From Brian Laras FB page…….

WTF!!! We were just sipping on a beer celebrating Warnie’s life and enjoying each other’s company💔💔💔💔💔💔💔
Our great friendship and respect for each other started the very first minute we met in battle. You were such a competitor doing any and everything for your team.
I had the greatest respect for you Roy!!!
You also made friendship so easy, I loved the spontaneous phone calls and messages. You reached out just yesterday “How are you champ” … “All good Mr Symonds … How things with you”
Well all isn’t good anymore I will miss you and I’m devastated.
You were a champion bloke and the cricket world will miss you. We have lost another great human being.
Condolences to Andrew’s family and friends.
#riproy #❤️ #💔

@NZbloke said in B B McCullum: England Test Coach:

@Nevorian said in B B McCullum: England Test Coach:

The Senior Coaches role is not necessarily about coaching the skills, they have specialist batting, bowling and fielding coaches for that. Baz will bring a lot of positivity to the set up and the correct team culture and the analytical and match plan knowledge that England currently lack at Test level anyway

Yeah, a coaches job is basically about man management/motivation skills, tactics etc... going to be a bit strange playing against the poms with McCullum as their coach, also another NZer as their captain.

I don’t count him. He couldn’t look or sound more English if he tried and has lived there most of his life.

South Africa have far more reason to gripe at us when you consider a few of our recent stars.

@booboo said in Black Caps vs Netherlands:

Henry on a hat trick...

Still got three balls left in the over and wanders off to fine leg ...

@voodoo said in RIP Warney:

@shark he probably didn't spend 30 hours per week fucking about on the Fern....

As I say, he skimped on the 9 to 5 job. 🙂

And one of those reminders that, for every howler by an Umpire, there seems to be even more by the players... 🙂

@nzzp said in 2022 Women's Cricket World Cup in New Zealand:

@nzbloke said in 2022 Women's Cricket World Cup in New Zealand:

Fielding with more urgency, need to attack the ball in the field.

I'll settle for improving the catch rate for simple catches. Hard catches are hard - but you can practice and improve the simple ones. And it relaly makes a difference in cricket; creating 10-11 chances vs creating 13-14 chances

Players tend to drop some really easy catches because they take them for granted, they need to focus just as much on a lolly catch as a difficult one... reckon if it's a lolly catch or a difficult one in slips or a diving catch in the outfield it's always so important to let the ball come to you using soft hands, it's when a player pushes their hands forward towards the ball there's a good chance they'll drop it.

It's good that batsmen have to face Jamieson's awkward bounce & he swings it, also has a good slower ball... but to add to his bowling armoury would like to see him bowl around the wicket when needed & use the width of the bowling crease too, Southee does that brilliantly.

@kiwimurph said in Black Clash:

I think with Harry what is shows is how different ODI cricket was in the 90s vs now.

In the 99 CWC 300 was only scored 3 times in the whole tournament.

I read an article that said in 1999 the average strike rate of batsmen in ODIs was 73.47 and in 2019 the average strike rate was 92.18.

Harry these days wouldn't be nearly as valuable as he was in the 90s. Different era.

Harry as a bowler would have been even more effective in T20 IMO. By the mid-point of his career his bowling revolved more around changes of pace and variation than bowling cutters - which is exactly what T20 bowling at his pace is all about. He also seemed to massively benefit from the batsman going after him rather than milking him.

As a batsman though it is tough to see that he would have been even a middle order player. He had a bit of that Ross Taylor thing where his hands moved five times faster than his feet for the first 25 balls of his innings and so was often bogged down early even though he was canny at finding the gaps once he got things going. The lack of a real top gear would make it tough for him to bat any higher than 8.

@rotated Santner himself on Newshub last night.

Story and interview below.

Jan 19  /  Sport Blackcaps v Australia: One-day specialists focus on domestic 'Super Smash' rivalries, after tour postponement | Newshub Blackcaps v Australia: One-day specialists focus on domestic 'Super Smash' rivalries, after tour postponement | Newshub

The limited-overs tour of Australia has been delayed by ongoing COVID-19 border restrictions.

