ICC Champions Trophy 2025

Obviously, a huge win - beat Bangladesh and we're 9/10ths of the way into the semis, with a free swing against India. And already our fifth win on the trot.

Despite the prognostications of doom, we haven't fallen apart as our golden generation have departed.

We won this game with only three of the team that won the WTC - and Little Kane only contributed one run. Rachin, Sears and Ferguson on the injured list - but, we're able to send home for Big Kyle!

This sort of result would have been unimaginable in the low points of the Young Guns (early-mid-90s), late-90s, Dan Vettori as captain/coach/bus driver.

To the extent that it all traces back to Hesson replacing Rossco with BMac as captain - that's probably the greatest decision in NZ cricket history. (I think I was critical of it, because I thought BMac was a moron!)

@Chris-B said in ICC Champions Trophy 2025:

This sort of result would have been unimaginable in the low points of the Young Guns (early-mid-90s), late-90s, Dan Vettori as captain/coach/bus driver.

Lol I remember listening onthe radio to the Aussie commentators as Vettori came onto the field to bat and they were talking about his run scoring record and ability to hold the tail together as our top order (yet again) failed.

One of them said "He should come out to bat on a white horse". That lines stuck in my mind forever

Ah yes the batting of Vettori - he laid down a challenge to any bowler - no matter what delivery you come up with, fast or slow, full or short, I will find a way to wangle it down to third man.

@KiwiMurph said in ICC Champions Trophy 2025:

Pleased to be proven wrong by Latham. Given the lack of games in champions trophy format each individual game becomes so important so that's a huge century by him.

Don't think anyone really proven wrong, he had an extreme run of poor form across formats, but could not have found this form at a better time, certainly happy for him and NZ

@Chris-B said in ICC Champions Trophy 2025:

To the extent that it all traces back to Hesson replacing Rossco with BMac as captain - that's probably the greatest decision in NZ cricket history. (I think I was critical of it, because I thought BMac was a moron!)

I agree - one of the great appointments. The 'how' was utter shit though and could have been handled a lot better.

@Chris-B said in ICC Champions Trophy 2025:

I think I was critical of it, because I thought BMac was a moron!

this. i was furious for this exact reason.

fuck i love when i am that wrong.

@nzzp said in ICC Champions Trophy 2025:

@Chris-B said in ICC Champions Trophy 2025:

To the extent that it all traces back to Hesson replacing Rossco with BMac as captain - that's probably the greatest decision in NZ cricket history. (I think I was critical of it, because I thought BMac was a moron!)

I agree - one of the great appointments. The 'how' was utter shit though and could have been handled a lot better.

Even the tastiest omelettes are made by breaking a few eggs. Lucky for us Rosco took the high road and stayed on

@canefan Ross is still one of my favourite Black Caps - just seems a thoroughly decent human being

@nzzp said in ICC Champions Trophy 2025:

@canefan Ross is still one of my favourite Black Caps - just seems a thoroughly decent human being

Had a great last phase of his career, capped off with the WTC win

@canefan said in ICC Champions Trophy 2025:

@nzzp said in ICC Champions Trophy 2025:

@canefan Ross is still one of my favourite Black Caps - just seems a thoroughly decent human being

Had a great last phase of his career, capped off with the WTC win

Third greatest black caps batsman ever. I did get pissed off on occasion with those slogs to cow corner but he was class. Held together a weak batting line up early in his career then quite deservedly got much more support from a succession of good players. Almost picked the perfect time to retire.

Would have made any international side in his era.

That's a super win that.

Excellent seeing Latham come right. Young continues to impress in this form of the game especially.

Does Ravindra come in for Conway when he is back ? some big decisions coming up.

Decent team effort with the ball and in the field too.

@mariner4life said in ICC Champions Trophy 2025:

@Chris-B said in ICC Champions Trophy 2025:

I think I was critical of it, because I thought BMac was a moron!

this. i was furious for this exact reason.

fuck i love when i am that wrong.

Rosco (alongside Boult) are my two all time favourite players. That shit happened right after an awesome away series win in Sri Lanka where Rosco had carried the team, and BMacs first stint as captain was us getting thoroughly embarrassed in South Africa. Fuming is an understatement for me at the time, but the BMac - Hesson combo just worked perfectly in the end. Hess balanced BMacs over the top aggression and risk taking, and they instilled a real professional team first attitude that still continues today.

@No-Quarter said in ICC Champions Trophy 2025:

@mariner4life said in ICC Champions Trophy 2025:

@Chris-B said in ICC Champions Trophy 2025:

I think I was critical of it, because I thought BMac was a moron!

this. i was furious for this exact reason.

fuck i love when i am that wrong.

> Rosco (alongside Boult) are my two all time favourite players. That shit happened right after an awesome away series win in Sri Lanka where Rosco had carried the team, and BMacs first stint as captain was us getting thoroughly embarrassed in South Africa. Fuming is an understatement for me at the time, but the BMac - Hesson combo just worked perfectly in the end. Hess balanced BMacs over the top aggression and risk taking, and they instilled a real professional team first attitude that still continues today.

No mention of Wags ?

