Cricket 2021: NZ in England and WTC Final
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@synicbast I was going to post that Kimber article - and written by an Aussie.
Says it all really and distills perfectly the essence of supporting NZ.
My memories of NZ test go back a bit further than yours. I can remember our seventh ever victory - fittingly against India away and recall that commentators saying we were fighting it out to avoid the wooden spoon. I remember Turners heroics in the drawn series in the Windies, the match in Nottingham in 73 which we should/coulda won and I listened on the radio at school (thanks to a cricketing tragic geography teacher who knew beating Oz for the first time was way more important than population studies) as Turner Collinge and the Hadlees took us to victory.
However it is ironic and incredibly apt for a Kiwi supporter that the match that really got me hooked on test cricket is just one in a long line of glorious battles to no affect. I sat glued to the TV and watched every ball as Collinge and Hastings set a world record 151 10th wicket stand. Glorious stuff but apart from the stat meaningless as we lost the series having been hammered in the earlier test.
Until yesterday that was pretty much summed it up for me and NZ cricket. Low expectations that too often were proven to nevertheless be unrealistically high. Favourite players like Burgess and Coney that were quirky grafters rather than stars. Magnificent guns blazing losing efforts like Astles double - summed up by 2019 at Lords. Don't hope coz like the last tour of Aussie it'll just break your heart. We're in the Boxing Day test - oh... Fuck!
Yesterday changed all that. I've always loved my cricket - more than any other sport TBH and Thursday morning paid me back in spades for over 50 years of suffering and torment. I watched till midnight and again from just before 4. I coudn't log on to the Fern as I couldn't tear my eyes away from the screen. Dare I hope. We'll get there in 5's boys. 50 to go - sti;ll time for a collapse 45 fuck my blood pressure. 20 Surely we've got this now. Then it changed to I want these two to be there at the end and then screaming my head off alone in a cold dark wintry house. Who gives a fuck WE WON.
It's not a story of redemption but it is the culmination of a journey that even in the bad times has been a delight but fuck winning feels so much better than gallant defeats. Thanks guys for everything.
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@mn5 said in Cricket 2021: NZ in England and WTC Final:
Here’s a question to ponder.
If Paddles got picked up by Marty McFly and transported into the future at his peak ( when he was in his 30s ) which of our four pacemen would he displace ?
I mean, he’s fucken Paddles, a better batsman than any of them, better bowler too so no way you don’t select him but which one of our four current champions misses out ?Unpopular as it might seem I’m gonna have to pick Boult.
Southee for me.
I don't think Boult or Southee even at their peaks would be good enough to warrant selection as an co-equal bowler with Hadlee in their own right like Walsh/Ambrose or Younis/Akram.
So the attack would still be built around Hadlee and Boult would be slotted in the Chatfield role. I just see him doing that much better than Southee - being a left arm option and having better control.
Boult for me also seems to get the big wickets, or wickets against the run of play moreso than Southee.
Wagner would probably be next on the list as Hadlee had excellent stamina himself (due to long county seasons) and had an underrated ability to pepper batsmen with the short ball.
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@rotated said in Cricket 2021: NZ in England and WTC Final:
@mn5 said in Cricket 2021: NZ in England and WTC Final:
Here’s a question to ponder.
If Paddles got picked up by Marty McFly and transported into the future at his peak ( when he was in his 30s ) which of our four pacemen would he displace ?
I mean, he’s fucken Paddles, a better batsman than any of them, better bowler too so no way you don’t select him but which one of our four current champions misses out ?Unpopular as it might seem I’m gonna have to pick Boult.
Southee for me.
**I don't think Boult or Southee even at their peaks would be good enough to warrant selection as an co-equal bowler with Hadlee in their own right like Walsh/Ambrose or Younis/Akram.
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So the attack would still be built around Hadlee and Boult would be slotted in the Chatfield role. I just see him doing that much better than Southee - being a left arm option and having better control.Boult for me also seems to get the big wickets, or wickets against the run of play moreso than Southee.
