Kiwis In WBBL04: Merry Christmas From WBBL
Busy times in the Women's Big Bash League with games coming every day around Christmas Day and that means that the best day to run through the latest performances, is Christmas Day.
Busy times in the Women's Big Bash League with games coming every day around Christmas Day and that means that the best day to run through the latest performances, is Christmas Day.
The return of Super Smash cricket brought with it the return of Mitchell Santner, perhaps the weirdest kiwi cricketer in existence right now.
Boxing Day at Hagley Oval in Christchurch, is now the kiwi cricket dream and after toiling through an absorbing first Test, Aotearoa's Blackcaps will now be eager to flex in the second fixture vs Sri Lanka.
What a weird way to start the kiwi summer. From Tim Southee nibbling the ball around to batsmen from Aotearoa and Sri Lanka then dominating and a final day lost to rain, everything that we love and perhaps don't like so much was squeezed into the first Test of the summer.
Having run through Auckland Aces vs Northern Districts Knights and then Canterbury vs Otago Volts from an Aotearoa A perspective, things get even funkier when taking a geeze at Central Districts Stag vs Wellington Firebirds.
For the first two Test matches over in the UAE, Tim Southee had his feet up in the stands with a good book or perhaps a cup of tea as the brains trust of the Blackcaps decided he was the odd man out in a seam attack that needed to be shrunk to accommodate an extra spinner for the conditions.
Coming in hot off their Aotearoa 'A' excursion, Canterbury's Kyle Jamieson and Cameron Fletcher were in dominant form in their win over Otago Volts.
Perhaps my favourite cricketing idea to follow and discuss, is Aotearoa's involvement in Australia's Big Bash League.
With those Blackcaps not involved in the Sri Lanka Test series and Aotearoa 'A' cricketers flooding back into Plunket Shield, a funky window has been left open.
On the boundary during the first Blackcaps Test of the kiwi summer, in his standard edition Blackcaps cap alongside the best drinks-runner in the world Matt Henry, was Will Young.
On the back of a year filled with T20 struggles, it's no surprise that this has flowed into WBBL04 for our White Ferns.
Really, this one was never in doubt. Joseph Parker was always expected to win against Alexander Flores, probably not as easy as he ended up doing but you know what I mean.
Sri Lanka are back in Aotearoa to play a couple Tests and challenge an invigorated Blackcaps Test team that has casually won a series on foreign soil with new coach Gary Stead.
It’s nice when you achieve something that hasn’t been done for a long time. 49 years since the New Zealand cricket team last won a series away to Pakistan. This one was in the UAE but close enough.
Fresh off a Test series win against Pakistan in United Arab Emirates, Aotearoa's Blackcaps are back in the land of Papatuanuku and Ranginui to face a touring Sri Lanka team.
Plunket Shield cricket is back, although there's still a hefty contingent of kiwi cricketers busy on Blackcaps, Aotearoa A or even Aotearoa 11 duties and that can be viewed as a beautiful thing given the opportunities such a weird schedule offers.
Every cloud has a silver lining and it's not what happens to you, it's all about how you react to what happens. For us kiwis, a lack of Test cricket can easily be flipped into gratitude for what Test cricket we do get, greater appreciation for rockin' the whites and enjoying the grit, graft and class that us kiwis are known for.
Thankfully, the Women's Big Bash League has come swiftly after the super downbuzz World T20 campaign for Aotearoa's White Ferns.
This is what the heavyweight division is all about. This is what we’ve been desperate to see for the last ten years and probably longer. Two absolute champions, one a current belt holder and the other without a belt but with the lineal title, embracing in the ring after twelve rounds of absolute brutality.
Wellington Firebirds had a few niggly turns to take on their way to Ford Trophy glory, in a final vs Otago Volts that was teetering on the edge of falling in favour of either team.