@kiwimurph yeah, has a tude that needs adjustment.

@nta totally agree mate. I spent a bit of time playing with and against Molly Strano and Sophie Molyneux about 4 years ago and they were skilful then, but the improvements have been astronomical. Great chicks too!

(apologies for the name drop but those girls were way cool and molly played the most technically perfect reverse sweep I've ever seen)

Auckland win the Plunket Shield after a win over Wellington inside 3 days.

Covid in the ND camp means their game with CD was declared a draw with no play on day 4.

Nov 27, 2021 Mark Butcher: Michael Vaughan Can Be A ‘Piers Morgan-Lite Twitter Personality’ But He Is ‘Not A Racist’ Mark Butcher: Michael Vaughan Can Be A ‘Piers Morgan-Lite Twitter Personality’ But He Is ‘Not A Racist’

Former England batter Mark Butcher, speaking on the Wisden Cricket Weekly Podcast, explained how, in his view, Michael Vaughan is “not a racist”.

If you can’t be bothered reading it the gist is exactly what I suspected. Vaughan can be a bit of a cock but he’s not racist.

@shark said in NZ tour of India:

@mariner4life said in NZ tour of India:

that's a throwback Black Caps result. Embarrassingly flogged with only our spinner showing some backbone...

Look winning in India has always been really fucking hard, and even more so now. But after that fucking pasting the opportunities not taken in the first test look even worse.

Yep. Where are all the fucking retards who were happy to play for a draw in the first test because we were more of a chance in the second?

what would our chance look like if we batted first though? Probably not rolled for 62

Daryl Mitchell humbled at winning Spirit of Cricket award for sporting gesture

Welp there has already been repercussions

https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/women-in-sport/126442208/security-tightened-around-white-ferns-in-england-after-notcredible-threat

@donsteppa said in White Ferns in England:

A 203 run loss to finish the tour with, glad I didn't stay up late for that one! In some ways the tour finished not much better than we started out - we're still reliant on a small number of key players to do the majority of the work, and if they don't fire...

https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/women-in-sport/300416458/suzie-bates-sophie-devine-disappoint-in-white-ferns-player-ratings-for-england-tour

So basically exactly how the Black Caps used to be then ?

@canes4life said in Black Caps vs Bangladesh:

@labcat since the beginning of the year he’s come off a lot more than he hasn’t though. A massive talent for such a young player.

I think we’ve missed a trick not picking him in the WC squad.

I think so too. They've gone with neither him nor Munro, so not that absolute 'from ball one go for it' option at the top.

I also think by the time the WC starts, those UAE wickets are going to be worn out and spinning sideways. (the second half of IPL, plus the T20WC prelimnary rounds will be played on them for a month before we play out first games).

So, in hindsight, Ajaz not in the squad is probably also a missed trick. I say in hindsight, as this wasn't an outrageous or particularly controversial decision 10 days ago. But on other hand ... these Bangladesh wickets have made spinners look good, so should be weary of reading too much into it.

NZ do have 3 spinners in that squad (and 2 half/part time spinners), so I'm not criticising the balance for that squad. But we have 2 leggies selected. I just have a hunch that the pitches may get so ragged that we could get even more bang for our buck with 2 specialist finger spinners plus just the one leggie.

I also think Jamieson ahead of Milne is a mistake.

@godder said in Chris Cairns on life support:

With Chris Cairns, no standard was met, including libel which is to the balance of probabilities, so his lawyers showed in court that it was more likely than not that he didn't fix matches.

I think there were specific instructions to rely on two witnesses. McCullum, Vincent and Vincent's wife offered direct evidence they were induced to fix matches by Cairns.

Vincent and wife looked flaky. McCullum seemed pretty straightforward. However, the jury acquitted.

So, on the evidence available it may have been correct in law - but frankly, the accusations by McCullum and Vincent were pretty damning. Personally, I prefer their version to Cairns (who denies everything), but I'm a random keyboard warrior.

