Its Summer! - the Fever Cricket Thread. (Part 2)

Great effort by them both! Wish I'd taken the day off work... really should have done that.

Time to declare now boys.

Epic.

Take a bow Brendon. Sublime.

Can't remember a better NZ cricket summer than this.

Sadly, some munters will still find something to whinge about... but as a great man (well, probably an Aussie) once said... fark 'em!

BMac = Epic ! Cricketing Legend....

Congrats to Jimmy Neesham test avge of 170

How has he not given Kohli there?

Davis has had a shocker there

Ending the summer unbeaten in Test matches, unbeaten in both Test and ODI series, with both Anderson and McCullum setting brilliant records in either format, watching a team on the rise with loads of team spirit and fight. Unreal.

Yep. Test series win over India. I'll take that thanks.

Same old black caps. Can't even bowl a team out in half a day. 

Was hoping last year that our senior batsmen might really put their head down and get some big ones, but I had the money on Taylor, not BMac. 

Fairly much single handedly won this test series (with the odd bit of help from Wagner, Watling, Neesham, Williamson...)

stoked to see NZ batsman refusing to get out, rather than treating a spell at the crease like a $2 shooting gallery...When was the last time an NZ player batted a day? When was the last time we went a day with only losing one wicket?

Stand up from Wellington as well- that standing 'O' that went on and on was fantastic...

I hate the Black Caps so so so so much. You make me love you, more than I knew it was possible to love a group of men in white standing around a field for long periods of time. Then you will disappoint me, I know it's coming but there is nothing I can do to stop it. it hurts.

Thanks for a mean summer lads! Your performances have meant I have started so many days in a chipper mood after waking up to check Cricinfo. Chur.

Carry on.

great to see the Afghanis beat the Bangas!

Well that was a bit of a disappointing end to the tournament for us. Never really got going to be honest.

Does anyone even care though?

It's only T20. Didn't even follow any part of the tournament. Couldn't care less. 

I've been following results a bit on cricinfo, but wasn't exactly bothered when we got knocked out. It really is a lottery of a format.

While i'm not overly bothered by the results, our continued struggles against decent spin bowling should be a concern. Not sure how it can be fixed. Sending the A team to the sub-continent every winter is a good start, but we've got a reasonably settled lineup at the moment so most of those A guys aren't getting a run in the team. Not really sure what the answer is.

Mark Craig??? Who is this guy? This may just be showing my lack of attention to domestic cricket, but I've never heard of the guy before.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/cricket/9943706/Spinner-Craig-gets-shock-Black-Caps-call-up

"Auckland-born Craig, 27, took 22 wickets at an average of 39.72 in the Plunket Shield. He was the best-performed offspinner and the selectors wanted someone who turns the ball away from the West Indies' left-handers."

Then Mike Hesson says "Mark has had a strong Plunket Shield taking 22 wickets and his right-arm off-spinners will be valuable against their left-handed heavy top order batting line-up."

Really? 22 wickets at an average of 40 is a strong campaign these days?

Oh god, that's awful. That's about Kane Williamson's test stats (22 @ 41ish)

In fact, first class bowling stats comparison:

Kane Williamson: 71 wickets, 43.76 avg, BBI: 5/75 

Not quite apples with apples though. Williamson has had the chance to bowl on spin-friendly sub-continent pitches in his test career while Craig has only ever bowled on very unfriendly NZ first-class green tops.

But I agree with the general premise, it would seem to me that Williamson is the 2nd best chucker, oh I mean spinner in the country at the moment.

reading the above, it sounds like we are going over for a nice holiday and not a trip to win.

My feeling is that it's dumb to decide you need an offspinner because the Windies have good lefthanders and turning pitches, and then just pick someone who really doesn't seem good enough because he's the best available (I think Patel made himself unavailable for this tour). Sodhi's most dangerous ball is his googly anyway, so stick with him.

Craig will be a one tour wonder. Good reflection of our spin bowling stocks though.

BTW Kane doesn't chuck the ball. His arm doesn't straighten so it can't be a chuck. It's a 'whippy' action which isn't normal but it's legal.

What a joke selection. Seriously.

Whilst I understand the logic of wanting to take an offy, there is a point at which you need to take players who are up to the task. Nothing this guy has done suggests he is. And if they were THAT desperate surely Nathan McCullum is a better bet, and by all means send this bloke on the A tour if he does have some potential. If.

Ridiculous.

I'm not a Black Cap fan because they just mirror the Warriors for ineptness - talk a good game but that's it.

I am open to someone explaining this to me because my natural reaction is to just rubbish it (and then everyone will say I am wrong) so would love the informed folk to say why this is a great move by NZC or great for development or future planning or based on performance... Just something where I can go 'Ah ha!' Will this guy seriously get a run behind Sodhi and Williamson?

I had the same thought at you Surge. Nathan McCullum seems the obvious choice considering its no secret that Vettori is done. Not a great tweaker of the ball but then force him to develop it more - Williamson has. He is not the future because of his age but then Todd Astle got dropped quickly too...

The logic for picking him JV was because he turns the ball away from the (many) West Indian left-handers (which is the right way to bat just quietly), whereas Martin, Astle, Nethula, and Vettori (tho he isn't up to it anyway) all turn the ball toward them - as does Sohdi.

At the end of the day a good bowler is a good bowler and whilst "ideally" it would be great to have an offy, he also needs to be at a level where they can be confident his performances will challenge the opposition batsmen. And whilst people will bang on about spin-friendly pitches that won't make up the pure gulf in class between this guy and batsmen the ilk of Gayle (if he can be bothered) and Chanderpaul, and their mates.

Some are saying he has potential and good movement/action/bounce/turn etc... and that's great - but he's 27, has played fugall 1st class matches and averages just under forty. If he does have those attributes - send him on the "A" tour and see if/how he develops (which was apparently what they were going to do before Dave pulled the pin). 

It's akin to saying the Phoenix have no natural left-footed wingers to play wide on the left so they pick a guy from Central League who is one. Crazy stuff.

Having said that, I hope I'm proven wrong and he canes it!

That's kinda how I viewed it as well. Cheers.

Great article about  Ryder's move to Essex:

https://www.thedailymash.co.uk/sport/sport-headlines/essex-engage-notorious-bounder-2014042485931

"The young ladies of Essex profess themselves to be effervescent at the thought of Mr. Ryder, who has acquired a scandalous reputation in the saloons and gin-palaces of his native Wellington, strutting around their county like a cockerel."

Esexxx (Deliberate miss pelling) girls, what can one say?