Blackcaps vs Australia First Test Debrief
Nothing tickles Blackcaps frustration like a capitulation on home soil and regardless of who the opposition is, the Test loss in Wellington felt like it was straight out of prior decades. As with any Test loss there are decisions to scrutinize, but selection decisions and various decisions throughout the defeat overlook far greater issues in the Blackcaps Test team.
Ultimately though, Blackcaps are second on the World Test Championship ladder. The quirky nature of WTC works in favour of New Zealand here and their 3-2 record becomes 6-3-2 under skipper Tim Southee. Here are five things to ponder ahead of the second Test against Australia.
Crumbly and Clumsy
Throughout the Test in Wellington folks were reminded that Aotearoa lost wickets in clusters. Conditions played into this as it was tricky to start an innings at the Basin Reserve but the Blackcaps were dismissed for less than 200 runs in both innings and the hearty, grizzly, mana-filled outfit that celebrated WTC glory has become fragile.
The skipper Southee era started in 2022 ahead of a tour of Pakistan in which Blackcaps had two draws. Since then Blackcaps have played nine Tests with no draws and the three losses they have had are all by margins of 150+ runs. Battling for draws would be lovely given the margin of those defeats, let alone enduring tough periods to set up victories.
When Blackcaps Test eras changed, the emergence of fragility was niggly but at least understandable given the experience and class that dipped out of the 1st 11. That fragile crumbly nature of Blackcaps Test cricket has been evident for a few years now but this summer has introduced us to the clumsy 'Caps.
Nifty planning, tactics and preparation have given way to clumsy decision making. Blackcaps have basically admitted to misreading conditions in Aotearoa a few times. Fielding standards have slipped and NZ had 47 extras across the Test to Australia's 26. While purely a funky note, we now have two Blackcaps boomfas in one summer with the Finn Allen vs Mark Chapman T20I collision followed by Kane Williamson bumping into Will Young. Add in too many batters being dismissed to bad balls and multiple Tests in which the bowlers have been slow to find lines/lengths. It's all a bit clumsy.
Kane Williamson and the bad juju
As clumsy as Williamson's run-out was, it wasn't an isolated thing. At a crucial stage of the Test, Williamson was almost dismissed at the start of his second innings as he chased a delivery down the leg side. Williamson was soon dismissed down the leg side to finish with scores of 0 and 9. Not only is it rare for Williamson to score less than 10 runs in both innings of a Test, both dismissals were so weird that they highlight the clumsy nature of Blackcaps.
Williamson last had two scores less than 10 runs in a Test a year ago, against England. Add in a Test against India early in 2020 and Williamson has only done this in three Tests since the star of 2020. It's not the status-quo and unfortunately bad juju from the cricketing gods came at an stink time for Williamson and NZ.
Tom Latham/Tom Blundell form
Williamson is part of the clumsy vibe, while Latham and Blundell fit into the fragile zone. Both offered clumsy dismissals as well but they are visibly low in confidence and they aren't just struggling for runs, they can't last long enough to grind out an innings. Devon Conway won't play in the second Test so we don't need to worry about his form slump which is just as alarming as Latham and Blundell, but right now it feels like these lads are going to be dismissed at any moment.
Will Young had scores of 9 and 15 in Wellington which he won't be happy with, nor did those scores help Aotearoa. Young has filled Conway's spot at the top of the order and at least Young, batting in a tricky spot, faced 50 and 52 deliveries. There is a slither of grit there and while Young has played half as much cricket in this WTC cycle as Latham, Conway and Blundell, he has faced more deliveries than Conway and Latham. The fact that Young isn't far away from Latham is just as concerning...
Tom Latham: 10 innings, 383 deliveries faced
Will Young: 4 innings, 309 deliveries faced
Devon Conway: 8 innings, 262 deliveries faced
Tom Blundell: 9 innins, 121 deliveries faced
That's not as crazy as Matt Henry having a higher WTC average than Latham and Blundell (Conway too). Three of the best batters in Aotearoa, who have all performed well in Test cricket are now averaging below 16 in the WTC. Goofy huh?
Glenn Phillips the all-rounder
The reason Phillips is a 1st 11 Test cricketer is because he bowls spin. Sure, Mitchell Santner would have been helpful at the Basin Reserve but Phillips demanded selection for the tour of Bangladesh as a spin bowling all-rounder. You can spot those who don't track NZ cricket closely when they chat about Phillips the wicket-keeper because he stopped playing that role a few years ago (for Auckland then Otago) and he is in this position because of his efforts to bowl spin.
Phillips made his Test debut as a batter and scored 52 runs in Australia. In that Test, Blundell was opening the batting and Jeet Raval batted third as Blackcaps battled to put together a competitive team. Since returning to the Test team Phillips has taken a wicket in all five Tests and he's got 2+ wickets in all but one of those Tests. Phillips is the leading wicket-taker for Aotearoa in the WTC on 16 wickets and he is in the mix with Matt Henry as the best Blackcaps bowlers right now.
Throw away the wicket-keeping yarns and any part-timer ideas about Phillips. He is a pure all-rounder and given that Rachin Ravindra's career Test record of 33.1avg drops to 20.4avg since his return to the Test team, maybe Ravindra should be viewed as an all-rounder. However you want to label these lads, expect them to bowl and ponder how NZ has a bloke in Phillips who averaged 38 with the bat, 16 with the ball and is a fielding demon.
Matt Henry is in career-best form
Henry has bowled in nine years of Test cricket since his debut in 2015 and this is his first year averaging below 26 (14w @ 16.35avg). Henry averages 23.78 under skipper Southee after 63.2avg under Brendon McCullum and 54.84avg under Williamson. Even under the captaincy of his Canterbury homie Latham, Henry averaged 28.45 and now he is the most economical Blackcaps bowler in this WTC cycle.
Henry has 2+ wickets in each of his last 11 Tests, taking 4+ wickets in eight of those Tests. Henry is also the only Blackcap who has played more than one Test in this WTC cycle with a batting strike-rate over 100 and he is tied with Phillips on eight sixes. Henry had two 50+ scores last year and 150 runs @ 37avg/87sr which has flowed into 93 runs @ 23avg/108sr this year.
Now the Blackcaps head to Hagley Oval in Christchurch where Henry averages 27.45. That's hindered by no wickets in his first Test at Hagley Oval in 2016 and then he took 1w @ 93avg in his lone appearance there in 2021. Henry snared 14w @ 16avg in two Tests on his home deck in 2022 and last year he took 7w @ 21avg in one Test. Ideally there isn't so much pressure on Henry but he is the hottest Blackcaps seamer right now and after touring the North Island, Henry returns to Christchurch.
Join the Niche Cache Patreon whanau to support our kiwi sports content straight up, get a karma boost and find extra podcasts. You can also Buy Me A Coffee to show your support.
Every Monday and Friday we fire off an email newsletter with bonus content. Sign up here!
Peace and love.