BLACKCAPS Hosting Sri Lanka - Debriefing And Preaching
Where's the runs? Guppy? Tommy? Where's the runs!?
Two Test series' are so dumb, perhaps the dumbest thing in the world of cricket. With a win in the first Test, the BLACKCAPS are now odds-on to win the series with a win or a draw doing the trick, even a loss in the second Test will only result in drawn series. Luckily we have a skipper in Brendon McCullum who will still chase victory as if he were chasing a ball to the boundary.
Looking back on the first Test has reminded me how perfectly things usually fall for this BLACKCAPS team in Aotearoa. Touring teams tend to struggle with both bat and ball, while our own players find form that was previously absent. Sure there have been Tests and series' in the past four years or so that differ from this theory, but generally home turf treats the BLACKCAPS pretty well.
The first Test saw many of the boxes that we wanted ticked, ticked. Kane Williamson's everlasting form continued, Tom Latham went big, so did Martin Guptill, Brendon McCullum swung his bat a few times and the bowlers simply did the job. Maybe we should reserve judgement on any player and their position in this team until they are given a chance to respond in home conditions?
Well, except for BJ Watling who did enjoy a fine Test with the gloves. Watling took 9 catches in this first Test, the same number of catches that he took in all of the Tests in Australia yet Watling is currently knee-dump in a slump with the bat. After a nice tour to England earlier this year, Watling's top score from his most recent Tests (Australia and this Test) was 32 and as I said during that Australian series the safety net that Watling offered has gone with his form.
This is a mark of how valuable Watling is to the BLACKCAPS and should remind everyone of his position as a top-3 wicket-keeper/batsmen in Test cricket, heck I'd put Watling at the top of the list as the likes of Quinton de Kock and Jos Butler have slid while Peter Nevill is in the conversation but without the history of Watling. Maybe Pakistan's Sarfraz Ahmed might have something to say about all of this.
Point being that Watling has been so reliable as a safety net that when he's not quite doing that particular job, it stands out like a sore thumb. All that remains now for the BLACKCAPS to really make the most of a home series is for Watling to chip in with some runs and we'll have worked all our batsmen into some form. This should also serve as a reminder about the complex idea of 'form' in cricket. Form comes and goes, these batsmen gets runs while that batsmen struggles and there's no need to get dramatic about it, it's just part of cricket.
So the second Test will have me hoping for some runs from little BJ, though they aren't as necessary when he's also doing a fine job behind the stumps and those ahead of him are scoring runs themselves. Besides that I'm going to be very interested to see how Guptill and Latham go in their third and fourth chances against this Sri Lankan attack. There's plenty to like about Sri Lanka's bowlers and they will not only understand the usual importance of an early wicket but they have a genuine ability to take an early wicket (them and other touring teams have sometimes lacked this), so they will be watching plenty of tape on Guptill and Latham, figuring out weaknesses and ways to exploit them.
The challenge for Guptill and Latham is consistency. Not only consistently scoring runs, also ensuring that Kane Williamson consistently comes to the crease after the 15th over at least so he can up the ante in his smooth way without the threat of a new ball.
How Guptill plays will also be interesting; will he break the shackles? Will he show patience and then break the shackles? Will he revert back to his confusing prodding?
There isn't much to report with the bowlers, besides the make up of this bowling attack. I loved the balance that Mitchell Santner's left-arm spin offers, partly thanks to the difference that his bowling provides compared to the stock-standard spin of Mark Craig. There's something about watching Santner get the ball to drift in towards the right-hander's pads then get it tweaking past the outside edge. It gets me going.
Sri Lanka's batsmen should be better in the second Test, which will provide a new challenge for the bowlers as they will be bowling against batsmen who have witnessed the beauty of a leave/defensive shot in Aotearoa. This is especially the case for the younger batsmen who have seen their seniors score runs, while I'll make a point of Angelo Mathews' lean Test; Sri Lanka rarely play well without their skipper leading the way and scores of 2 and 12 will have Mathews eager to make a statement. This is after all a bloke who averages 50.46 in Test cricket.
For all the intricacies like Watling's runs, we're chasing a win first and foremost. It's hard not to be infected by McCullum's enthusiasm and desire to win so I'm all in on winning this series 2-0, thus displaying a touch of ruthlessness on home soil that defines great teams.