2nd Test New Zealand v Australia March 8-12 0830hrs @ Hagley Oval

[010203]

Although Kuggleijn did make important runs in the first innings, gee I wonder if NZ wish they had picked a real workhorse bowler with a proven record of steaming in over after over in the back half of test matches to get his team over the line. If only they had one in their squad that they could have thought about….

 

[FreoGirl]

The NZ commentators (especially that Frankie chick) destroyed my viewing pleasure - they were arrogant right until the end

 

[compact72]

The NZ commentators (especially that Frankie chick) destroyed my viewing pleasure - they were arrogant right until the end

100%

Lucky BJ was there to stir them up a bit

 

[FreoGirl]

100%

Lucky BJ was there to stir them up a bit

I cursed at the tv until he came on lol

 

[010203]

So that's 5/5 on this tour?

2/2 in the meaningful stuff. 3/3 in the stuff that's quickly forgotten.

 

[Mockcockpit]

Haze finally got his bowling average under 25 after this match. Behind only Bumrah in the fast bowling stakes on present form.

 

[gtrxuone]

Its quiet rair for the Kiwis to lose a home series.My guess is their last test series loss at home.Was Australia's last tour of Nz or Indias last ,tour to Nz.

 

[PhatBoy]

Haze finally got his bowling average under 25 after this match. Behind only Bumrah in the fast bowling stakes on present form.

Shamar Joseph has never gone a test without a five wicket haul

He’s the best in the world by a mile clearly

 

[PhatBoy]

Its quiet rair for the Kiwis to lose a home series.My guess is their last test series loss at home.Was Australia's last tour of Nz or Indias last ,tour to Nz.

South Africa 2016-17

At one point they actually went 17 matches unbeaten after that series.

 

[gtrxuone]

South Africa 2016-17

At one point they actually went 17 matches unbeaten after that series.

Thanks 2016-17 seems a really long time ago.For the current RSA test side.

 

[PhatBoy]

Thanks 2016-17 seems a really long time ago.For the current RSA test side.

There are only 3 players remaining - Rabada, Maharaj and Bavuma

 

[010203]

It's worth pointing out that Cummins has captained away in 5 different countries. Bradman captained away in England and that was it. Richie captained in England and Pakistan and that was it. Bob Simpson captained away in England, the West Indies and South Africa while Ian Chappell captained away in England, the West Indies and New Zealand. The record is impressive however he's had more opportunities to captain away from home as well.

 

[PhatBoy]

It's worth pointing out that Cummins has captained away in 5 different countries. Bradman captained away in England and that was it. Richie captained in England and Pakistan and that was it. Bob Simpson captained away in England, the West Indies and South Africa while Ian Chappell captained away in England, the West Indies and New Zealand. The record is impressive however he's had more opportunities to captain away from home as well.

He’s also captained more overseas tests than Bradman and Benaud (6 and 3 more respectively), the same amount as Chappell, only 1 less than Smith.

Simpson is the only one of those players with a significantly higher amount of chances to win (nine) away tests and as you pointed out he did all of it in England, the Windies and SA when they had a near unbeatable side, and he also captained after being retired for nearly a decade and touring the West Indies with a second tier side missing its World Series players (and actually led them to one win).

It’s a great effort by Cummins who’s captaincy comes in for some baffling criticism but it’s a tough comparison on some of the names mentioned

 

[010203]

He’s also captained more overseas tests than Bradman and Benaud (6 and 3 more respectively), the same amount as Chappell, only 1 less than Smith.

Simpson is the only one of those players with a significantly higher amount of chances to win (nine) away tests and as you pointed out he did all of it in England, the Windies and SA when they had a near unbeatable side, and he also captained after being retired for nearly a decade and touring the West Indies with a second tier side missing its World Series players (and actually led them to one win).

It’s a great effort by Cummins who’s captaincy comes in for some baffling criticism but it’s a tough comparison on some of the names mentioned

I forgot about the West Indies tour in 78.

 

[CrowBloke]

Summer of home and away Test cricket over.

My impressions on the team (without poring over stats, just "this is where I reckon this guy is at").

