Gone by crunch time
The Black Caps measured themselves against the best in the world - and came up short. It’s not the shameful showing some aggrieved fans and followers will insist it is, but it’s an accurate reflection of where the current test squad sits after a 2-0 series loss to Australia on home soil.
The obvious frustration is that the second test in Christchurch was there for the taking for New Zealand. Amid some bold and brilliant fighting, the hosts at Hagley lacked the nous and the firepower to maintain a proud record of not losing a home test series since March 2017.
You could capably argue that an Australian side stunned at home in the second and final test of their series against the no-name West Indies earlier this summer indicated they’re not top dogs - especially after an Indian squad with plenty of firepower unavailable still managed a 4-1 home series triumph over England.
But Australia are the defending World Test Champions, and showed why when they fought off the emotionally charged hosts on day four.
By all measures, the current New Zealand test team isn’t as potent as the squad which won the inaugural WTC title in 2021.
Yet it’s not time for a complete overhaul, as changes in personnel have gradually been implemented in recent years to the extent that the XI that battled in Christchurch featured only three of the players who defeated India in that Southampton showdown.
The mark of the WTC-winning outfit was an ability to come up trumps in crucial moments, something that Gary Stead and Tim Southee’s troops were unable to do when it mattered most at Hagley with an XI hurt by the injury absences of Devon Conway, Kyle Jamieson and Will O’Rourke.
Jamieson’s impact is often puzzlingly under-rated, chiefly because he doesn’t usually take the new ball. Yet the 29-yearold heads New Zealand’s all-time bowling averages, with his 80 wickets in 19 tests coming at 19.73 per victim
Those batters eased into the lineup Glenn Phillips and Rachin Ravindra - are poised to fill middle-order roles for years to come, while offering bowling skills as a major bonus.
The long-loved triumvirate of swing and seam bowling trio of Southee, Trent Boult and Neil Wagner will never be seen together again in test cricket.
Boult’s fast-food diet of T20 competitions worldwide make him, at 34, unlikely to be asked to pull on the whites again.
While Wagner was no longer the bullocking force of yore, the decision to hasten him hanging up the boots was fraught with danger, and the move to use Scott Kuggeleijn instead fell flat.
Stead is contracted through till June 2025 and it would be a major surprise if new NZ Cricket boss Scott Weenink even considered ending that deal, despite some obvious bumpy moments for the head coach this summer.
The microscope will mostly now go on the skipper, who was unable to pull the right strings yesterday and suffered his worst summer in the whites since his debut in 2008. The test centurion took just six wickets in four matches at home.
In contrast, Matt Henry took 23 scalps and is clearly the side’s leading newball exponent, while Southee now has O’Rourke and Ben Sears breathing down his neck.
With Jamieson set to be sidelined for at least a year, the 35-year-old may get the chance to add to his 380 test wickets against Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and India later this year, but it’s no longer a foregone conclusion.
At a glance
Second test, Hagley Oval: New Zealand 162 and 372 lostto Australia 256 and 2817 (Alex Carey 98 not out, Mitchell Marsh 80;
Ben Sears 4-90) by three wickets.