Black Caps vs Sri Lanka

@Damo said in Black Caps vs Sri Lanka:

@SouthernMann said in Black Caps vs Sri Lanka:

@MN5 said in Black Caps vs Sri Lanka:

@SouthernMann said in Black Caps vs Sri Lanka:

Two of the most maligned NZ cricketers needing to manage the rebuild. I've slapped a cheeky $50 on Braces to top score.

There’s some beer money gone

Indeed. That's punting though. Stoked to see Chapman look so good.

Chapman almost always looks amazing when he's in and playing classical shots. He's a very gifted cricketer.

If he gets us out of this I won't ever doubt him again.

I remember him at the 2010 U19 CWV at Lincoln. He was playing for Hong Kong as a 16 year-old I think. Looked up to it then too.

Chapman is a bit like Ravindra in that he looks beautiful when set.

aesthetically more pleasing than the mighty KW if I’m being honest.

Chapman and extras saving us from being bowled out for 26!

Young, Ravindra, Mitchell, Latham, Phillips and Santner collectively contributing 5 runs off the bat.

We could have picked 6 random ferners and not done much worse! Anyone specialise on the nick for 4?!!

@Bovidae said in Black Caps vs Sri Lanka:

Eden Park will save on power as they won't need to turn the lights on!

Under appreciated great sledge

@Chris-B said in Black Caps vs Sri Lanka:

Chapman and extras saving us from being bowled out for 26!

Young, Ravindra, Mitchell, Latham, Phillips and Santner collectively contributing 5 runs off the bat.

We could have picked 6 random ferners and not done much worse! Anyone specialise on the nick for 4?!!

I was always good at a left handed cross bat slog with non existent foot movement. It got me many a six ( against shit bowling ideally )

I like the cut of Nathan Smiths gib as a cricketer. Appears to be a very handy player, gun fielder too.

He’s my Glenn Philips of 2025

@Chris-B said in Black Caps vs Sri Lanka:

Chapman and extras saving us from being bowled out for 26!

Young, Ravindra, Mitchell, Latham, Phillips and Santner collectively contributing 5 runs off the bat.

We could have picked 6 random ferners and not done much worse! Anyone specialise on the nick for 4?!!

Ravindra and Phillips get a pass because those were two incredible deliveries that are wickets 99 times our of 100, although I don't remember the last time Phillips looked like he was in any kind of form. The time off between now and the Pakistan tour might be good for him if he can hold his spot.

Mitchell played a lazy shot but also undone slightly by the movement. Latham extremely disappointed and his place in the squad in danger I think.

I've always thought Santner is overrated as a batter. Slightly unusually, I think he's a better bat in tests than in short ball stuff. He's well organised and fair sound defensively so is a tough wicket, but in short form he just really struggles to generate any kind of strike rate.

Nice over from Matt Henry.

He’s a pretty damn competent batsman.

Big win.

@ACT-Crusader said in Black Caps vs Sri Lanka:

Big win.

Yeah.

Oooof.

@MN5 said in Black Caps vs Sri Lanka:

Nice over from Matt Henry.

McMillan talking him up, and then he gets out. Classic commentators curse.

Comforting to see normality back with the bowlers batting better than most of the batsmen.

Chapman top scorer then Extras with a handy knock. Not much else from anyone else.

All a bit disappointing really.

Also disappointing is the summer and the lack of cricket this year. That is it for the home summer apparently.

@Bovidae said in Black Caps vs Sri Lanka:

@MN5 said in Black Caps vs Sri Lanka:

Nice over from Matt Henry.

McMillan talking him up, and then he gets out. Classic commentators curse.

I’m not sure those kind of jinxes are applicable when the team is this fucked.

Chapman may as well have a swing and shoot for the ton

@Bones said in Black Caps vs Sri Lanka:

Comforting to see normality back with the bowlers batting better than most of the batsmen.

I bet you loved it when Vettori was captain

Good win Sri Lanka.

……and thats it for the home summer. I hope Squid Games is good cos there’s fuck all else to watch

@MN5 said in Black Caps vs Sri Lanka:

@Bones said in Black Caps vs Sri Lanka:

Comforting to see normality back with the bowlers batting better than most of the batsmen.

I bet you loved it when Vettori was captain

I doubt even Vettori managed to get the bowlers to score 15x more than the total of every batsman bar one.

@Bones said in Black Caps vs Sri Lanka:

@MN5 said in Black Caps vs Sri Lanka:

@Bones said in Black Caps vs Sri Lanka:

Comforting to see normality back with the bowlers batting better than most of the batsmen.

