Blackcaps Tour Of England: Are We Sure England Is A Superior Cricketing Nation?
Test match cricket in England for kiwis usually involves a morning catch up. Maybe a coffee and a munch, maybe a wake and bake to get the juices flowing while checking how the Blackcaps went over there. Writing about a variety of Aotearoa sports matters and staying up all night don't quite match up for me, so like you my mornings involve a fair bit of catch up to piece together Blackcaps action like a lucid dream.
In doing so, much of the discussion seems to revolve around everything but the Test. It's a battle between the Ashes and World Test Championship for greater narratives, maybe ECB dramas sprinkled on top. All of which feels as though it is waltzing around the most notable yarn from this Test series; are we sure England is a superior cricketing nation than Aotearoa?
First and foremost we have to salute England as their women's cricket is far superior. England came to Aotearoa and smoked the White Ferns, while the infrastructure around women's cricket is further along than Aotearoa. This is similar to NZ Warriors/Aotearoa women's rugby league as Australia has far more professional opportunities for women's rugby league right now than Aotearoa.
Another minor angle to ponder is the scattered vibe coming from England cricket. They have just started the T20 Blast that will lead into The Hundred, plus the international schedule is jam-packed with fixtures ... maybe too many fixtures? Lots of cricket is great and I'm sure many kiwis would love more Test cricket, yet come to think of it we're doing pretty swell with concentrated amounts of Test cricket and all the pieces fit together nicely.
Why would England cricket invent a new competition like The Hundred? Money.
Big up England for desperately trying to spark up Test cricket mid-2020. That's all about money as well though and during a pandemic that was going pretty wild in their own country, England hosted six Tests last year. This year they have already toured Sri Lanka and India. India swing back around for five Tests in England before the all important Ashes.
I can't lie as we've highlighted NZC's money making moves a lot over the past five years. There is a difference though as England has gone down the opposite path in jacking up lots of Tests and a whole new gimmick to go with their T20 stuff. That smells a bit like desperation for money. If I was writing this yarn about NZC I would ask this question to you kiwis - what are they telling you is most important?
Where is the focus from England cricket? What are they presenting as the most important or best thing about English cricket? From my tree-hut in Aotearoa, it looks like a bit of a mess.
Actual cricketing shenanigans matter more in this discussion though. Prior to 2015 and going back decades, England ran Aotearoa cricket as if they were still in colonizer mode. Since 2015 this has changed drastically as England has not won a series vs Aotearoa and after both teams won a Test each in 2015 (drawn series), England haven't grabbed a win in two tours of Aotearoa. Aotearoa won both series in Aotearoa (2017/18 and 2019/20) by 1-0 margin.
Even though we are mid-Test during the second Test and I've been working through this idea for a few days, I was always going to write this yarn mid-Test. The Blackcaps rolled through six changes from the first Test, using 17 different players in this whole series and I was still fairly confident that England wouldn't dominate the Blackcaps. Even if this second Test ends in a draw and thus the series finishes 0-0, that's pretty damn impressive for a Blackcaps team using 17 lads in foreign conditions.
There are plenty of individual nuggets to reinforce this vibe of Aotearoa being better at cricket as well. Test debut for Devon Conway and he hits a double-hundy. Second Test and he grabs an 80. Last summer Ajaz Patel bowled 60 overs of First Class spin with 2w @ 90.50avg in Aotearoa and while England did not play a specialist spinner, Patel took his first Test wicket outside of Asia/Middle East. Patel has already taken more wickets in England than Aotearoa despite playing fewer Tests.
Low hanging fruit here are wickets for Tim Southee and Neil Wagner, even the class of Ross Taylor suggested he would find a way to score runs. Given how Kyle Jamieson's started his career we would expect him to grab a few wickets. Given how Matt Henry ticked up 75 wickets @ 15.48 for Kent in 2018, it was highly likely that he would take 6w (maybe more) in a Test for the first time since ... 2015 at Lord's!
In these fringe lads is where the real juice sits. Conway, Patel and Will Young. Young played four games for Durham in County cricket prior to this Test series and he bagged back to back centuries, before a knock of 82 stepping in for Kane Williamson. Conway and Young have scored runs against this infamous Duke ball in English conditions against bowlers who know the Duke well. The Blackcaps bowlers have maintained their wicket-taking standards despite using the Duke ball in English conditions against batsmen who know the Duke well. Take this same vibe to the T20 Blast where even more kiwis outside of the 17 players used in this Test series, are doing what they do best.
Finn Allen is doing exactly what he did for Wellington Firebirds in the Super Smash, for Lancashire in the T20 Blast. Knocks of 29 and 73* have come at a combined strike-rate of 159.37. Glenn Phillips has had knocks of 44 and 42 for Gloucestershire @ 145.76sr. Jimmy Neesham has knocks of 53 and 28 with strike-rate of 192.85. None of which is leading the Blast for run-scoring, yet there doesn't appear to be much of adjustment and they are merely continuing their work in Aotearoa.
Dutch international Logan van Beek is cruising along with 3w @ 20.33avg/9.38rpo in 6.3ov for Derbyshire. Lockie Ferguson didn't grab an IPL game and has eased his way into the Blast with 3w @ 20avg/7.50rpo in 8ov for Yorkshire. Ish Sodhi has been tidy for Worcestershire in snaring 2w @ 6.12rpo in 8ov. Again, these aren't kiwis who are dominating to the fullest. These are kiwis who are doing their jobs efficiently and effectively with relative ease.
Credit to England for winning the 2019 World Cup and there's no need to reach for the 'yeah buts' here as the major tournaments stack up fairly nicely for Aotearoa. 2015 World Cup? England couldn't catch a ride out of the pool stages and Aotearoa went to the final. WTC? England are 4th and Aotearoa is in the final. Chur England for making the final of the 2016 T20 World Cup, I'll reach and find that Wikipedia lists Aotearoa's overall T20 World Cup win percentage at 53.33 and England's is 48.38.
Going back and forth with notes or barbs is easy here. I'm just not sure that England is the superior cricket nation right now and the key thing is that there are various angles to explore. A Blackcaps Test team with 17 lads used is handling England in England pretty nicely. Fringe Blackcaps Test players are finding it rather easy to perform against England in England. England haven't beaten Aotearoa in a while and Aotearoa's T20 lads are having a jolly ol' time in the T20 Blast.
I can hang this hat on the above paragraph. I can't hang my hat on the scattered nature of English cricket as that's more vibe-based. Right now as the Blackcaps have England 122/9 with a semi-second-string bowling unit, it's tricky to see what the priorities and focus are for English cricket. Given the schedule English cricket has locked in for the next six months, I'm chuffed to be a kiwi watching the circus from Aotearoa knowing that on the field this Blackcaps team under Kane Williamson have flipped the script.
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