Blackcaps vs India: #TaylorTon and Jamieson
There are two Aotearoa Blackcaps ideas that I know for certain. One has been entrenched in my noggin' of ideas over the course of my teenage years and into adulthood through simple greatness. The other is a far more recent idea, which started as merely an 'alrighty, we'll see how this plays out' seed and has manifested into reality as this summer has progressed. Both ideas were front and centre in day tahi, of the first Test between Aotearoa and India in Wellington.
Ross Taylor is my favourite cricketer ever.
That's for certain and won't ever change because of the timing involved. I've loved watching many international cricketers and off the top of my head I can pull out an image of Ricky Ponting playing a forward-defensive-prod that flies to the cover boundary, mixed in with memories of Ponting (and Andrew Symonds) hitting the stumps with seemingly every throw in the field. Chris Gayle firing for West Indies, Jacques Kallis doing everything a cricketer can do in a game with frustrating ease and so on.
Favourite cricketer discussions are far more interesting that 'best ever' or GOAT discussions as they factor in who you are and the role cricket played at various times of your life. Absorbing Blackcaps teams with the likes of Stephen Fleming, Nathan Astle, Shane Bond and Daniel Vettori was part of my earlier cricketing excursions. Then, as my interest in cricket matured, up popped this Samoan dude, who resembled my polynesian school mates far more than anyone I saw on the cricket field in Auckland (except for the Lakua whanau).
While I didn't know it at the time, Taylor would eventually become my favourite cricketer ever. When all the cricket experts - most, if not all of whom were palagi - were questioning Taylor's slog-sweep, I celebrated as that's the shot I'd bust out when wanting to go large and as a hockey player, there was obviously familiarity. I'd miss some, get caught sometimes and sometimes I'd middle the fuck out of that ball.
Not sustainable for long-term success in international cricket, as Taylor matured he build his batsmanship up to a level where he didn't need to slog-sweep so much. As I matured, I started to marvel the impact Taylor had and could have in kiwi cricket, while also appreciating how Taylor sustained his world-class stature in a Blackcaps group that was often kinda crap.
Ultimately, Taylor's work in the last four years or so has blasted him beyond any cricketer in my mind's rankings. I've actually written so many tribute-y type of things for the Niche Cache that in pondering this #TaylorTon yarn, I didn't know what to do as I'd be regurgitating so many thoughts and stats about Taylor. Something fresh though, is how Taylor has consistently been 1-B or even second behind a more favoured headline act while being the best batsman in various Blackcaps teams and yet it feels as though Taylor has always been ... overlooked, under-appreciated or simply just not quite the 'face' of the Blackcaps.
Taylor debuted in a Test team that featured Fleming, Bond and Vettori. All three are legendary kiwi cricketers. Then Tim Southee, Kane Williamson and Trent Boult appeared on the scene, as well as the arrival of the B-Mac era. These days, it's all about Williamson, Southee and Boult.
Any current Blackcaps team though, involves a lot of Taylor talking to Williamson, Southee and sometimes Tom Latham on the field. Which is a beautiful addition to this more recent incarnation of Taylor as his freaky run-scoring across all formats (case to be made that Taylor's among Aotearoa's best T20 batsman ever), has come with Taylor settling into the wise elder, kaumauta role in the Blackcaps.
Until it's time to type another Ross Taylor tribute type of thing...
The second idea that has quickly, magically become entrenched in certainty has been this summer being one of transition and transformation for the Blackcaps. I went down this route prior to the summer starting and it's been present throughout the Blackcaps work, although I definitely didn't feel as certain as I do now, when I brought it up a few months back.
Again, I won't regurgitate everything about this idea as it has accompanied me through my Blackcaps experience this summer. Early in the summer I was merely intrigued as to how this would all play out, which then became a coping mechanism in digesting what happened in Australia and I'm now pondering where this idea sits in the Blackcaps landscape right now.
At one point, transition and transformation could have been an excuse - lower expectations a wee bit because the Blackcaps are in Australia without Trent Boult etc. So many different players have dabbled in Blackcaps cricket that there has been a constant under-current of excitement, anticipation and intrigue around my viewing of the Blackcaps this summer. Part of that involves some players not taking their opportunities and thus, there is overlap between being realistic with expectations and the super duper crucial aspect of going with the Blackcaps flow.
That flow resulted in Kyle Jamieson making his Test debut yesterday at the Basin Reserve, in Taylor's 100th Test. Anyone who has paid attention to domestic cricket could sense that Jamieson would be a Blackcaps factor at some point, however this summer of transition and transformation has provided so many twists and turns to bring us to this point. Jamieson definitely hasn't come from no where and yet there still so many little incidents that would have made this tricky to predict before the summer started.
Transition and transformation is incredibly exciting, if you can maintain the bigger picture at the forefront of your third eye. There will be short term pain, there will be growing pains and to many folks, change is so niggly that they'll avoid it completely. Being able to ride this wave, enjoy the process and stay positive leads you to small moments of excitement - which swiftly snowballs.
You can gauge what kind of 'moment' this is with regards to Jamieson, I'm not here to tell you how to feel about Jamieson. What we have seen though, is a fresh prospect who took impressive wickets in the ODI series and replicated this for his Test debut. Jamieson's actually on an impressive wicket-taking streak: 2, 4 (50-over vs India A), 2, 2 (Ford Trophy), 2, 1 (ODI), 2 (FT) and now the Test wickets. That's eight innings (Test included) in a row with a wicket and in seven of those innings, Jamieson's taken 2+ wickets.
As we roll through the start of Jamieson's international career, I will continue to double-down on Jamieson's skill being his strongest attribute. Obviously Jamieson is tall and this allows him to access lengths that others simply can't, which then compliments the skill of Jamieson when he pitches the ball up. Wrist and seam position are crucial at the international level and while Jamieson has shown this at the domestic level, we have now seen Jamieson move the ball in the air and off the pitch consistently in his brief international stint.
When a bloke is as tall as Jamieson, his height is the easiest aspect of his bowling to discuss. Always pay attention to the movement in the air and off the pitch with Jamieson though as this is what will carry Jamieson forward once batsman come to terms with the lengths he operates with.
The summer of transition and transformation has provided this as we all get to enjoy a young bowler showcase their craft. Day one of this Test provided a beautiful balance, with the core of the Test team back together and perhaps represented by #TaylorTon, as well as a fresh youngin' who can thrive in such an environment.
Hit an ad to support the Niche Cache, or jump on Patreon help us hit our goal of 50 Patrons. Chur.
Peace and love 27.