New Zealand vs Sri Lanka Second Test Debrief
New Zealand's loss to Sri Lanka in the second Test of their World Test Championship excursion brings together many concerning threads for New Zealand Cricket. Specifically in the Blackcaps Test bubble, they have now lost four Tests in a row which form four of their five WTC losses and takes them to the brink of an overhaul.
The Niche Cache takes you deep into the mangroves but there is no need to take the kayak around those corners and blow out a jandal with where the Blackcaps are at right now. The deepest cut is how the Blackcaps loss in the Galle re-up fits into a bigger theme and not just the four Test losses in a row theme, but also a horrible T20 World Cup campaign. White Ferns have lost 10 T20Is in a row and they are generally worse than Blackcaps in all formats, while a dose of reality has been delivered to Aotearoa pipelines with the NZ Development Women losing all four of their T20s vs Australia and Sri Lanka Under 19s.
NZ Cricket went 0-9 in the last two weeks across these three teams (White Ferns were swept 0-3 in T20Is by Australia). You're here for Blackcaps yarns but the Test losses in Sri Lanka are merely an update on a demise in performance for NZ Cricket. None of which reflects positively on the development system in Aotearoa but given that White Ferns neglect domestic cricket and that the best Blackcaps right now are emerging Test cricketers in Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips and Will O'Rourke; bring on the domestic cricket summer for some kind of cricketing joy.
The backdrop is how high performance has vanished from NZ Cricket. Blackcaps have offered alarming wrinkles in this context as the kiwi identity is no longer evident in any format. Planning, preparation, tactics, strategies, gritty mahi, elite fielding and making up for a lack in world-class skill with attitude and effort. None of that was on show at the T20 World Cup nor has it been in the foundations of their Test cricket in recent times.
Then Blackcaps responded to a competitive defeat in the first Test by selecting the same team, conceding 602/5 declared and scoring 88 runs.
Blackcaps now have a habit of misreading situations, conditions, match ups and everything else that goes into winning cricket games. All of our podcast chat between these Tests (aside from highlighting Blackcaps fragility) was about possible changes, but the wise Blackcaps selected the same team. That's the planning, preparation, tactical lapse that has grown like a herbal seed in spring over the past couple of years.
At the same time, Blackcaps didn't take enough wickets or score enough runs after the senior leaders showed faith in the players to bounce back. Great fielding used to be an asset for Blackcaps and now they conceded 600+ runs because they stunk up the fielding aspect. The entire batting department is summed up by 'positive intent' in the second innings being more about survival, as in the only way for the Blackcaps batters to deal with Sri Lanka's skill was to tip-toe between aggression and being reckless.
The Blackcaps have suffered humbling results but it's not clear yet if they have been humbled because their mahi in Sri Lanka didn't look like self-aware kiwis who epitomise how Aotearoa plays cricket. Something has to change. Unfortunately, whatever issues the Blackcaps are dealing with aren't isolated to the Aotearoa men's cricket team. The NZ Cricket identity right now is losing and the most niggly thing about these losses in Sri Lanka is how they are aligned with a longer phase of losing for both cricket teams trying to represent Aotearoa.
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Peace and love.