Wagner would probably be next on the list as Hadlee had excellent stamina himself (due to long county seasons) and had an underrated ability to pepper batsmen with the short ball.
Well no, as I mentioned before Hadlee never played alongside anyone even remotely close to his own ability. Southee, Boult and Wagner on the other hand are all much of a muchness, all excellent, but still not in Hadlees class.
Jury still out on Jamieson but fuck me it’s impressive stuff so far.
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@synicbast said in Cricket 2021: NZ in England and WTC Final:
But tonight I'm sure that there's a smile on Hogan's face and he's at peace.
Jeez, your tugging at some heart strings there. I met him at his sister's place in between the illnesses, he was in remission (I guess that is the correct term) for a while and seemed healthy enough at the time. I had also met him in his playing days and he kind of aloof, almost arrogant, really driven and determined might be fairer (he had a right to be arrogant really) but the second time around he was just a lovely bloke. Humble, kind, happy to talk to anyone. I even asked him if he thought that his attitude during his playing days was a part of his success. His reply was that the softer more rounded person that he had become might have been even better. He attributed that change to Lorraine as well. Obviously a few of us feel that this was for him which pleases me.
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@tewaio said in Cricket 2021: NZ in England and WTC Final:
I was bouncing my 8 month old son on my knee when that LBW review from Kane was happening...I let out such a roar when ball tracking showed it missing the stumps that the poor little guy got a hell of a fright and burst into tears #parenting
If babies could talk, " fuck dad, save that shit for when we're being stalked by a sabre tooth tiger! I'm only up to page 20 in my survival instincts training course. Fuck you, where's mum, I need a strong drink!"😉
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@dogmeat the research and capturing the tone in that kimber article was very very impressive. Even more so when he didn't grow up with all that folklore in close proximity.
He's very good.
The YouTube analysis of wags is also worth a search.
Good post too mate. Same here.👍
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@mn5 well he was a bit of a fluffy bunny no? so might not make the cut on that alone - he might get pissy that they don't hand out cars for MoTM too.
More seriously I think we'd have him as an allrounder - with that seam attack we would hurt people. Badly.
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@dogmeat like a huge number of people on here, my NZ cricket years are one of occassionally punchy minnows
i watched cricket in the 80s (i must have started playing in 83 or 84?), i remember watching Hadlee, and i remember him being my favourite player.
But my real cricket memories start with the 92 world cup, and go from there. and heaps of it is in coloured clothes. Lightening striped grey at the World Series. Young guns type shit. Then our bits and pieces ODI sides and brave world cup runs.
And like you say, being insanely proud of glorious failure. Geoff Allotts 1,000 balls without scoring a run was a highlight. Of course Astle. Kicking the Aussies out of the finals of their own tri-series (before of course losing the final)
Test cricket nearly died for us there for a while. We became this coloured-clothing side that allowed is to hide our weaknesses, and punch above our weight.
This past 5-6 years have been amazing. To watch a team build itself in to this formidable side that can roll with anyone (fucking Australia in Australia aside) has been at times hard to fully appreciate as you wait for the inevitable fall. hell, i assumed we would lose this test by a decent margin, it just seemed to be in our DNA.
But no, these guys are built different. And if it all ends soon, so be it. It's been a beautiful ride. Cricket was my first love, and while i may have paid far more attention and effort to my main side piece over the past 2 decades, right now she has never been hotter.
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@tewaio said in Cricket 2021: NZ in England and WTC Final:
I was bouncing my 8 month old son on my knee when that LBW review from Kane was happening...I let out such a roar when ball tracking showed it missing the stumps that the poor little guy got a hell of a fright and burst into tears #parenting
I did something similar to the cat the other day, when Braydon Ennor dropped that ball! He went up the stairs like he'd been shot with hot porridge!
