Sports 🏏 Black Caps

[Noitall]

So an in-form West Indies at home. Probably our only other real match before another game of cricket vs England in the long-distant future (Dec). To make this lack of prep and game time even worse is we got Afghanistan and the Windies who have already played - and then we get the Minnows. It would have been good if we at least got them first.

Nothing was going in our favour here.

But yes, happy to jump on Afghanistan's bandwagon. I love watching them play cricket.

Hope you only enjoy men’s cricket. Doubt they’ll have a women’s team anytime soon

 

[Uster101]

Hope you only enjoy men’s cricket. Doubt they’ll have a women’s team anytime soon

New Zealand don't have a womans team either..... well we do but they cannot play cricket either

 

[Noitall]

New Zealand don't have a womans team either..... well we do but they cannot play cricket either

Don’t we have at least one of the best going around? Is it Devine? Or Bates?

 

[Uster101]

Don’t we have at least one of the best going around? Is it Devine? Or Bates?

Only when they play for their t20 sides around the world, Put them in the NZ cricket team and they are rubbish

 

[Noitall]

Only when they play for their t20 sides around the world, Put them in the NZ cricket team and they are rubbish

Like the men’s team today

 

[Uster101]

We can still win this. we have Trent Boult - the batting Flamingo - yet to bat

 

[Ever Hopeful]

Hope you only enjoy men’s cricket. Doubt they’ll have a women’s team anytime soon

Whilst they are still playing under the old Afghani flag, I will choose to hope that cricket, and their stars more moderate views will help to do more good than harm for their people.

 

[Noitall]

Whilst they are still playing under the old Afghani flag, I will choose to hope that cricket, and their stars more moderate views will help to do more harm than good for their people.

I’m not sure the taliban will alter their views on the back on that. Good to be positive, but also need to be realistic

 

[Boats n Hoes]

Hope you only enjoy men’s cricket. Doubt they’ll have a women’s team anytime soon

All power to the womens game....but i only enjoy the mens cricket.

 

[Uster101]

Henry and Boult will get us home. Remember the number 10 and 11 for the West Indies in the Champions trophy years ago for that famous WI win

 

[Ever Hopeful]

I’m not sure the taliban will alter their views on the back on that. Good to be positive, but also need to be realistic

Of course they won't, they are a radicalised, deeply conservative group that values power.

For the masses, being able to worship more moderate role models could lead to a paradigm shift over the next couple of generations. A young man can grow up dreaming of being a cricketer rather than the other options. It is also a great outlet of entertainment and pride for people who are doing it tough.

This is not like many of the Russian sports stars who are fiercely nationalist in their social media streams etc.

 

[Uster101]

Well done to the Afghans. Making me look forward to the Warriors now. At least you know the Warriors won't bend over and take it up the A$$ like the black caps

 

[Noitall]

Of course they won't, they are radicalised, deeply conservative group that values power.

For the masses, being able to worship more moderate role models could lead to a paradigm shift over the next couple of generations. A young man can grow up dreaming of being a cricketer rather than the other options. It is also a great outlet of entertainment and pride for people who are doing it tough.

This is not like many of the Russian sports stars who are fiercely nationalist in their social media streams etc.

We’re talking about women not allowed to play sport over there and that’s that way because of religion. You sound like you’re looking at this from an aspect of people having rights? They don’t, they’re told how it is through force. I share your optimism and congratulations to their cricket team, I hope they do well in the tournament but unfortunately they are ruled by a cruel and sick regime. That’s through the eyes of a westerner, to which others may hold another view

 

[Tragic]

Meh. I went to a school where the 1st XV and 1st X1 were revered. The rugby guys were cocks but the cricket guys were on another level of cockness. I worked with some very good provincial players later and that reinforced my opinion.
So when the nz team loses I don't feel that bad cause I figure they are probably all cocks too. Except when we play Australia as they are top echelon cocks.

Obviously Wrighty excluded from this conversation but he is a league guy now anyway.

 

[Ever Hopeful]

We’re talking about women not allowed to play sport over there and that’s that way because of religion. You sound like you’re looking at this from an aspect of people having rights? They don’t, they’re told how it is through force. I share your optimism and congratulations to their cricket team, I hope they do well in the tournament but unfortunately they are ruled by a cruel and sick regime. That’s through the eyes of a westerner, to which others may hold another view

Honestly, I can really be bothered with this, which is not personal. Believe me I am well-attuned to human rights issues around the world, it is a big part of my profession.

Nobody thought a Pakistani women's cricket team was possible but now it is, and it is paving a way forward for women in another deeply religious, conservative and patriarchal country.

I would love to see the ICC pump money and infrastructure around an expat Afghani women's cricket team.

