Black Caps face up to a no-win scenario
‘‘It felt we were under pressure the whole time.
‘‘And then with the nature of test cricket, we were able to wear them down I guess at the back end of that last session - the guys did extremely well not just to build a partnership but the way they went about it and the scoring rate was impressive,’’ he said of the maiden test tons from Colin de Grandhomme and Tom Blundell.
‘‘When you win a test in four days, it might look from the outside like it was easy or a cakewalk.
‘‘But we saw at times when they batted, the way they were able to put partnerships together both with bat and ball, the bat in the second innings with Kraigg [Brathwaite] and the number three and four ... It can turn pretty quickly in test cricket - the way Wags [Neil Wagner] bowled on
We spent the first half of the international rugby season bemoaning the lack of any halfdecent opposition for the All Blacks.
We spent the second spell complaining how Steve Hansen had run out of ideas and ‘‘we’’ were being humbled by northern hemisphere noddies. That says more about Kiwis as sports ‘‘fans’’ than it does about the variance of competition in sport and the flattened playing field of international rugby.
But be prepared for the same reaction to the Black Caps following the second cricket test starting against the West Indies in Hamilton on Saturday.
Kiwi sports fans chiefly see things in all black and white shades of grey are merely things from a badly-written fantasy novel.
As always, the answer slips somewhere in between the two stools. New Zealand have developed into a formidable test side on home soil. Since the start of 2011, the Black Caps have played 28
that first day, and when we took wickets in clumps on the last day.’’
The Windies will have to mount a second test fightback without skipper Jason Holder, who has been suspended and fined after his side’s slow bowling over rates in Wellington.
Legspinner Devendra Bishoo may come into the XI to replace the skipper - which would seem a smart move, given New Zealand batsmen’s struggles to play quality spin.
Nicholls, who made 67 batting at No 5 at the Basin and put on 127 for the fourth wicket with Ross Taylor in New Zealand’s sole turn at bat, expects better from the Windies in Hamilton.
‘‘We saw on the England tour after they lost that first test how they can bounce back so we’ll be fully prepared for that. home tests and won 13, drawn 10 and lost just five.
The loss column gives the best indication where NZ stands in the test arena - the defeats have been against Australia twice, South Africa twice, and against Pakistan at Seddon Park at the start of that period.
Against the top echelon of test nations, the Black Caps fall short of the levels set by the standardbearers.
But the Windies, Sri Lanka, Pakistan (when not at their mercurial best), Bangladesh and Zimbabwe have all been soundly taken to task.
The Windies showed a fatal fragility in Wellington that may require more that just a couple of training sessions to piece together and find a spine sturdy enough to save the series.
It seems whatever happens in the second test, the reaction will be predictable - a healthy home win is expected and won’t be greeted with any great joy by most followers, anything else and profound doubts will be expressed over talent, depth and heart.
‘‘We’ve set a good standard in the way we went about our business at the Basin. Getting a test win is great, but the processes and the work we put in over the four days to get that result is something we’ll need to start from day one, first session on Saturday.
‘‘It was nice to build a bit of a partnership with Ross, and being a batter you want to do if for longer and more, but to lay the platform and then have the guys down the order play so well was pleasing. I want to contribute every time.’’
Nicholls said the Seddon Park wicket has previously been known for having a bit of grass on it and moving around early.
‘‘But last year, there was a little bit but not as much as we though for the seamers. We’ll have a look at training two days out and have an assessment.’’