Another Epic Blackcaps Test Win In Aotearoa (First Test vs Sri Lanka Debrief)
Kiwi cricket fans were graced with another fabulous Test match in Aotearoa as the Blackcaps found a victory against Sri Lanka in Christchurch. As many folks whinge about the Blackcaps Test outfit, they have steadily delivered entertaining Tests in front of hearty kiwi crowds and a bunch of clutch finishes. Forget T20 leagues and greedy cricketing nations, Aotearoa is the land of Test cricket.
We have all enjoyed two epic Tests and dramatic finishes in the space of a few weeks. Slide back further to when Mitchell Santner snared late wickets at Bay Oval to help Blackcaps defeat Pakistan back in the summer of 2020/21. After losing the first Test against Bangladesh in the following summer, Blackcaps defeated Bangladesh in another epic finish thanks to Luteru Taylor's ... bowling.
Maybe Aotearoa has the best Test pitches? Whatever the reason is, Test cricket fans are currently receiving at least one theatrical Test finish per summer. That's more than enough to keep us afloat and while it's easy to poke holes in performances, finding gratitude for Test cricket is far more enticing.
Despite being in tough spots throughout the last two Tests, Blackcaps have found ways to win. Teams don't win having to follow on and Blackcaps did that in an obvious example of their grit/mana. Sri Lanka rolled out a nifty bowling attack who made the most of conditions as well as batters who showcased their experience in Aotearoa. They put the kiwis under pressure from the start of this Test and every time Sri Lanka gained a position of strength, Blackcaps clawed their way back into the contest.
These last two Tests show the benefit of an experienced, mature Test team. It's fun to ponder which young cricketers can add to this equation but experience wins these Tests. Blair Tickner is the newest bloke in this team and he's 29-years-old with years of Plunket Shield mahi to his name. Tickner has foundations of confidence from his domestic tenure and has gathered reps as an ODI/T20I squad member. Tickner has also faced 100 balls for 13 runs to help Central earn a Plunket Shield draw against Canterbury last summer.
Having scoured the web for that yarn, another yarn popped up earlier in 2022 about Blackcaps Test selection making a 'mockery of Plunket Shield'. The reality is the opposite as these selections are a credit to Plunket Shield, where blokes need to perform across multiple summers to even have a sniff of the Test mixer. Youngsters might sizzle, but the older lads who have gathered Plunket Shield mana know their games and the leaders trust them to do the job.
Funnily enough, Tickner's 4 wickets in the second innings knocked the top off Sri Lanka's batting line up. Other blokes played bigger roles in this win but Tickner's contribution can't be overlooked. Tickner was smacked around by England (still grabbed 4w) and then went for 5.15rpo in 20 overs without a wicket in the first innings vs Sri Lanka. Some mana is required to bounce back from a niggly patch and like the Blackcaps, Tickner's maturity helped him chime in at a crucial juncture.
Would a young bloke know how to manage pain, or perform under (surely) some kind of pain-healing medicine? Maybe, but they wouldn't come close to doing what Neil Wagner or Matt Henry did.
Blackcaps needed batting mahi from everyone except Tickner in that run-chase. Perhaps Tickner would have been more useful than Henry and Wagner, but the injured troopers confidently rushed out to the middle to serve their nation. Henry had his bottom hand held together by stitches and a bruised forearm, hitting 4 runs off 3 deliveries (133sr!). Wagner ran the last run with a bulging disk and bung hammy. Pure mana.
Um, so Kane Williamson averages 77.28 under Southee's captaincy.
Williamson hit 200* in the first Test against Pakistan and he now has centuries in back to back Tests, both of which came in game-winning situations. Williamson is averaging 48.71 this year and he is chasing his fourth year in a row averaging 60+ in Test batting.
Tom Latham averages 56.22 under skipper Southee. Latham had two years averaging 50+, then dipped below 40avg for two years and is now back over 40avg for his second year in a row. Latham is the leading run-scorer on his home deck at Hagley Oval with an average of 48.55, slightly below Williamson's 49.71avg.
They're both well below Daryl Mitchell's 64.66avg in Canterbury. Mitchell's Test batting average of 59.04 is ranked 8th for all batters and Steve Smith is the only current batter with a higher average. Williamson is ranked 24th (53.8avg) and Conway is ranked 52nd (49.07avg).
Skipper Southee has 59w @ 21.64avg at Hagley Oval. Southee has 19w @ 31.15avg as skipper and this is influenced by tough conditions in Pakistan, plus a rampant England batting unit. Southee snared 7w in this Test and his output for Aotearoa is bonkers; Southee has bowled 493.4ov since the start of 2022 and he's the only Blackcaps bowler with 280+ overs bowled.
Henry has taken 2+ wickets in seven consecutive Tests, five of which feature 5+ wickets. This is also evident in his Test average of 38 dropping down to 28 in Tests since the start of 2022.
Blackcaps lost five of 14 Test series between 2010 and their loss against South Africa in March 2017. Since then they have played 12 Test series with no series defeats. Despite losing first Tests to Bangladesh and England, they tied those series with wins in the second Tests.
At Hagley Oval, Blackcaps have a record of 9-2-1.
Blackcaps are 8th on the World Test Championship ladder. A win in Wellington would give them a record of 4-6-3 and this could see the kiwis jump up to a mid-table slot, possibly 6th. That would have them a spot below England and those yarns about Blackcaps going from the top of WTC to the bottom would need to change.
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Peace and love.