West Indies tour of NZ
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Close on the scoreboard, but it wasn't that close. We were always in control, a bit of a dour fixture with a rather dour crowd. Still, it's a win.
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@frugby said in West Indies tour of NZ:
Nicholls called in as injury cover for Mitchell. These selectors are giving the All Blacks a run for their money with how conservative they are
As a top order option he is heads and shoulders above others in terms of recent form. His start to the Ford Trophy has been brillant
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@SouthernMann That is the concern, but he isn’t a long-term solution.
I’d liked to have seen Robinson get a crack in the ODIs
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@frugby said in West Indies tour of NZ:
Nicholls called in as injury cover for Mitchell. These selectors are giving the All Blacks a run for their money with how conservative they are
He deserves the call up the form batsmen in domestic cricket, last innings international ODI was 150 and two 100s this season for Canterbury in the Ford trophy.
I would rather see a batsmen selected on form that a promise that may never come. -
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@frugby said in West Indies tour of NZ:
@Chris I'd argue that Nicholls' returns at international level in the past 36 months makes his domestic form somewhat redundant.
A guy who has come off 150 in his last match for NZ and is outscoring all the other domestic batting by a fair distance is who I would be picking ahead of a hope.
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Nicholls is very maligned for a guy who has had a good career for NZ. Has scored two limited overs hundreds this month alone.
He seems to have troughs and then save his arse with a big hundred but he's hardly alone there. Not to mention he does a lot better at home. He deserves his recall.
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I had a scan through the ford trophy score cards and there isn't really anyone else really pressing their claim, so the call up for Nicholls makes a but more sense. Maybe Josh Clarkson (also scored a century) could have been worth a try, but he's probably more of a fit in the Bracewell/Neesham role than batting in the top order. Another chance for Tom Bruce? He struggled when he got his last chance but a long time has passed. Not sure if he's still eligible though, I vaguely recall seeing something about him switching to Scotland but I didn't check.
Nicholls is almost comically dominant at NZ domestic level though - I feel like every time I check a score card he's scored another ton. It's a shame that he never really pushed on at international level.
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@Cyclops said in West Indies tour of NZ:
I had a scan through the ford trophy score cards and there isn't really anyone else really pressing their claim, so the call up for Nicholls makes a but more sense. Maybe Josh Clarkson (also scored a century) could have been worth a try, but he's probably more of a fit in the Bracewell/Neesham role than batting in the top order. Another chance for Tom Bruce? He struggled when he got his last chance but a long time has passed. Not sure if he's still eligible though, I vaguely recall seeing something about him switching to Scotland but I didn't check.
Nicholls is almost comically dominant at NZ domestic level though - I feel like every time I check a score card he's scored another ton. It's a shame that he never really pushed on at international level.
Well he has 9 test centuries which is a lot more than others some who have played more tests,that is not a bad record by NZ standards.
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@Cyclops said in West Indies tour of NZ:
I had a scan through the ford trophy score cards and there isn't really anyone else really pressing their claim, so the call up for Nicholls makes a but more sense. Maybe Josh Clarkson (also scored a century) could have been worth a try, but he's probably more of a fit in the Bracewell/Neesham role than batting in the top order. Another chance for Tom Bruce? He struggled when he got his last chance but a long time has passed. Not sure if he's still eligible though, I vaguely recall seeing something about him switching to Scotland but I didn't check.
Nicholls is almost comically dominant at NZ domestic level though - I feel like every time I check a score card he's scored another ton. It's a shame that he never really pushed on at international level.
What ?
Have a look at NZs history. It is hardly littered with batting legends. Nicholls has had a good career, he was part of NZs best ever era and still has something to offer.
As I mentioned before he has a better record at home ( as lots of guys do )
Is it cos he's no Kane Williamson or even Ross Taylor ?
10 test hundreds when only one guy in our history has gotten more than 20 is a decent return.
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With a minimum of 2,000 test runs Nicholls has the 11th highest test average all time for NZ
Only KW, Crowe, Richardson, Taylor, Turner, Mitchell, Jones(Andrew), Sutcliff, Fleming and Conway average more.He sits above McCullum, Latham, McMillan, Wright, Coney, Astle and many many more.
Only 8 Black Caps have score 10 or more test 100's and hes in that list.
His ODI record isnt as good but his average of 34 is the same as Astle, Chapman and Elliot and is higher then Fleming, Latham and Ryder
So not sure why the hate.
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@Virgil said in West Indies tour of NZ:
With a minimum of 2,000 test runs Nicholls has the 11th highest test average all time for NZ
Only KW, Crowe, Richardson, Taylor, Turner, Mitchell, Jones(Andrew), Sutcliff, Fleming and Conway average more.He sits above McCullum, Latham, McMillan, Wright, Coney, Astle and many many more.
Only 8 Black Caps have score 10 or more test 100's and hes in that list.
His ODI record isnt as good but his average of 34 is the same as Astle, Chapman and Elliot and is higher then Fleming, Latham and Ryder
So not sure why the hate.
It's ridiculous.
If he was competing against the Australian team of the 2000s then yeah, he falls short. But he's not.
KW sits alone. Crowe very much alone as our second best. Taylor slightly below him.
Easy to forget that Richardson was an excellent player ( given he's such a TV star now )
Different eras and all of that but on paper Nicholls is still better than any number of top 80s players like Coney, Wright etc.
In saying all that and speaking purely from the test side perspective I'd still want KW, Young, Mitchell and Ravindra in ahead of him as it stands. Nicholls may be in line for a spot if Young opens instead of Conway which is a distinct possibility.
But the narrative that Nicholls is some kind of chump who has never delivered is utter bullshit.
