Blackcaps: Review of the summer; preview of T20 World Cup

Review of the summer

It’s been a turbulent summer of cricket for the Blackcaps. A fairly promising series in Australia was followed by a strong period over the Christmas break against first Sri Lanka and then Pakistan. The Chappell/Hadlee trophy was successfully defended, before Brendon McCullum bid his farewell from international cricket in sensational fashion during what would be considered a learning experience for other members of the side as Australia dominated much of the test series. Injuries certainly played a key role along the way – the initial loss of both Corey Anderson and Jimmy Neesham threw young Mitchell Santner into the lion’s den in Perth, before Henry Nicholls struggled against quality pace bowling in the return series when he replaced Ross Taylor. Although not the ideal situation for either player, the experience gained from those opportunities should set them in good stead for the future.

To summarise, here’s a few positive and negatives from this summer’s cricket:

Positives:

•           Played well in Australia after slow start in Brisbane
•           Continued to dominate the one-day arena
•           The successful blooding of young players
•         Kane Williamson. That is all.

Negatives:

•           Boult/Southee duo never really got going
•          Inconsistent top order in test matches
•           Mark Craig – needs to go. Bring back Ish Sodhi.
•           Having to listen to Channel 9’s commentary for three weeks
•           No one gave David Warner any chin music

Preview of T20 World Cup

It can be difficult to keep track of all the sporting events around the globe, especially at this time of year, but hasn’t the T20 World Cup just snuck up on us? Yet here we are, ready to roll once more. This year’s edition is being held in cricket-mad India, home of the IPL and the bookies favourite to bring the trophy home. It’s hard to judge how much this tournament really means to some nations, New Zealand included. On paper the Blackcaps squad looks solid with a mix of experience and youth, plus a couple of ‘X-Factor’ players such as Corey Anderson, Colin Munro, and Adam Milne. Yet how will they fare on the brown dustbowls in India? Spin is always going to be key in the subcontinent and the trio of Nathan McCullum, Ish Sodhi and Mitchell Santner aren’t going to striking fear into the hearts of the opposition. The draw hasn’t been particularly kind either. Placed in a group containing India, Australia and Pakistan, there’s a strong possibility of an early exit for the Blackcaps, not that it really matters anyway.

Handing over the keys to the castle

Obviously the one significant moment of this tournament will be watching Kane Williamson embrace his new role as captain. Although he has captained the side fairly regularly over the last couple of years, this will be his first major tournament in the position, and it will be interesting to see how the transition goes following Brendon McCullum’s retirement. The two could not be more different – McCullum a tornado of energy flying at breakneck speed, while Williamson is the sort of guy that you wouldn’t be surprised to see playing bowls with your grandparents. Interestingly, Williamson is the one with the better captaincy record in T20 internationals, with a winning percentage of 58% to McCullum’s 48%. So should we really be worried now that arguably our most innovative captain has moved on? Probably not. The core group of players is still there and will be until at least the next World Cup. This team has been established by McCullum and surely will continue to blossom under the leadership of possibly our greatest ever batsman.

Who will replace McCullum?

So with McCullum gone, who will step up and take his spot in the Blackcaps side? It looks like Williamson will continue to open with Martin Guptill in the T20 World Cup, as he did in the series against Pakistan earlier this year, with Colin Munro coming in at first drop. In test matches Henry Nicholls will probably slide to number five in order to accommodate Ross Taylor, although other alternatives could be found. The opening spot vacated by McCullum in the one day side is very much up for grabs. Does coach Mike Hesson look to Tom Latham or does he bring in a George Worker, Brad Cachopa or Dean Brownlie? Is Jesse Ryder back in the fray? It’s hard to tell but there is plenty of time for that spot to be filled and secured, as this team works towards the next World Cup in three years time.