Its Summer! - the Fever Cricket Thread.

And yeah bopman, no way this ends well. NZC are in a tough position and it's their own fault. Be interesting to see how they react now.

The fact that current and former players are taking to twitter to side with their particular player, suggests a complete meltdown and division within the team. It's not healthy. 

Any other current players apart from Ryder come out?

I would have thought the most influential opinion shapers in NZ cricket are Ian Smith and Martin Crowe, both of whom I assume are in the Taylor camp. Fleming and Vettori in McCullum camp? Iain O'Brien just seems to be anti-Hesson which the more I think about it is my default position!

What has mark Richardson had to say on TCGW?

What has mark Richardson had to say on TCGW?

I've had a day to think about this now and i'm not really angry or frustrated. I'm just gutted.

If you read the history of my posts on here I tend to be a glass-half-full type of NZ cricket fan. This has left me really gutted. I honestly believe that this side has the potential to be one of our best, they are a talented group of cricketers. They don't have to like each other (the team in the 80s didn't) but when they put on the cap they have to do the best for the team and their fans. At the moment it feels like personalities will ruin what was building as a nice cricket side.

Really really disillusioned and gutted.

 Thing is test cricket doesn't mean a damn in New Zealand anymore.

The 'Black Caps' thing is a marketing create, like young guns or whatever.

I don't care if they hate each other if they run in hard, bowl fast, attack the batsman, value their wicket, play assertively and aggressively and show some damn pride.

I'm going to say- has McCullum even done enough of late to hold his place? As an opener only? Or is it only because there are no challengers?

Really think they should just kill off one day cricket. I'm no T20 fan, but it's here to stay- perhaps they should go further in their imitation of baseball and play series of T20. And play more 4 and 5 match test series.

So much this, I can't believe he can make the side as just a batsman. I could understand him in the test side if he was keeping, but not just as a batsman. How can he captain a side that he isn't even guaranteed a spot in? At least no-one can question Taylor making the side, in fact drawing up the batting line-up surely he is the first name on the list.

Arrgh it just gets worse and worse.

My favourite time watching the black caps was in the early 90s I think. Chock full of, lets be honest, mediocre international cricketers (thinking Larsen, Harris, Morrison etc) who were disciplined, put in 110%, and played to their strengths. They couldn't bowl 140k, so they bowled tight lines, used intelligent fields, and fielded like demons. They weren't the worlds greatest batsmen on dodgy NZ pitches, so they restricted their shots, played into gaps and ran hard. And most importantly they worked together, as a team. Much the same in the Fleming era.

Guaranteed that if the players today took the same mentality they have the talent to do some damage in world cricket. Unfortunately they are light years away from this.

Frustrating to say the least.

I don't think it is fair to put the captaincy on Williamson yet.

1) He needs to learn his trade in test cricket still.  He is getting there, and he has the potential to be one of our best.

2) He is by no means guaranteed a spot in limited overs cricket at this stage in his career.

Also, 5 year plans etc...  Ross Taylor is 28!  Even if he retires reasonably early for batsmen (early thirties) that's an easy five years.  If he stays fit and wants to play he still has a long career ahead of him.

Agree completely that there is absolutely no way that all this nonsense would happen if John Wright was still around.  I just don't understand how we let him go.  Seriously, we had a choice between a guy who had coached Kenya, and a guy who had taken a perenially underforming India and turned them into the best test side in the world.  You can guarantee that he had to deal with a divided dressing room over there too. Pretty sure Dravid, Ganguly, Tendulkar and Sehwag were not best mates!  Just makes me angry.

I can't see it happening, but in a way I hope Ross Taylor tells NZC to get stuffed if he is dropped as captain.  I think he has to much integrity to do that, but it would serve the clowns right to drive away our top batsman.

Well said. On that note, I wouldn't mind clearing out the dead wood who only want to be there for themselves, and replacing them with young guys who actually want to play and be there. As Bopman said, it'd be a massive shame because this is possibly the team with the most potential that we have ever had. But stuff it. 