Nov 30, 2015  /  Sport The trial of Chris Cairns: how the nine-week case unfolded The trial of Chris Cairns: how the nine-week case unfolded

A pat on the back ended the former New Zealand all-rounder’s lengthy appearance at Southwark crown court. Elizabeth Ammon describes the cricketer’s ordeal

@mn5 I couldn't remember his surname so checked. Stuart Carlisle (Zim).

Devon Conway gets a 2-ball duck for the New Zealand XI on his return against Bangladesh.

@nzzp said in Cricket 2021: NZ in England and WTC Final:

@majorrage said in Cricket 2021: NZ in England and WTC Final:

TBF though, I can't blame Aussies for treating the result with a bi of disdain given how much we shit the bed when we toured there last.

at least we could beat the Indians at home, eh 🙂

seriously, give us a proper warmup and a better selection policy and we may have been competitive.

We have Kylo and Devon as well now. Much better team

The risk of batting with Inzamam Ul Haq

@rapido No doubt. "Best of the rest" i.e non cartel, should get us some improvements in tours and opposition, hopefully. Not that that would be hard to improve on.

Those three are going to have a circle jerk anyway. Got to wonder if they are going to overdo it and lose appeal to the their audience due to repetition.

@mn5 said in T20 Internationals. Nz v Aus:

@kiwipie said in T20 Internationals. Nz v Aus:

I don't get the calls to drop Kane from the T20s. I agree if he is feeling fatigued but he has been one of the key players until the last 3 games, not to mention his performances in the IPL where he is one of the few Kiwi batsmen to have success.

But then the Fern has always been the place to call for people's heads due to only being able to remember the previous game.

Well not in his case. He’s universally adored.....but to reiterate my point if he forgoes 20/20 to help his career in the other two formats then so be it.

Yep, you're right, with the integral part being it's his decision alone. I'm up for anything he wants to do. Hell he could insist on batting in black face, wearing a diamond tiara and striding out to " nice tits, shame about the face" at full bore, and I'd back him to the hilt!

I just want to watch him bat as much as possible. Even his golden ducks are classy🙂

@Snowy said in ANZAC Test Cricket XI:

@barbarian Very funny.

If you guys would condescend and actually come and visit us for a test series that might look a little different. Last time was 2015?

You are also using @ACT-Crusader 's selection policy. Nice that the world number one batsman snuck in though.

It’s a tried and true policy.

@siam that graphic above is the current test rankings.

You are right the World Test Championship Points table is slightly different (though the top 5 remain in the same order).

@siam said in Classic Cricket moments:

There’s a lot to be said about this, stonewashed jeans….smoking looking cool…..mullets on players and fans alike……one of my favourite cricketers smacking a beautiful old school six..….( using old bats so much harder in those days )….

But the thing that gets me most is what the hell is holding that chicks bikini top in place at the start cos it certainly isn’t any tits that’s for sure.

For me, as this is a test side and bowlers are there to get wickets, I'll leave out Vettori in favour of Wagner - We have never produced a spinner who actually could run through a side and Vettori is notable more for his longevity than his penetration (at Test level).
As for batsmen, I can't go past Crowe, Kane and Rosco for our middle order but before Kane arrived on the scene, I would have had Donnelly in the mix and would have batted Sutcliffe at 6 as post the 53 boxing day test he was never the same against pace by his own admission.
GMT still gets in but I do rate Latham - very few batsmen perform well everywhere so one series in Aus I can treat as an outlier. Stewie Dempster gets serious consideration and given he played as an opener in the days of uncovered domestic wickets, that explains to me a FC average of 45. I'll be honest, I could put Donnelly and Dempster in my side without blinking even now. Even if it meant replacing Hogan with Donnelly - which for those of you who know me, is a huge admission

Not sure how right this guy is ...

And am assuming his % probabilities are assuming each of the 2,700 odd outcomes have equal chance of occurring, when of course one team is likely to be more favoured over another in any given game, mesding wuth his actual probabilities ...

