Blackcaps v Sri Lanka
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I am not shocked it was a new keeper..
Knew what you meant though, no shocks that Nicholls edges
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It’s funny, the much maligned Nicholls has a career ( so far ) remarkably similar to Jeremy Coney. More tons ( 8 vs 3, that one surprised me ) but at a lower average ( 36 vs 37 ). 2760 runs in 54 tests vs 2668 runs in 52 tests.
Identical top score ( 174 ) as well.
I was only a kid but I look back on the Mantis’s career quite fondly…..whereas I look at Nicholls as a guy who started well and has turned to shit.
Does Coney get more of a pass cos of the era he played ? The truly legendary pace bowlers he went against ?
Does Nicholls get maligned for his own form mirroring that of the team since our greatest moment in test history ?
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It’s funny, the much maligned Nicholls has a career ( so far ) remarkably similar to Jeremy Coney. More tons ( 8 vs 3, that one surprised me ) but at a lower average ( 36 vs 37 ). 2760 runs in 54 tests vs 2668 runs in 52 tests.
Identical top score ( 174 ) as well.
I was only a kid but I look back on the Mantis’s career quite fondly…..whereas I look at Nicholls as a guy who started well and has turned to shit.
Does Coney get more of a pass cos of the era he played ? The truly legendary pace bowlers he went against ?
Does Nicholls get maligned for his own form mirroring that of the team since our greatest moment in test history ?
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It’s funny, the much maligned Nicholls has a career ( so far ) remarkably similar to Jeremy Coney. More tons ( 8 vs 3, that one surprised me ) but at a lower average ( 36 vs 37 ). 2760 runs in 54 tests vs 2668 runs in 52 tests.
Identical top score ( 174 ) as well.
I was only a kid but I look back on the Mantis’s career quite fondly…..whereas I look at Nicholls as a guy who started well and has turned to shit.
Does Coney get more of a pass cos of the era he played ? The truly legendary pace bowlers he went against ?
Does Nicholls get maligned for his own form mirroring that of the team since our greatest moment in test history ?
@MN5 said in Blackcaps v Sri Lanka:
Does Coney get more of a pass cos of the era he played ? The truly legendary pace bowlers he went against ?
Yes. And he got better towards the end. Took forever to get his first ton. Based on memory alone ... I think he debuted in '74, got his first ton (the aforementioned 174*), in '83 (edit: or was that '84?), saving the first test v England at the Basin.
And he bowled.
Poor old Henry is tracking down, after being part of that awesome middle order behind Ross & Kane. Super solid. Average in the 40s.
Now he's there on rep.
Will be happy if he fronts with a career prolonging ton today though.
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Honestly I don't know if I want Nicholls to convert the start into a big ton and save his spot or get out so we can drop him and move on.
He's struggled a lot lately and strikes me as a guy who probably is just shy of being a reliable test bat, but goes through phases where he's a genuine test bat and then phases where he's not.
His on phases are better than anyone outside the squad but maybe there's someone who can develop and give us more consistency.
He reminds of the bad old days when a guy with his record would have been one of the first batmen picked and we'd be trying to convince ourselves that he was a genuine test batsmen with arguments like 'but look at the other guys he has to bat with' and 'remember that century a couple of years ago against x, he looked so good'
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Honestly I don't know if I want Nicholls to convert the start into a big ton and save his spot or get out so we can drop him and move on.
He's struggled a lot lately and strikes me as a guy who probably is just shy of being a reliable test bat, but goes through phases where he's a genuine test bat and then phases where he's not.
His on phases are better than anyone outside the squad but maybe there's someone who can develop and give us more consistency.
He reminds of the bad old days when a guy with his record would have been one of the first batmen picked and we'd be trying to convince ourselves that he was a genuine test batsmen with arguments like 'but look at the other guys he has to bat with' and 'remember that century a couple of years ago against x, he looked so good'
@Cyclops said in Blackcaps v Sri Lanka:
Honestly I don't know if I want Nicholls to convert the start into a big ton and save his spot or get out so we can drop him and move on.