Ban this guy.

Bangladesh are 35/5.

Not yet exiting the tournament, but India definitely showing them where the door is!

Should be 35/6 and Axar should have a hattrick - but, Rohit dropped it in the slips.

@Chris-B pretty bloody good recovery! Could be very interesting if it's a tough pitch.

@Bones said in ICC Champions Trophy 2025:

@Chris-B pretty bloody good recovery! Could be very interesting if it's a tough pitch.

It wasn't

@mariner4life said in ICC Champions Trophy 2025:

@Chris-B said in ICC Champions Trophy 2025:

I think I was critical of it, because I thought BMac was a moron!

this. i was furious for this exact reason.

fuck i love when i am that wrong.

Never doubt a product of Dunedin's Albion Cricket Club.

@Chris-B said in ICC Champions Trophy 2025:

Bangladesh are 35/5.

Not yet exiting the tournament, but India definitely showing them where the door is!

Should be 35/6 and Axar should have a hattrick - but, Rohit dropped it in the slips.

India were 35/5 in reply, so a far from convincing performance, but Gill saved their bacon in the end

@No-Quarter said in ICC Champions Trophy 2025:

@Chris-B said in ICC Champions Trophy 2025:

Bangladesh are 35/5.

Not yet exiting the tournament, but India definitely showing them where the door is!

Should be 35/6 and Axar should have a hattrick - but, Rohit dropped it in the slips.

India were 35/5 in reply, so a far from convincing performance, but Gill saved their bacon in the end

Huh

@Bones Lol, I posted that after looking at the app this morning. But yes I see India got home OK, having some weird display issues with my phone where I scroll down and it doesn't update everything on the screen, happens with the Fern too. Should really pay more attention.

@Bones said in ICC Champions Trophy 2025:

@Chris-B pretty bloody good recovery! Could be very interesting if it's a tough pitch.

Yeah - they did well to post something to give themselves a chance.

Should have been buried when Jaker nicked his first ball to Rohit - straightforward slips catch and Axar's hattrick ball gets dropped.

Probably would have helped us if the Bangles had been buried under a massive negative runrate.

Pakistan have now lost Fakhar who is probably their most dangerous batsman, so their work will be cut out to beat India in their next game. Hopefully we'll have a chance to finish the group the following day.

Dropping a hat trick ball isn't good. Crikey

SA looked to be heading for 400 I thought at one stage, seems a pretty good recovery from AFG?

Alright we have the Bangles tonight to book a place in the semi final (as well as India if we win). I am a bit annoyed every game is a day nighter because 10pm NZT start time is pretty brutal, but I'll aim to watch the first innings. I don't want to say too much in case I jinx us but the Bangles haven't been great of late so hopefully we put them to the sword as quickly as possible.

That's a silly review for LBW from Henry, Santner, and Latham. Bowling over the wicket to a left hander, that line was always pitching outside leg.

Bracewell first NZ spinner to take a 4for since the year 2000 in the champions trophy.

Paul Wiseman the last one

Jamieson looks a little wayward, but nice to see him back

We've actually got Bangladesh 6 down more cheaply than India managed!

Wrap them up boys!

@bayimports said in ICC Champions Trophy 2025:

Bracewell first NZ spinner to take a 4for since the year 2000 in the champions trophy.

Paul Wiseman the last one

That's a niche stat! To be fair, Champions Trophies have become much more infrequent.

Good solid win that and into the semis - not much on the game against India given it is hard to know who to avoid in the semi and how to avoid them

@KiwiPie said in ICC Champions Trophy 2025:

@bayimports said in ICC Champions Trophy 2025:

Bracewell first NZ spinner to take a 4for since the year 2000 in the champions trophy.

Paul Wiseman the last one

That's a niche stat! To be fair, Champions Trophies have become much more infrequent.

Good solid win that and into the semis - not much on the game against India given it is hard to know who to avoid in the semi and how to avoid them

Just play to win and take some positive momentum into the knockouts

Satisfying win in a bit of a banana skin chase. Nice to see us close it out without too much drama. Would have been nice ta have had at least one of Ravindra or Latham at the end though.

Ravindra obviously the key batter, but Latham's innings more valuable than it looks on a scorecard. A slow fifty was exactly what we needed when we were three down with Ravindra in full flow at the other end.

@Cyclops said in ICC Champions Trophy 2025:

Satisfying win in a bit of a banana skin chase. Nice to see us close it out without too much drama. Would have been nice ta have had at least one of Ravindra or Latham at the end though.

Ravindra obviously the key batter, but Latham's innings more valuable than it looks on a scorecard. A slow fifty was exactly what we needed when we were three down with Ravindra in full flow at the other end.

It's almost a certainty now that Conway will be dropped for the remainder of the tournament when Mitchell comes back in. Ravindra and Young to open being the form batsmen. Hopefully Gary doesn't play favourites and actually picks on form.

Three tons from three different players in the first two matches. Couldn't ask for anything better than that in the leadup to the semi.

@No-Quarter said in ICC Champions Trophy 2025:

Three tons from three different players in the first two matches. Couldn't ask for anything better than that in the leadup to the semi.