Or he MAY be full of shit ...

I am backing the scorchers and hoping they deliver. Go Munro and Mitch Marsh! But Dan Christian is a trophy magnet and the sixers are very talented. Looking forward to it

Took a chance to dip into Statsguru in the area of partnerships - a pair of batsmen having had a minimum of 20 partnerships.

Top 5 averages

Javed/Shoaib (1984-93) 91.82
Hobbs/Sutcliffe (1924-30) 87.86
Bradman/Woodfull (1928-34) 84.09
Mitchell/Nourse (1935-49) 83.61
Langer/Ponting (1998-2006) 82.16

Top 5 for NZ

Crowe/Jones (1987-93) 64.39
Taylor/Watling (2010-20) 60.50
Watling/Williamson (2013-21) 59.33
Taylor/Williamson (2011-21) 58.81
Nicholls/Williamson (2016-21) 55.90

Worst 5 averages (qualification 20 partnerships)

Bedi/Prasanna (1967-78) 8.18
Bedi/Chandrasekhar (1966-78) 8.45
Hazlewood/Lyon (2014-19) 8.85
Anderson/Prior (2008-14) 10.75
Ambrose/Bishop (1990-98) 10.95

Worst 5 averages (qualification 10 partnerships as tailenders don't bat together so often)

McGrath/Warne (1994-2007) 5.58
Gillespie/MacGill (1999-2004) 5.70
Gabriel/Roach (2017-2021) 5.73
Chandrasekhar/Prasanna (1967-78) 6.00
Adams/Donald (1995-2001) 6.16

Worst for NZ

Martin/Vettori (2004-11) 8.86
Wagner/Watling (2013-2020) 9.00
D. Bracewell/Southee (2011-15) 12.10
J. Bracewell/Smith (1984-1990) 13.36
Boult/Wagner (2012-22) 14.45

Also spotted this lurking further down

Pocock/Young (!) (1993-97) 18.00

Other batting pairs with awful averages (20+ partnerships)

Gatting/Gooch 17.35
Cook/Stoneman 18.75
Blewett/M Waugh 21.76
Border/Wood 23.21
Hughes/Wood 23.76

Interestingly Bairstow/Broad (14.50) has a worse average than Anderson/Broad (15.34)

@MN5 said in Australia v India:

@Snowy said in Australia v India:

@MN5 said in Australia v India:

I hate overrated All Rounders like Watson and Ben Stokes.

How do you feel about Chris Cairns?

I said overrated not underrated

We could just go with rated then.

@dogmeat said in Five Greatest Black Caps of the Past 50 years:

Far from my favourite player but I think it has to be Turner. Average of 47 when there were no muppets.

Absolutely. I was watching an interview with John Wright on Sky earlier in the week and he says Turner and Crowe were far and away the best NZ batsmen he played with.

@African-Monkey Yes to Clive Rice. His first class stats at Notts are phenomenal.

@No-Quarter said in New Zealand v West Indies:

@NTA a true custodian of the game, no Aussie will ever compete

To be fair if there was a Spirit of Cricket award for the previous decade I'm sure Gilchrist would have won it. Top blok.

He could have put the plaque up in the pool room next to the elephant head he shot with McGrath in Africa.

Somehow I'm mates (spent a bit of time) with several high profile coaches in Oz, including the Oz assistant.

The attitude of " how good of a player were you" doesn't seem relevant to their work with the players. Bear in mind that these players have had scores of coaches throughout all their lives so the assessment of said coaches doesn't really rely on their past as players beyond the first week of contact.

Darren Berry one day explained to me the offer he was pursuing from the Auckland Aces. Low low money and with covid standing in the way of getting family to nz for a bit suggests that pretty much nz coaching staff must come from within, I'd suggest

But good luck Luke, like rapido says, he was a selfless player (mostly opened for WA) and our fielding was exemplary when he had the gloves - there's something in that.

Feel sorry for the son, at least it seems he had a good relationship with his dad.