I bet you loved it when Vettori was captain

I doubt even Vettori managed to get the bowlers to score 15x more than the total of every batsman bar one.

I reckon him and McCullum would have done that with interest back in the dark days of the mid 2000s

@Cyclops
Latham in no danger of losing his spot in the squad he will be named tomorrow.

@Cyclops said in Black Caps vs Sri Lanka:

I don't remember the last time Phillips looked like he was in any kind of form. The time off between now and the Pakistan tour might be good for him if he can hold his spot.

NZ sporting ethos these days dictates that you can only be replaced if injured, so he will be safe.

@Snowy said in Black Caps vs Sri Lanka:

@Cyclops said in Black Caps vs Sri Lanka:

I don't remember the last time Phillips looked like he was in any kind of form. The time off between now and the Pakistan tour might be good for him if he can hold his spot.

NZ sporting ethos these days dictates that you can only be replaced if injured, so he will be safe.

Either that or have a child

@Chris said in Black Caps vs Sri Lanka:

@Cyclops
Latham in no danger of losing his spot in the squad he will be named tomorrow.

Which is part of the problem

@KiwiMurph said in Black Caps vs Sri Lanka:

@Chris said in Black Caps vs Sri Lanka:

@Cyclops
Latham in no danger of losing his spot in the squad he will be named tomorrow.

Which is part of the problem

Along with Conway and Phillips selected again a waste of space in the squad.
Sears selected off the back of no game time.
Duffy not selected,Leaving Hay out the best WK and would add more than Conway or Latham with the bat.
I could go on frustrating as hell to see.

Sears is the only surprise selection. The interest will be in who is in the XI that plays.

A squad that is going to probably fail badly in the champions trophy, just like they did in the 20/20 WC in June due to selecting out of form players and players way past their used by date.

@MN5 said in Black Caps vs Sri Lanka:

@Chris-B said in Black Caps vs Sri Lanka:

Chapman and extras saving us from being bowled out for 26!

Young, Ravindra, Mitchell, Latham, Phillips and Santner collectively contributing 5 runs off the bat.

We could have picked 6 random ferners and not done much worse! Anyone specialise on the nick for 4?!!

I was always good at a left handed cross bat slog with non existent foot movement. It got me many a six ( against shit bowling ideally )

Are you Jesse Ryder?

@Chris you've seen the light! Now turn it on the ABs

@Gunner said in Black Caps vs Sri Lanka:

@MN5 said in Black Caps vs Sri Lanka:

@Chris-B said in Black Caps vs Sri Lanka:

Chapman and extras saving us from being bowled out for 26!

Young, Ravindra, Mitchell, Latham, Phillips and Santner collectively contributing 5 runs off the bat.

We could have picked 6 random ferners and not done much worse! Anyone specialise on the nick for 4?!!

I was always good at a left handed cross bat slog with non existent foot movement. It got me many a six ( against shit bowling ideally )

Are you Jesse Ryder?

No, far classier when drinking

@Chris said in Black Caps vs Sri Lanka:

@KiwiMurph said in Black Caps vs Sri Lanka:

@Chris said in Black Caps vs Sri Lanka:

@Cyclops
Latham in no danger of losing his spot in the squad he will be named tomorrow.

Which is part of the problem

Along with Conway and Phillips selected again a waste of space in the squad.
Sears selected off the back of no game time.
Duffy not selected,Leaving Hay out the best WK and would add more than Conway or Latham with the bat.
I could go on frustrating as hell to see.

Picking Conway seems like wishful thinking - I'd have picked Hay instead of him.

I don't mind Sears getting picked, but Duffy has shown good form in the past month or so - I'd have been inclined to pick him instead of Nathan Smith who looks pretty hittable to me.

Yeah. I think Duffy should be in our ODI first 11, let alone the squad.

TBH, I expect all our seamers to leak runs like crazy in Pakistan.

Our second and third spinners will be the difference, eg not quality enough, in conditions where spin attacks need to be top.

@Rapido said in Black Caps vs Sri Lanka:

Yeah. I think Duffy should be in our ODI first 11, let alone the squad.

TBH, I expect all our seamers to leak runs like crazy in Pakistan.

Our second and third spinners will be the difference, eg not quality enough, in conditions where spin attacks need to be top.

Loads of pressure on Henry to be an effective spearhead that’s for sure. If he’s not effective we’re a bit stuffed

Hopefully the most recent top order abomination is out of their system too.

I guess they don't think Duffy will be as effective on those pitches as he relies more on swing. Smith shouldn't be in the XI anyway. If he is, we're already fucked.

Like Phillips, Latham hasn't contributed much with the bat in a while but plays spinners well. I bet Stead goes all conservative again so Young and Chapman miss out to Conway and Phillips.

