Caught out
Pakistan players given ‘final warning’ after NZ Covid-19 breach, as six test positive
For a certain breed of person, summer starts not on December 1, nor on the solstice (December 21), nor when the first smells of burned precooked sausages start wafting across the neighbourhood.
No, summer starts when the first ball of the international season starts.
To celebrate the resumption of international cricket, the Herald has reached out to its constituents — well, two or three of them — to find out what they want to know ahead of this summer that sees test series against the West Indies and Pakistan, as well as white-ball series against Bangladesh and Australia.
How excited should we be about Kyle Jamieson’s potential, and what does it mean for Lockie Ferguson’s opportunities?
To the first point — very. Jamieson has been borderline unplayable for large portions of the Plunket Shield. Twenty wickets at 10.85 is just silly stuff and there would have been more if Auckland hadn’t suffered a washout against Central Districts in Nelson.
Jamieson is hitting the crease harder and faster and it looks like that has upped his pace a couple of clicks, though that won’t be confirmed until we see what numbers pop up on the speed gun. He’s tall, awkward and has added a big in-ducker to his repertoire (see hat-trick ball against Brad Schmulian for Exhibit A). I don’t think any team are going to look forward to facing him this summer.
What that means for Ferguson is, simply, he’s at least one further back in the red-ball queue than he was at this time last summer. While that’s a shame for those of us who love watching pace like fire, it is also a chance to appreciate the depth in the pace-bowling stocks. We haven’t even mentioned the likes of Black Caps Matt Henry (injured), Doug Bracewell or Adam Milne (Big Bash’ing), while there’s a whole bunch of guys — Will Williams, Fraser Sheat and Jacob Duffy to name three — taking poles for fun in first-class cricket.
That was a long answer. Let’s try to aim for brevity from now.
What’s the status of the Stead/ Williamson relationship, and what issues could they possibly ‘clash’ on this summer?
The pat answer is I wouldn’t have a clue because I’m not in the room but I’d be surprised if there are any lingering issues. Blind Freddie could see that the third test in Sydney last summer was a low point and potentially a flashpoint where two differing selection philosophies collided.
However, Kane Williamson isn’t really the “clashing” type and Gary Stead is smart enough to know what fights are worth fighting. I cannot imagine New Zealand Cricket would have offered him a contract extension this winter if Williamson, their crown jewel, had said he didn’t enjoy working with him.
As long as Stead concentrates on keeping team meetings short, sticking the cones out and putting a stopwatch on the net sessions, leaving Williamson and his trusted lieutenants to figure out most of the on-field cricket stuff, I can’t see many issues.
Is Devon Conway the real (test) deal? Does Will Young feature in the Black Caps’ planning?
Most of what I’ve seen from Conway is on single-camera highlight clips but yes, he looks the real deal. He scores freely on front and back foot and has an insatiable appetite for runs.
That description could fit the classical Young, too. My personal feeling is Young, at 28, is the unluckiest player in New Zealand cricket history. The following bald statement is not a knock on those named but instead an indication of how highly I rate Young: there is no “fair” world in which Glenn Phillips, Tom Blundell and Jeet Raval get to play test cricket as specialist batsmen ahead of Young.
But here we are and although Young is in the test squad ahead of Conway at this stage he could slip one more down the pecking order when Conway’s talents become obvious.
In a late twist, however, the injury to Colin de Grandhomme opens up the (slim) possibility of Young playing against the West Indies as an extra batsman, knowing there’s a fourstrong seam attack and not much need for replacement Daryl Mitchell’s bowling.
If a fifth bowler is required, Williamson could always toss down a bit of off-spinning nonsense.
Do they stick with Tom Blundell at the top? How many failures away from getting dropped is Henry Nicholls?
The selectors have tried to have their cake and eat it too with Blundell at the top of the order. He’s a good player but he’s not as good as Conway or Young.
Perhaps, however, they don’t want to introduce either of them as an opener and, knowing that Blundell will eventually take the gloves from Watling, they’ll use him as a bluntforce option at the top of the order while a true opening partner to Tom Latham (also a wicketkeeper) emerges from the first-class scene.
It kind of makes sense and Blundell made the selectors briefly look like geniuses in Melbourne where he scored a cracking ton at the top of the order, but it is the soft option.
As for Nicholls, I spent some time early in his career believing he was lucky to get an extended run in the team, but then he started making a lot of tough runs against quality attacks. His most recent test returns have been barren but there’s still a few more lights left on his runway before he needs to panic bat.
Certainly, though, having quality players in reserve adds a wee bit of urgency to his situation.
Is an all-seam attack in this series the best long-term option and, if it’s not, who gets the spin gig?
Hate to sound dismissive, but it’s not a question of long-term options, it’s playing the conditions in front of you. I’d be surprised if they pick Mitchell Santner or the injured Ajaz Patel for
the two tests against the Windies because he’d just be playing a holding role and others can do that.
Patel is the first-choice and has earned it through years of superb domestic service, but ultimately I believe the days of specialist spinners in home conditions are numbered, unless they’re Shane Warne or Nathan Lyon good.
What can we expect from Spark Sport’s coverage?
I know what we can expect from “fans” and those waiting anxiously for the stream to fail: Lots of mindnumbing bitching and general complaints. Remember the first week of the Rugby World Cup? It probably won’t reach that feral level but there will be blood.
I’m looking forward to a change. I mostly enjoyed Sky’s coverage and they had some outstanding talent in front of and behind the camera, but it was starting to feel tired — particularly some of the commentary and dull-as-dishwater features like the Dilmah Tea Party.
I’m really looking forward to seeing how Spark cut up the highlights packages and the narratives they push within them. The outstanding part of their Premier League package is the range of highlights options.
I’m not expecting anything quite as comprehensive as that, but hope springs eternal.