This is key to our success so far (along with the spin kings of satner, bracewell and Phillips)

Imagine having three tons and none of them from the name Kane

@Canes4life said in ICC Champions Trophy 2025:

@Cyclops said in ICC Champions Trophy 2025:

Satisfying win in a bit of a banana skin chase. Nice to see us close it out without too much drama. Would have been nice ta have had at least one of Ravindra or Latham at the end though.

Ravindra obviously the key batter, but Latham's innings more valuable than it looks on a scorecard. A slow fifty was exactly what we needed when we were three down with Ravindra in full flow at the other end.

It's almost a certainty now that Conway will be dropped for the remainder of the tournament when Mitchell comes back in. Ravindra and Young to open being the form batsmen. Hopefully Gary doesn't play favourites and actually picks on form.

It's a nice problem to have for once - who has to be left out, rather than who we have to put in to play.

But, on form, I think Conway should play ahead of Will Young.

On this tour, Devon has scores of 97, 48, 66, 10, 30 = 251/5 = 50.2 average

Will has scores of 4, 19, 5, 14, 107, 0 = 149/6 = 24.83 average. One century, but not much else.

I think Kane is averaging 57.75
Mitch Jr 48.5
Tom Latham 48.8
Rachin 68.5

Given Devon has historically been preferred to Will, I don't see Ultra-Steady changing that give recent individual results.

@Chris-B said in ICC Champions Trophy 2025:

@Canes4life said in ICC Champions Trophy 2025:

@Cyclops said in ICC Champions Trophy 2025:

Satisfying win in a bit of a banana skin chase. Nice to see us close it out without too much drama. Would have been nice ta have had at least one of Ravindra or Latham at the end though.

Ravindra obviously the key batter, but Latham's innings more valuable than it looks on a scorecard. A slow fifty was exactly what we needed when we were three down with Ravindra in full flow at the other end.

It's almost a certainty now that Conway will be dropped for the remainder of the tournament when Mitchell comes back in. Ravindra and Young to open being the form batsmen. Hopefully Gary doesn't play favourites and actually picks on form.

It's a nice problem to have for once - who has to be left out, rather than who we have to put in to play.

But, on form, I think Conway should play ahead of Will Young.

On this tour, Devon has scores of 97, 48, 66, 10, 30 = 251/5 = 50.2 average

Will has scores of 4, 19, 5, 14, 107, 0 = 149/6 = 24.83 average. One century, but not much else.

I think Kane is averaging 57.75
Mitch Jr 48.5
Tom Latham 48.8
Rachin 68.5

Given Devon has historically been preferred to Will, I don't see Ultra-Steady changing that give recent individual results.

Thanks for the rundown of those numbers, I think you're right in this case, Conway will probably get the nod. Conway and Ravindra have probably batted together more than anyone else so there is that factor as well.

@Canes4life One surprising thing I found when I re-checked something is that Young has played more ODIs than Conway.

I would have lost a lot of money on that bet.

Thought some of our bowling was a bit wild - especially O'Rourke. Lots of wides. That's my main concern against the best batting line-ups.

@Chris-B said in ICC Champions Trophy 2025:

@Canes4life said in ICC Champions Trophy 2025:

@Cyclops said in ICC Champions Trophy 2025:

Satisfying win in a bit of a banana skin chase. Nice to see us close it out without too much drama. Would have been nice ta have had at least one of Ravindra or Latham at the end though.

Ravindra obviously the key batter, but Latham's innings more valuable than it looks on a scorecard. A slow fifty was exactly what we needed when we were three down with Ravindra in full flow at the other end.

It's almost a certainty now that Conway will be dropped for the remainder of the tournament when Mitchell comes back in. Ravindra and Young to open being the form batsmen. Hopefully Gary doesn't play favourites and actually picks on form.

It's a nice problem to have for once - who has to be left out, rather than who we have to put in to play.

But, on form, I think Conway should play ahead of Will Young.

On this tour, Devon has scores of 97, 48, 66, 10, 30 = 251/5 = 50.2 average

Will has scores of 4, 19, 5, 14, 107, 0 = 149/6 = 24.83 average. One century, but not much else.

I think Kane is averaging 57.75
Mitch Jr 48.5
Tom Latham 48.8
Rachin 68.5

Given Devon has historically been preferred to Will, I don't see Ultra-Steady changing that give recent individual results.

Young or Conway could come down the opposition, both still have weakness against a decent opening pace attack,I think it is a toss of a coin who you play 2 lefties opening or a Rh/LH combo.

Do we think opening is Ravindra's best spot? I do quite like the Kane-Ravindra 3-4 axis.

@No-Quarter Maybe not - but, I think that's where the change would come. Hard to see them leaving out Mitchell, who averages nearly 50 in ODIs.

22 runs from wides and 15 extra balls. That needs to be tidied up.

Anyone watching late in the Bangles innings? In O'Rourke's last over, Taskin was backing away and swiping wildly - and O'Rourke was digging it in and bowling into his body - which was economical because Taskin didn't have an answer - but I reckon it was crying out for a yorker and was a bit surprised Will didn't give him one.