Black Caps shifting gears
The Black Caps 1st XI produced a victory in their opening Twenty20 clash against the West Indies in a game which might go down as one of the longest matches in cricket’s shortest format.
A two-hour rain delay but no reduced overs in Kingston meant the game ticked over the 5h mark as the Black Caps won by 13 runs.
Back were the likes of Kane Williamson, Devon Conway, Tim Southee and Trent Boult while it was move aside Michael Bracewell and Mark Chapman who took their chances against Ireland, Scotland and Netherlands in the past month.
With the return of the veterans the Black Caps have truly signalled they are now in World Cup mode ahead of the event in Australia starting October.
Martin Guptill and Devon Conway put on 62 for the first wicket before Guptill was dismissed by a stunning one-handed catch by Shimron Hetmyer at deep point. A ball later, Conway edged to keeper Devon Thomas and Odean Smith was on a hat-trick.
Kane Williamson and Glenn Phillips got New Zealand through to 95-2 before heavy rain forced them off the field.
Shortly after the return, Phillips fell for 17 before Williamson and Daryl Mitchell put on 46 for the fourth wicket.
Mitchell hit one towering six down the ground off Obed Mccoy before nicking out to a faint edge the next ball for 16.
Williamson was then caught in the deep by Hayden Walsh Jr for 47 off 33 balls to give Smith his third wicket. Jimmy Neesham’s 33 off 15 ensured the Black Caps set a strong total of 185 for five.
In their chase, regular wickets halted the West Indians with Shamarh Brooks (42 off 43) the only batsman in the top five hanging around longer than nine deliveries, although skipper Nicholas Pooran did briefly entertain with three boundaries in his eight ball stay.
Mitchell Santner (3-19) led the way for the tourists including the key dismissals of Brooks and Pooran while Boult, Southee, Lockie Ferguson and Ish Sodhi took a wicket each. Late hitting from Romario Shepherd (31 from 16) and Smith (27 off 12) at least made the defeat a more respectable margin.
Boult’s decision to relinquish his New Zealand central contract to create more time to play in T20 leagues is the latest indication of how cricket’s landscape is changing.
New Zealand have largely been able to avoid losing players to the T20 circuit, a reflection of the board’s pragmatism in allowing players to miss low-profile white-ball internationals to play in foreign leagues.
There can also be no questioning Boult’s desire to play test cricket — during the latter stages of this year’s Indian Premier League, he practised bowling longer spells with a red ball to prepare for the tests in England, when he was New Zealand’s bowler of the series. Now he may never don whites again.
Despite England’s greater wealth, they are not immune from these wider forces.
By the latest count, 18 England players have already signed up to the new T20 leagues in South Africa and the United Arab Emirates in January. The rewards that England can afford to offer mean that, for now, it is unlikely that any of their major stars would withdraw from a central contract as Boult has.
But, already, a combination of England’s schedule and the allure of T20 leagues — which fill up time that could have been used to rest — means that three-format England cricketers are going the way of the dodo. Jonny Bairstow is the sole England player who is both fit and commands a place in the first-choice side in all three formats.
At this stage, perhaps T20 leagues present more of a threat to England’s future than their present. In the new year, England plan to undertake Lions tours of Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, giving their second-string a crucial chance to develop in subcontinental conditions, including in “Test” matches.
The question is who the Lions will have to pick from. Nine players who would be strong contenders — Will Jacks, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Dan Lawrence, Jamie Overton, James Vince, Saqib Mahmood and Ben Duckett — have signed up to the leagues in South Africa or UAE.
— NZ Herald, Telegraph Group UK