@Bovidae said in Black Caps vs Sri Lanka:

I guess they don't think Duffy will be as effective on those pitches as he relies more on swing. Smith shouldn't be in the XI anyway. If he is, we're already fucked.

Like Phillips, Latham hasn't contributed much with the bat in a while but plays spinners well. I bet Stead goes all conservative again so Young and Chapman miss out to Conway and Phillips.

Na despite Stead being Stead I reckon Conway is finished. Young has done too much to be ignored.

Conway will go the way of Nicholls, form has just fallen away too much after some very good stuff early on.

@Bovidae said in Black Caps vs Sri Lanka:

I bet Stead goes all conservative again so Young and Chapman miss out to Conway and Phillips.

Would be seriously stupid given that Young was player of the series against India (red ball I know but played spin well in their conditions) and Chapman who even Stead couldn't leave out last time in Pakistan (or was he on holiday again and someone else did the selecting?).

@Snowy Young over Conway should be a no-brainer. Conway should be competing vs Latham as keeper.

I'm less convinced about Chapman - Phillips needs to find some form with the bat in the next month.

I'd probably go with an XI of Ravindra, Young, Williamson, Mitchell, Latham, Phillips, Bracewell, Santner, Henry, Ferguson, O'Rourke from this squad - but, actually, I'd possibly replace Latham with Hay and probably O'Rourke with Duffy if I'd got to select my own squad.

@Chris-B said in Black Caps vs Sri Lanka:

@Snowy Young over Conway should be a no-brainer. Conway should be competing vs Latham as keeper.

I'm less convinced about Chapman - Phillips needs to find some form with the bat in the next month.

I'd probably go with an XI of Ravindra, Young, Williamson, Mitchell, Latham, Phillips, Bracewell, Santner, Henry, Ferguson, O'Rourke from this squad - but, actually, I'd possibly replace Latham with Hay and probably O'Rourke with Duffy if I'd got to select my own squad.

I'd go Ravindra, Conway, Williamson, Young, Mitchell, Latham, Bracewell, Santner, Henry, Ferguson, O'Rourke.

ODI's are Conway's favourite format, he's averaging 44 and he's performed well for New Zealand on the big stage. He was also brilliant in the IPL which I feel will be similar pitches to what they will be playing on in the Champions Trophy. Phillips misses out for me as I want Young in the side somewhere.

When you look at the ODI averages of our top 5 batsmen the lineup speaks for itself. Phillips misses out because he's not in form and his average is too low.

Ravindra: 41.08
Conway: 44.50
Williamson: 48.64
Young: 46.25
Mitchell: 50.53

Conway hasn't played an ODI since Nov 2023.

So, we (or Stead) are taking it on faith that he his still good at that format. While his test record has plunged, his ODI record has stayed good, but is that just because we haven't played that format while his form gas plunged?

I agree his setup , being legside of the ball is better suited to white ball, so maybe he'll still be able to perform.

But it's a risk, plus he probably misses the warmup tri series. I wouldn't have picked him.

From a Black Caps perspective, Conway's got the downsides of the guys who've opted to take the money for franchise cricket leagues when it suits, and he's got none of the technical upsides of a Kane Williamson.

In Conway's case - I'll still take it in a heart beat if he wins us the final - but at this stage of selections I'd rather we erred on the side of a guy who really wants to be there instead.

@Rapido said in Black Caps vs Sri Lanka:

I agree his setup , being legside of the ball is better suited to white ball, so maybe he'll still be able to perform.

It is not really the bowlers only have to bowl just inside the wide line and his lack of back foot movement leaves him stranded with no balance decent follow through or power in his shots.With lack of balance he is also falling over on his on side shots now.
It could be fixed with some hard work.

@Canes4life I think that to win it all, you've got to have people who can ice the cake once you've had a good start - Williamson, Young and Latham in your middle order seems like one anchor too many and leaves one too few guys who can come in and generate a strike rate in the final 15 overs.

But, more to the point, I'm with the others who think Conway's broken. As well as his plunging test record, his T20 record over the last two years is pretty horrible.

Overall, we're probably a bit lacking in class to win it all - though a burglary could happen. What mitigates against that is Stead's conservatism. Is he going to surprise us with innovations like Deepak opening the bowling? Juggling the batting order to suit the situation? Dropping guys who don't perform?

I very much doubt it, because he's never shown an inclination to do this in the past. He's super-formulaic, so the opposition can pretty much plan minutely for what Dave's going to dish up!

And we'll need to field consistently at a much better level than we've done in the past couple of years - dropped catches will sink us if our other weaknesses don't!