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@chris-b said in Cricket 2021: NZ in England and WTC Final:
@tewaio said in Cricket 2021: NZ in England and WTC Final:
I was bouncing my 8 month old son on my knee when that LBW review from Kane was happening...I let out such a roar when ball tracking showed it missing the stumps that the poor little guy got a hell of a fright and burst into tears #parenting
I did something similar to the cat the other day, when Braydon Ennor dropped that ball! He went up the stairs like he'd been shot with hot porridge!
my dog comes over to comfort me when i yell at the TV. She thinks something is wrong so she licks my face after i have gone "that's a fucking free kick ref you maggot!!"
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@godder said in Cricket 2021: NZ in England and WTC Final:
@mn5 said in Cricket 2021: NZ in England and WTC Final:
Here’s a question to ponder.
If Paddles got picked up by Marty McFly and transported into the future at his peak ( when he was in his 30s ) which of our four pacemen would he displace ?
I mean, he’s fucken Paddles, a better batsman than any of them, better bowler too so no way you don’t select him but which one of our four current champions misses out ?Unpopular as it might seem I’m gonna have to pick Boult.
Colin surely... But of the 4, agree it would be one of the openers, so Boult currently since Southee seems to be getting better with age.
Yep:
- Hadlee
- Jamieson
- Southee
- Wagner
- Boult
- Hadlee used to bat 7, Smith 8, Braces 9 in the games that I vaguely remember
- There was always a suspicion that Hadlee could have has a better batting record if he wasn't having to take wickets at an average of 14 so we could win Tests
- Doesn't matter how supposedly "weak" his batting was, with that bowling attack we wouldn't be relying on runs from the tail to win tests
Boult drops out if we need a spinner, but except for in the sub continent, we don't need a spinner with those five.
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@donsteppa said in Cricket 2021: NZ in England and WTC Final:
Hadlee
Jamieson
Southee
Wagner
Boult... imagine opening batsmen trying to see off that new ball attack. Congrats, you've survived 10 overs against Hadlee and Jamieson somehow. Now Southee will try and nick you out, while Wags will try to take your head off for the second hour. And Trent Boult will bowl the traditional "Mark Waugh" over at you before lunch
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Being a bit younger than some of you folks (though with 3 kids now I feel old as fuck), I started watching cricket in the 90s. After Paddles had retired, and I remember Crowe in the twilight of his career.
One of my memories of watching NZ play a test is being happy we didn't avoid the follow on, as it meant we got to bat again, and I'd rather watch that than watch our bowlers get plundered all over the park, even if we were going to get cleaned up for 150 odd again. Things were just dire.
It's taken me a long time to get my head around the fact that we even have world class players in our side (Ross, Boult etc), let alone the worlds best (Kane). Even harder to come to terms with having a world class team that doesn't just fold at the first sign of adversity.
What a time to be a cricket supporter in NZ. Right now, the Black Caps are a more formidable and more professional side than the All Blacks. I never ever thought I would say that in my life.
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@no-quarter said in Cricket 2021: NZ in England and WTC Final:
the Black Caps are a more formidable and more professional side than the All Blacks.
fuck that's true!!
and we can pretty much agree on every selection, and they are in because they are so good, not because they are least average option
The ABs are the total opposite, A-aron Smith is Kane, everyone else is CDGH
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I have not seen one mention of Stead, on here or in the media.
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@crazy-horse said in Cricket 2021: NZ in England and WTC Final:
I have not seen one mention of Stead, on here or in the media.
I've seen versions of the right hand photo doing the rounds on various social media. This is a nice CricTracker meme for him:
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@no-quarter said in Cricket 2021: NZ in England and WTC Final:
Right now, the Black Caps are a more formidable and more professional side than the All Blacks.
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also, this is supposed to be a happy place, i'm reporting you
big fucking ban hammer for @Snowy
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@donsteppa good to see him being acknowledged.