 

[Noitall]

Honestly, I can really be bothered with this, which is not personal. Believe me I am well-attuned to human rights issues around the world, it is a big part of my profession.

Nobody thought a Pakistani women's cricket team was possible but now it is, and it is paving a way forward for women in another deeply religious, conservative and patriarchal country.

I would love to see the ICC pump money and infrastructure around an expat Afghani women's cricket team.

An unfortunate reality. I share your view around the ICC funding

 

[Inruin]

T20 World Cup: Black Caps coach reveals why team didn’t play warm-up matches ahead of tournament​

By Will Toogood
12 Jun, 2024

After the Black Caps’ T20 World Cup opening capitulation against Afghanistan, with New Zealand looking off the pace in an 84-run defeat in Guyana, the team’s lack of warm-up matches ahead of the tournament has been questioned.

Kane Williamson’s side crumbled to their fourth-lowest T20 total, backing up a subpar effort with the ball and with an especially off-colour performance in the field. It seemed indicative of a side lacking international-level preparation.

In all three areas, the Kiwis were outclassed and coach Gary Stead said the logistics of players being overseas in the Indian Premier League (IPL) meant their scheduled warm-up matches couldn’t go ahead.

“Logistics made it very difficult. Our original warm-ups were down when our players weren’t in the country here [the West Indies] so that made it hard.”

He said New Zealand had appealed to tournament organisers to arrange later matches but that appeal was denied and that they knew they were running the risk of heading into the tournament without warm-ups.

“We tried to get later warm-up games but that was denied by the competition officials here, they deemed that it wasn’t possible.

“We have to run that risk, we knew that a couple of months ago. Ideally, yeah, it would have been great but it didn’t fit in to the players getting here in time.”

The tournament started on June 2 and the Black Caps first match was on June 8, meaning there could have been a small window for the New Zealand side to get a hit out while the tournament was underway. Afghanistan played two warm-ups before their opening encounter against Uganda, as well as a series against Ireland in March.

By contrast, the bulk of the Black Caps squad’s most recent T20s before the World Cup was against Australia in February as most missed the series against Pakistan in April, again due to the IPL.

The result saw a number of players take the field against Afghanistan with very little recent cricket play under their belt. Notably, that included Devon Conway, who hadn’t played any cricket since the end of February after suffering a broken thumb against Australia.

Despite an impressive showing at the ODI World Cup last year, batter Rachin Ravindra wasn’t named in the side to open the T20 edition and Stead said that was in part due to him getting matches “more at the start of the IPL”.

“Rachin played a number of games more at the start of the IPL, I think got a number of little cameos without really kicking on as well.”
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/cr...ss-to-afghanistan/B7SDEYFUYBAOJJN3SJJVIHSOMU/
Ravindra played 10 out of 14 round-robin matches in the 2024 IPL season, scoring 222 runs with a high score of 61.

In comparison, Glenn Phillips and Devon Conway did not take the field at all for their respective IPL sides in 2024, Lockie Ferguson played seven matches and Matt Henry four, yet were named in the lineup to face Afghanistan.

Stead said that despite the opening loss to Afghanistan, with the top four batters making just 22 runs between them, he would not be hitting the panic button on his batting lineup.

“I think it would be a mistake that if we, after one game, you throw everything that you’ve had out of the window as well. So I think for us, Rachin is no doubt, he’s a fine player. I think he could fit into a number of different positions in our order but to do that you have to leave people out as well, so it’s working out what you think is that right balance.”

The Black Caps coach said that while he sees Ravindra’s role at the top of the order it may be more likely that he is used in the middle of the innings.

“I think [his best role] it’s probably more at the top of the order and he then provides you with spin options as well, but part of our preparation with Rachin was understanding that that might not be the position that he ultimately he is in.”

Why Black Caps didn't play T20 World Cup warm-up matches

'We have to run that risk, we knew that a couple of months ago.'

www.nzherald.co.nz

 

[Inruin]

Any one reading that article have any faith in what Stead is saying or that he can turn this tournament around for us?

 

[Ever Hopeful]

These Afghanistan and West Indies hit and giggle games are potentially they only international games our main squad of players will play between South Africa's test B Squad they sent in February (due to domestic t20), and a test match series against England in December, which is likely to be weather affected.

I mean c'mon...international cricket is fucked.

With a squad the age of ours, 10 months between drinks is an eternity.

On the positive side, when one of our players gets a serious long-term injury (Williamson, Jamieson etc.) they barely miss any international cricket.

 

[miket12]

Funny how other countries could have warm up games with players involved in tournaments like the IPL but NZ couldn't. Seems to me like that excuse is just clutching at straws.