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*Unofficial* New Zealand Black Caps Thread

R

RMBolton

U19 Cricketer
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Skyliner

Skyliner

International Debutant
We’d also have to take Moles’ word that his recollections are a true representation of past events. It sounds a bit hokey to me: “the team needs you” - “no, sorry - I’m building Brand McCullum”. Moles is trying to sell his book and would probably relish the opportunity for a bit of revenge after how his time in NZ ended in humiliating fashion.
The stuff about McCullum stubbornly opting to bat first rings true.
 
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Immenso

Immenso

International Vice-Captain
Young and youngish McCullum did seem a bit of a dick, though.

So, nothing in my opinions have really changed reading this. I guess it's reinforced them.

Don't know if that's fair or not.

I didn't follow 2009 very closely.

Eveni if Hesson/McCullum 2013 ended up being a great fit, I'm sure a lot of tbe 'McCullum being leapfrogged for captaincy in 2011' can sit with Baz.
 
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Immenso

Immenso

International Vice-Captain
Actually, I don't know if he 'was a dick' or not. That isn't fair from someone with almost zero knowledge of the dressing room.

Maybe it's as simple as he was the wrong sort of senior player for a team totally gutted of senior batting talent. And that inevitably led to frustrations of him not being responsible or a team player.

Imagine the hate a CdG would gave gotten coming in at 7 for a circa 2009 nz team.
 
NZTailender

NZTailender

I can't believe I ate the whole thing
I think young and brash McCullum probably was a bit of a dick. Brand McCullum crawled so "earn the right" black caps could walk which in turn allowed the Williamson era side to run. Kind of a mixed bag - overall I think McCullum and Hesson changed the team culture for the better even if it did have some rotten aspects (throwing away match saving situations because that's how I play). Maybe the Moles debacle caused him to change his attitude a bit, maybe it just made him more steadfast (now there's an NZC oxymoron) in his desire to build brand McCullum.

Unless there a third account verification it's just he said he said.
 
Skyliner

Skyliner

International Debutant
‘Devon Conway, Mitch Hay, Jimmy Neesham and Tim Robinson will join the BLACKCAPS T20I squad in Harare for the upcoming Tri-Series against Zimbabwe and South Africa.

Wicketkeeper-batter Conway will replace Finn Allen for the full T20I series, after Allen was ruled out with a foot injury earlier this week.

Hay, Neesham and Robinson will join the squad as additional cover for Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Glenn Phillips and Rachin Ravindra who are involved in the Major League Cricket tournament final on Monday.’
 
S

SteveNZ

International Coach
I kicked myself in the crotch 8 times during the reading of that news item. It dulled the pain, and ultimately I think it was worth it.
 
Skyliner

Skyliner

International Debutant
Seems Walter wants to run the rule over a wide group of players and is discounting no-one in his mission to put together a team that can 'conquer the test cricketing world' in 2026. So old stagers Ajaz, Conway, Blundell, and even Nicols are still in the mix *at this stage*. But then you have the selection of Fisher as a counter-point to that, a selection that seems pretty 'left field' to many. A similar thing is happening in the white ball arena where Sodhi is still in the mix, and then Neesham is one of the players added to the squad as cover.
I think a lot of players are going to get an opportunity as Walter casts his net wide. I don't think the likes of Hay, Abbas, Kelly and others are truly on the outer in any meaningful way. At this stage Walter is simply not going to be starting his tenure off by wielding the axe in too dramatic a fashion. Incumbents will need to keep performing if they want to hold on to their spots. It seems that Walter rates Jacobs and could be thinking of him as a '3 format' player, someone who could perform a similar role to Harry Brook in our test side. He sees Fisher as providing out-and-out pace that could trouble the Aussies on their own decks.

All speculation on my part. I am reborn as an optimist. I don't get the mopes when I see certain players selected as I trust Walter to follow his own processes and arrive at his own eventual conclusions.
 
Skyliner

Skyliner

International Debutant
Just loving cricket at the moment. Really optimistic about the future of test cricket and NZ's part in that, and think there is a great story set to unfold with Walter at the helm. He'll have that hard-nosed South African attitude which is a welcome point of difference, sort of like what Rixon brought to the table when he was in charge.
 
S

SteveNZ

International Coach
RossTaylorsBox said:
I know you're mad about Finn Allen being ruled out but self-harm is never the solution.
Click to expand...
Given his transition from a key SteveNZ XI player to about the last guy I'd now pick, I say 🖕to that assertion.

Missing an international series for a game in America for the Seattle Sniffers is where my self harm peaked
 
Mike5181

Mike5181

International Captain
Skyliner said:
Seems Walter wants to run the rule over a wide group of players and is discounting no-one in his mission to put together a team that can 'conquer the test cricketing world' in 2026. So old stagers Ajaz, Conway, Blundell, and even Nicols are still in the mix *at this stage*. But then you have the selection of Fisher as a counter-point to that, a selection that seems pretty 'left field' to many. A similar thing is happening in the white ball arena where Sodhi is still in the mix, and then Neesham is one of the players added to the squad as cover.
I think a lot of players are going to get an opportunity as Walter casts his net wide. I don't think the likes of Hay, Abbas, Kelly and others are truly on the outer in any meaningful way. At this stage Walter is simply not going to be starting his tenure off by wielding the axe in too dramatic a fashion. Incumbents will need to keep performing if they want to hold on to their spots. It seems that Walter rates Jacobs and could be thinking of him as a '3 format' player, someone who could perform a similar role to Harry Brook in our test side. He sees Fisher as providing out-and-out pace that could trouble the Aussies on their own decks.

All speculation on my part. I am reborn as an optimist. I don't get the mopes when I see certain players selected as I trust Walter to follow his own processes and arrive at his own eventual conclusions.
Click to expand...
Don't understand the logic here. If you aren't in the squad (and you were available), you are 100% being discounted. At the end of the day it's still 2 official test matches, we don't play many of them. And if Nicholls or Tom Blundell perform well against Zimbabwe there's no reason to drop them for a Mitch Hay or Rhys Mariu when they play the West Indies a few months later (3 more tests). Otherwise what's the point of selecting them in the first place?
 
Skyliner

Skyliner

International Debutant
Mike5181 said:
Don't understand the logic here. If you aren't in the squad (and you were available), you are 100% being discounted. At the end of the day it's still 2 official test matches, we don't play many of them. And if Nicholls or Tom Blundell perform well against Zimbabwe there's no reason to drop them for a Mitch Hay or Rhys Mariu when they play the West Indies a few months later (3 more tests). Otherwise what's the point of selecting them in the first place?
Click to expand...
Fair points.
Will Nicholls make the starting team? Not sure.
Yes every test match is important to the players. If Blundell scores plenty of runs and keeps doing so through the Windies matches then he's probably deserving of his place. If he doesn't then I think Walter will move him on where Stead would probably stick with him. The Windies have a pretty handy attack as they are demonstrating in the current series against Australia.
 
Skyliner

Skyliner

International Debutant
Conway was allowed parental leave for the last test the BC’s played and Young stepped in to hold the fort in his absence. Given that, the top 5 should be -

Latham
Conway
Young
Ravindra
Mitchell

Barring injury, Nicholls won’t play.
 
CricAddict

CricAddict

International Coach
Skyliner said:
Conway was allowed parental leave for the last test the BC’s played and Young stepped in to hold the fort in his absence. Given that, the top 5 should be -

Latham
Conway
Young
Ravindra
Mitchell

Barring injury, Nicholls won’t play.
Click to expand...
Philips at 6 and keeper at 7?
 
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