Oh and if NZC do this I will literally scream.  It is the worst of both worlds and will be a GIANT copout by the NZC board (which of course makes it the most likely option).  The way to attempt to fix a divided camp is not to build a f'n wall.  It will just guarantee the captaincy dispute will continue for as long as the captaincy is divided.  Any time we perform better in one form than the other there will be questions over that captain taking over all forms.

The only time this setup can work is if your experienced captain wants to retire from (for example) limited overs cricket entirely, but continue to play tests.  It means you can blood your new captain in the limited overs format, and continue to learn in the tests, while gradually taking more responsibility.

So many lols. It's almost beyond loling!

How old was Flemming when he took over as captain?

24.  And from memory we had just had a cleanout so not many other experienced batsmen were left in that side that could guarantee a place.  However, Williamson has played only 4 less tests than Fleming as of the year he became captain (not sure when during the year it was, so it could be slightly more) and Fleming had yet to score a 100 at that point (we all remember his conversion problems!) while Williamson has 3.

Pardon my ignorance, but does Kane have a history of captaining his domestic side?

I think he might have ended up captaining Gloucester in county cricket last season, and i'm certain that he has done a lot of age group sides as he came through.  Not sure on the ND thing, N-Bomb would probably know.

If he captained his county side and did a reasonable job then it would be something worth looking in to.

Yup he captained his county side, all reports were positive. 99% sure he hasn't captained ND apart from perhaps a one-off game, he's hardly ever available. I do think he would be good for the future but agree now is probably not the right time.

However, someone with many sources in the Knights camp is saying there's very exciting news for a certain Knights player, unless they are overreacting massively to BJ getting the keeping nod then it could be Kane as captain.

Kane for captain. That is all. 

Actually talking cricket for a moment, Alistair Cook just passed record for most centuries by an Englishment. Five centuries in his first five tests as captain. His record is absolutely sensation. Got to 7000 runs younger than Tendulkar or Kallis and in the same amount of tests as Sachin and fewer than Kallis.

If we say that Cook, Clarke are the generation after Ponting, Lara, Tendulkar, Dravid is it a battle between those two to be the best of this generation? I guess you throw Amla in there as well.

The most telling thing about this is who is not talking.
Martin Crowe loves a mic in front of him and regaling tales of how 'back in my day'. Just two weeks ago, he was pouring his heart out on Cricinfo (I know he has tried to avoid the media with this cancer thing). Now there is not a peep. Glenn Turner too although both of those 2 are back in the fold so to speak.

I've always admired Dion Nash for his ability to just be a straight up person. He has thrown some pretty damning stuff out there.

What gets me more than anything, is that if Hesson was really smart, he should have waited until after we got thrashed in SA and England came and pantsed us. Then no one would have given a crap if Taylor was dumped as captain. Timing is everything and this guy is as much of a fuck up as the rest of the clowns that have been through NZC recently. I bet you this will be spun that Taylor needs a rest and that he wont be touring so they needed a new captain anyway.

Just in.... Taylor will not go to South Africa..... just gets worse!

One thing I don't get, various media members and talkback callers (mostly idiots, but still), making claims about Taylor's captaincy. Surely only the players and coach would be able to know how good of a captain he is? Don't we have to take their word on this one (if that is what they're going to be claiming of course).

Obviously the whole handling of this situation is just terrible though, NZC have screwed up big time

Because the fielding and bowling options were *so* terrible.... The problem is not his tactical nous on the field because we are a good fielding and bowling unit and have actually come on in the last year in that respects. 

Its the teams batting which is not the problem of a captain. How the hell do you tell McCullum 'Dude, stop f*cking playing that way' when a quality international coach has already walked away for that exact same reason! They are putting the noose around the wrong necks.

Board did indeed take the copout option of the split captaincy.  Taylor rightly told them to GGF.  Taylor now not touring SA, so NZC have driven out our best player when we are up against the top pace bowling lineup in the world.  Fanbloodytastic.  Great work NZC, no really, great work.  This whole thing is just disgraceful.

I feel sick in my stomach.