka and poor 2020 World Cup in England) was a highlight and the 2-1 ODI victory over Pakistan suggests that the ODI team is doing well even if the Chappell-Hadlee was not regained. The 2020 setup is also greatly improved from a year ago with players fitting into their roles (McCullum, Southee etc) and praise for this can go to the strong domestic 2020 in New Zealand that was very popular this summer and included several internationals from other countries. The next 2020 World Cup is in the West Indies quite soon (not 1 year after the last one for some weird reason) and the Black Caps performance should be far better than their effort in England last winter
The Test team is going in the right direction at last. McIntosh and Watling have shown enough promise as a pair that finally we won't be wondering 'who will open in the next series'. Taylor and Guptill are gaining confidence in the middle order while Vettori and McCullum at 6&7 provide fast, consistent runs in the lower order. The no.3 position has not been filled but there are candidates for the future (Guptill, Williamson, Ryder etc). The bowling has been helped by Arnel and the continued improvement of Southee but Martin should not be picked again. The missing link is a pace-bowler to trouble opposition batsmen and this will be required if the team is to move higher in the rankings next season

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/cricket/news/article.cfm?c_id=29&objectid=10636179&pnum=3

The above link is too an article that I found insightful and includes good points about NZ pitches, the tight international calendar and the question of what to do when Vettori leaves (injured or otherwise) as he will do some time over the next 3-4 years. The article also talks about the pull of the IPL and how it will continue to drain the middle layer of our domestic player pool (i.e. those who play internationals sometime but are not guaranteed a place). In New Zealand I'm not sure if this is a problem yet but I wait with a sense of trepidation for the next round of IPL auctions (now 3 years since the first) because this will involve the shake up of the teams and salaries that will shape the world of cricket from then on. However I find it amusing that the above article (as well as other pundits) can express the wonderful idea that Kane Williamson will be a great batsman for New Zealand over 15 years and then in the next sentence/paragraph complain about the IPL cutting careers short - do this young man's talents include immunity to greed? I'm impressed if they do

Overall I think the best way to judge the Black Caps development is too compare the recent effort to the tour of Australia in 2008-9. The avoidance of an innings loss in Wellington is improvement then but the Hamilton loss feels a lot like the Brisbane disappointment (where they bowled Australia out on Day One as well but couldn't get a lead). In the end I encourage people to decide with for themselves on the issue and for me I say the team IS improving and while there is a long way to go yet, I look forward to watching them play over the next 12 months

Well that's it from here and I hope you join me again
It's good bye for now