He's struggled a lot lately and strikes me as a guy who probably is just shy of being a reliable test bat, but goes through phases where he's a genuine test bat and then phases where he's not.
His on phases are better than anyone outside the squad but maybe there's someone who can develop and give us more consistency.
He reminds of the bad old days when a guy with his record would have been one of the first batmen picked and we'd be trying to convince ourselves that he was a genuine test batsmen with arguments like 'but look at the other guys he has to bat with' and 'remember that century a couple of years ago against x, he looked so good'
Yeah Nicholls as it stands has a McMillan/Styris/Astle record.
But I’d argue ( for right or wrong ) we expect more nowadays
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@Cyclops said in Blackcaps v Sri Lanka:
Honestly I don't know if I want Nicholls to convert the start into a big ton and save his spot or get out so we can drop him and move on.
He's struggled a lot lately and strikes me as a guy who probably is just shy of being a reliable test bat, but goes through phases where he's a genuine test bat and then phases where he's not.
His on phases are better than anyone outside the squad but maybe there's someone who can develop and give us more consistency.
He reminds of the bad old days when a guy with his record would have been one of the first batmen picked and we'd be trying to convince ourselves that he was a genuine test batsmen with arguments like 'but look at the other guys he has to bat with' and 'remember that century a couple of years ago against x, he looked so good'
Yeah Nicholls as it stands has a McMillan/Styris/Astle record.
But I’d argue ( for right or wrong ) we expect more nowadays
@MN5 said in Blackcaps v Sri Lanka:
@Cyclops said in Blackcaps v Sri Lanka:
Honestly I don't know if I want Nicholls to convert the start into a big ton and save his spot or get out so we can drop him and move on.
He's struggled a lot lately and strikes me as a guy who probably is just shy of being a reliable test bat, but goes through phases where he's a genuine test bat and then phases where he's not.
His on phases are better than anyone outside the squad but maybe there's someone who can develop and give us more consistency.
He reminds of the bad old days when a guy with his record would have been one of the first batmen picked and we'd be trying to convince ourselves that he was a genuine test batsmen with arguments like 'but look at the other guys he has to bat with' and 'remember that century a couple of years ago against x, he looked so good'
Yeah Nicholls as it stands has a McMillan/Styris/Astle record.
But I’d argue ( for right or wrong ) we expect more nowadays
We should expect more. And based on the Mitch Jr experience the coaching/ selection group don't know where those better players will come from
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149 runs and no wickets lost in the first session (34 overs). Pretty handy.
Will be a tricky start to the second session though. The second new ball is only a couple of overs old and there was a bit of life shown in those two overs, so the Sri Lankan's will be looking forward to coming out fresh and trying to get stuck in.
Could be a bit of a session of two halves with the Sri Lankan's doing a bit of damage early with the new ball and then us slowly getting back on top as the ball loses its shine.
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KW is not only our best ever batsman, he's now seriously in the conversation for our best player ever
And I never thought there would ever be a conversation
@mariner4life said in Blackcaps v Sri Lanka:
KW is not only our best ever batsman, he's now seriously in the conversation for our best player ever
And I never thought there would ever be a conversation
A couple of seasons ago Kane scored 90 odd against Sri Lanka off 90 odd deliveries. Normally when you see that kind of strike rate you think about aggression and risks and hitting over the top. But it wasn't. It was zero risk, control, placement and precision. When he got out, there was a few seconds of silence as everyone (opposition, commentators, crowd) was shocked because he'd just looked so unstoppable. It's probably the best innings I've watched in full myself by any batsman.
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@mariner4life said in Blackcaps v Sri Lanka:
KW is not only our best ever batsman, he's now seriously in the conversation for our best player ever
And I never thought there would ever be a conversation
A couple of seasons ago Kane scored 90 odd against Sri Lanka off 90 odd deliveries. Normally when you see that kind of strike rate you think about aggression and risks and hitting over the top. But it wasn't. It was zero risk, control, placement and precision. When he got out, there was a few seconds of silence as everyone (opposition, commentators, crowd) was shocked because he'd just looked so unstoppable. It's probably the best innings I've watched in full myself by any batsman.
