A long time between drinks
Hopefully New Zealand cricket purists have made the most of their beloved test game of late, because they and the Black Caps face a dearth of red-ball action over the next couple of years.
After a busy period for the fiveday game over this summer, there won’t be nearly as much for the traditionalists to get excited about in the near future.
It also means the likes of test specialists Jeet Raval, BJ Watling and Neil Wagner are set for plenty of time with their feet up. And while that may have its positives, it’s probably most disappointing for someone like Raval, who’s just at the start of his career and was getting into his work nicely against South Africa.
New Zealand’s next assignment is May’s one-day tri-series against Ireland and Bangladesh in Dublin, which precedes the Champions Trophy tournament in England and following that there is no international cricket for them of any sort until the first of two inbound tours next summer.
That starts with the West Indies visiting pre-Christmas, playing three tests - in Christchurch, Wellington and Hamilton - before two tests against England - in Auckland and Christchurch.
Next summer will Chappell-Hadlee ODIs.
Following the departure of England and the Barmy Army, New Zealand is set for another long stretch (seven months) through 2018 without any cricket. While there’s the potential for a limitedovers series to be added in somewhere, the Black Caps’ next test assignment will be the threematch series on their trip to face Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates in October/November.
The 2018/19 summer is set to see home tests against Sri Lanka (two) and Bangladesh (three), with