New Zealand legend lauds Black Caps’ test pace quartet
Sir Richard Hadlee can see parallels between the Black Caps’ in-form test pace attack and the great West Indies fast bowling unit of the 1970s and 80s.
Senior new ball duo Trent Boult and Tim Southee have been integral to New Zealand’s dominant test form, with the tireless Neil Wagner and rising star Kyle Jamieson helping form a lethal combination.
New Zealand crushed the West Indies 2-0 to make it 15 tests unbeaten and seven straight series wins at home since March 2017.
The series win saw New Zealand draw level with Australia on 116 points on the International Cricket Council’s ranking system – putting them in uncharted territory.
Cricket legend Hadlee – New Zealand’s greatest cricketer – said it was a special time for the New Zealand test side, which is chasing a spot in the World Test Championship final at Lord’s in June.
Boult, Southee, Wagner, and Jamieson combined for 37 of the 38 wickets against the West Indies with medium-pacer Daryl Mitchell capturing the other.
The Black Caps’ frontline test quartet don’t have the express pace or intimidation factor of the West Indies’ star-studded bowling lineup of the 70s or 80s.
There was a similarity in the fact they were relentless at putting the opposition batsmen under pressure, Hadlee said. Just when batsmen thought they had survived Boult and Southee’s spells, a fresh Wagner and Jamieson then posed problems – providing no let-up.
‘‘It sort of reminds me of the West Indies’ pace attack with the [Michael] Holding, [Joel] Garner, [Colin] Croft, [Andy] Roberts, [Malcolm] Marshall combination,’’ Hadlee told Stuff.
‘‘If it wasn’t a bowler one day getting a share of the wickets, it was always someone else, but overall they were doing the job and that’s knocking over teams and winning games and winning series.
‘‘There’s no respite.’’
Boult and Southee have combined for 568 test wickets and are New Zealand’s most successful new ball test duo.
Add the lion-hearted Wagner, who has been a reliable performer over his 50-test career, and Jamieson, who has made a dream start to test level, Hadlee said it was demanding for batsmen, especially in New Zealand conditions.
‘‘The four-pronged pace attack is outstanding and they complement each other with different skillsets, so they’re all hunting together as a pack.
‘‘The skillsets are all very different. You’ve got right-arm swing, you’ve got left-arm swing, you’ve got left-arm pace and bounce. You’ve got a guy, who’s about six-foot-fifteen [Jamieson] bouncing the ball and swinging it. It’s a wonderful combination.’’
Southee and Boult will go down as Black Caps’ greats, but they have struggled against the benchmark of Australia in test cricket. Their numbers against Australia are well down on their test average mark.
Southee averages 28.58 in tests, but 41.62 against Australia, while it’s a similar story for Boult. He has a test average of 27.96, but 41.69 from seven tests against Australia.
New Zealand have only won one test against Australia during Boult and Southee’s careers in 2011 in Hobart – which was Boult’s test debut.
The challenge for the Black Caps’ test side in the coming years was to not just be outstanding in New Zealand conditions, but win regularly overseas and topple Australia in tests, said Hadlee who won six tests against Australia during his career, drawing eight, and losing nine.
‘‘This team is yet to do that. If they can, it puts it all together as a team of fine ability.’’
Hadlee was highly impressed by Jamieson’s start to test cricket, bursting onto the international scene with four wickets on debut against India at the Basin Reserve in February.
While it had been a brilliant beginning for Jamieson, Hadlee warned he would have to deal with increased scrutiny and scouting from opposition sides as time went on.
The Black Caps would also need to be careful with how he was managed across the three formats.
‘‘He’s had a lot of good coaches working with him, but now he’s got the fitness and technique and the skillset and nobody has seen him before.
‘‘He’s bowling the inswinger, he’s bowling the outswinger. He’s getting the ball to bounce and if the pitches aren’t even in bounce that’s when they’re going to get caught on the crease.’’