Uzzy - looking like the end has rushed up to him
Smith - now copping the LBW's that a slight loss of reflex had to inevitably bring
Marnus - still averaging nearly 50, but looks lost most of the time
Green - one great innings, but........
Head - lives by the sword, dies by it too
Marsh - been good, but for how long?
Carey - keeps well, saved the best for last
Starc - past DK, good on him, but is now 34. Batting has dropped right away
Cummins - class with the ball, crucial at #9, needs to stay more with traditional fields (as he did most this summer) when captaining
Lyon - bowls to his strengths (and knows his weaknesses) - could go on for a while yet.
Hazlewood - with modern "guns blazing" Test batting, his metronomic line and length gets wickets

Team - can't complain when we keep winning most of the time, but reckon we might have been a bit flattered by the results....

Thoughts??

... I'm guessing and might well be wrong
BUT
My overall impression from the last 2 series is that the team's batsmen looked tired.
Batsmen in form (think: Smith/ Labs and Uzzie to a lesser extent) look hungry for runs, hungry to bat for a long time, hungry to wear bowlers down.
The ways that many of them got out --- lazy shots, careless shots, slashes at balls they should have left, done by pace and/or seam movement that they handled better when younger --- were symptomatic of blokes who had been going for a long time and their major successes (WTC Final and ODI WC Final wins) were peaks after which they were struggling to perform at the same high level.
It's hard to get up with peak intensity after such achievements.
How Federer, Djokovic and Nadal and others sustain their excellence and motivation month after month, year after year, is beyond me.
For a team to do it, given the different types of characters and personalities and roles, is an even more complex challenge.

I think Uzzie's and Smith's peak years are behind them.
I'm not convinced that Smith-as-opener has worked; the LBWs make me think his eyes are older and less sharp. Even the tics and mannerisms which were an expression of high energy and intensity have decreased.
I dunno what's happened with Labs. That 90 was good and needed but, gee, he looks lost at the crease now.

Green is a major, once-in-a-generation talent; that 174*was excellent and he will get better as his confidence and self-belief grow. Peak years ahead of him, good for Oz.

Head, dunno. His game has lifted since he was given license/encouraged to play his natural game which has paid off over the last 3 years massively.

Travis Head - Test Cricket - Performance Analysis by Year

Head, T M - Test Cricket - Summary of performances by calendar year

www.howstat.com

Head's won enough games to be retained and I guess we'll just have to tolerate the outs which are tempered by his game-changing big innings.
Marsh --- reinvented, and whoda thought he'd be where he is now after years of chances, failures and being at one time the worst #6 in Test history?? Like Head, he's gonna have to be accepted as is; a match-winner in between some disappointments.
Carey did the team and himself a lot of good today. I loved his use of the sweep when his eye was in and his timing assured, but it spells his doom if he does it too early and too often.

The bowling quartet is locked in and I expect all four to come back fresher and hungry for Indian wickets, barring injury.

I'd like to see some younger players given a chance to shine, maybe in dead rubbers ...?
The current team is very tightly-knit, rock solid, but they are getting older.
I'm worried about a mass-retirement which will lead to some years in the wilderness but that's a natural cycle.

Cummins is a champion, no question, but he's also the most powerful man in Australian Cricket (Bancroft will never open for Oz again while he's Captain) and every one of his teammates seems to love him as Captain. Really come on tactically since the 2023 Ashes. He was outstanding in NZ.

 

[Mockcockpit]

Shamar Joseph has never gone a test without a five wicket haul

He’s the best in the world by a mile clearly

Among Aussie quicks only Lillee, McGrath, Lindwall, Cummins and now Hazlewood have over 200 wickets at under 25. Some seriously good company there. If old mate Shamar does as well it will certainly be entertaining I give you that.

 

[CrowBloke]

54.2 and 54.3 were my favourite balls of the test.

They were the ones that got the NZ commentators so excited. Filled them with so much hope.

Go watch them again Plugger.

Delightfully vicious.

 

[Fudge Nuggets]

All this means now is he'll be silly enough to do it again.

You realize each ground behaves differently and strategy needs to accommodate said differences, right?

 

[010203]

New Zealand joins the ranks of teams not defined by outcomes.



“For us, we've always said as Blackcaps, we're not defined by the outcomes, we're defined by how we play cricket and hopefully how we inspire our country to play the game,” Mitchell told SEN Cricket.

Seems Darryl Mitchell is sipping from the BazBall sacramental wine.

‘we’re not defined by the outcome…’

Well Darryl, I hate to break it to you, but that’s exactly what your defined by.

If you weren’t, then there is absolutely no reason to keep score.

Darryl Mitchell's attitude is why New Zealand will remain the loveable losers of world cricket. In test cricket, it's about results. It's what you're defined by. Him and his mates might have been able to dine out on being the first New Zealand side to win a test on home soil against Australia since 1993. Had the result been different, in would have been a defining moment in his career.

So, the Kiwis set Australia a tough chase of 279. They've got the Aussies by the nuts at 4-34. You allow Australia to chase the remaining 245 runs losing just 3 wickets, wasting your country's best shot at winning a home test against Australia since 1993 and brush it off by saying ''we're not defined by results''. That's pathetic. Darryl Mitchell has been around long enough and seen his father speak to the media in his various roles as a rugby coach to know not to say something so stupid.

As others have said, we shouldn't be surprised by this. New Zealand were captained by Brendon McCullum and we've heard similar guff from England since the Bazball era began in June 2022.

 

[revo333]

Cummins said post-game: “I had no idea he (Carey) was on 98.”

Grade cricketer podcast said the scoreboard at the ground only said New Zealand needed 3 wickets to win.

 

[revo333]

Funny result considering many on here were already getting stiff after day 3 thinking it was all over but to their credit a few of those posters did front up after the result.

Anyway I guess this Australian team is good after all.

Smith can't continue to open IMO so the team still needs a shake up for the Indian series.

 

[Borisdog]

Grade cricketer podcast said the scoreboard at the ground only said New Zealand needed 3 wickets to win.

Certainly not what I saw on the scoreboard that kept showing on the TV.

 

[NoWuckingFurries]

It was a really great effort by cummins, marsh and Carey.

I still don't love our top order. Don't have any faith in them

 

[philreich]

Darryl Mitchell's attitude is why New Zealand will remain the loveable losers of world cricket. In test cricket, it's about results. It's what you're defined by. Him and his mates might have been able to dine out on being the first New Zealand side to win a test on home soil against Australia since 1993. Had the result been different, in would have been a defining moment in his career.

So, the Kiwis set Australia a tough chase of 279. They've got the Aussies by the nuts at 4-34. You allow Australia to chase the remaining 245 runs losing just 3 wickets, wasting your country's best shot at winning a home test against Australia since 1993 and brush it off by saying ''we're not defined by results''. That's pathetic. Darryl Mitchell has been around long enough and seen his father speak to the media in his various roles as a rugby coach to know not to say something so stupid.

As others have said, we shouldn't be surprised by this. New Zealand were captained by Brendon McCullum and we've heard similar guff from England since the Bazball era began in June 2022.

To be fair, Australia and NZ have won 6 World Cups between them......

 

[PhatBoy]

Darryl Mitchell's attitude is why New Zealand will remain the loveable losers of world cricket. In test cricket, it's about results. It's what you're defined by. Him and his mates might have been able to dine out on being the first New Zealand side to win a test on home soil against Australia since 1993. Had the result been different, in would have been a defining moment in his career.

So, the Kiwis set Australia a tough chase of 279. They've got the Aussies by the nuts at 4-34. You allow Australia to chase the remaining 245 runs losing just 3 wickets, wasting your country's best shot at winning a home test against Australia since 1993 and brush it off by saying ''we're not defined by results''. That's pathetic. Darryl Mitchell has been around long enough and seen his father speak to the media in his various roles as a rugby coach to know not to say something so stupid.

As others have said, we shouldn't be surprised by this. New Zealand were captained by Brendon McCullum and we've heard similar guff from England since the Bazball era began in June 2022.

Does anyone genuinely believe Mitchell or his team for that matter actually believe what he said?

I don’t. Not for a second.

Mitchell himself has cut his teeth in test cricket by playing some of their best backs to the wall knocks in years during their last trip to England. His general output on the field goes in direct contrast towards such a passive attitude off it.

I’d say that was a very ill advised attempt to deflect what must be an incredibly painful result to take, rather than a true reflection of how they feel