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#3420421 1-Oct-2025 20:58

Tim Robinson again demonstrating why he should be an automatic pick in every white ball squad for NZ going forward, this guy is money. I've seen a lot of cricketers in my time and this kid has something, and has made an impact like this several times now.

Only ever gets a run when the supposed "top" players decide they would rather play franchise cricket.

Still think Australia will probably get this total but even so, a good recovery after the woeful top order effort.

TeaLeaf

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#3420686 2-Oct-2025 15:21

thermonuclear:

Tim Robinson again demonstrating why he should be an automatic pick in every white ball squad for NZ going forward

Definitely T20, as his cricinfo profile says, "natural athlete". His T20 batting both domestic is impressive but his start in T20i's is superb (hoping he excels at international like so many kiwi players seem to get better) at around 40avg and ~138 strike rate, not to mention last nights performance at 106no. Too many positives to leave him out now imo.

What I find fascinating is his inability at the 50 over game, I'm trying to figure out what the problem is there. Could it be the lack of adrenalin compared to the fast and furious format maybe.....

NZ problem was nobody really had an impact with the bat, which is seriously problematic. We need other players going at 140-150 etc. If Robinson had gotten out early we would have been lucky to make 100. Perhaps just a blip as we have some good players in the squad. Mitchell had a little Cameo and Bracewell just didnt have enough time at the crease to have an impact. Perhaps given Robinsons score + the cameo from Mitchell left little else for others, but given Aus performance its clear we cant sit on a 180, got to be scoring 200+ consistently.

I thought that score was competitive for the ground, I expected NZ to defend a bit better than they did, Aus just breezed through it with 4 overs to go. Aus top 4 showed exactly what is needed, go 0 to 150 ball one, nothing wrong with a 30 score if its at SR180 etc. Marsh, not the biggest fan haha, but hes lifted his game in the sport immensely and you have to hand it to him that was a heck of knock. 85 from 43.

The only thing I took from NZ's bowling was, it was great to see KJ back in the team. Im looking forward to seeing him with a red ball vs WI, along with NZ batting after 3 x150 scores in that last test innings.

thermonuclear

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#3420811 2-Oct-2025 20:42

Australia showed us last night what current day T20I cricket looks like. The best sides target 200 runs as a minimum, with the expectation of many more besides. Strike rate is king in this format and it needs to be a consistent strike rate throughout a batter's innings. You can't start out at 50-75 strike rate and expect to build it up as your innings develops, the power players of today go at better than a run a ball from ball one otherwise you're just wasting deliveries.

Bay Oval is one of the two biggest international cricket grounds in NZ and the Aussie batsmen were clearing the boundaries easily. Get one out, the game plan doesn't change, the next one comes in and muscles it just as far. It looked miserable at the Mount last night, cold and windy, didn't appear to slow them down at all.

On the positive side I expect we're looking at one of the finalists at the World Cup in a few months, if not the winner. Sounds like the weather might save NZ's blushes on Fri/Sat. Bit ambitious trying to play cricket this early in NZ but I guess you have to take the Australians when they are available and we are not much of a draw-card for them.

TeaLeaf

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#3420994 3-Oct-2025 14:28

thermonuclear:

Australia showed us last night what current day T20I cricket looks like. The best sides target 200 runs as a minimum,

Bit ambitious trying to play cricket this early in NZ but I guess you have to take the Australians when they are available and we are not much of a draw-card for them.

Yep, exactly what I was getting at. You gotta go immediately, no sighters, muscle memory, the best players imo are like Glenn Phillips, they use their hand eye skills. Gotta be hitting 200+ consistently, even if it isnt our A team.

Yeh I remember early October a couple seasons back and thought wow this is early, but loved it, but wasnt this early. And then last season we had a very late and brief season with much less cricket. Weve had drought up the top of NZ for a number of the last 5yrs, outside that cyclone that is, so Im ok with the risk and as you say, we gotta take them when they available. Hopefully we fit in at least 3 matches and goes to 3.

TeaLeaf

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#3421233 3-Oct-2025 20:47

Ugggh saw it coming, rained out at the Mount. Hope the next match has better weather.....

TeaLeaf

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#3428049 26-Oct-2025 14:54

GZ cricket fans watching this?

Zac Foulkes again showing his talent, accurate in swing, then he bowls over the wicket to the left hander and bowl an away swinging yorker that looked so pretty hitting the stumps. He had 3-7. If he and KJ fill the all rounders with our opening bowlers on top it could be a good thing. Early days for him, but with the Aus tour coming up, I hope we have some serious bowling once our main Test players return.

Matt Henry moving it off the wicket, gorgeous as usual. Commentary were saying only Joel Garner has a better Home Average.

Brook the only player of note for Eng, but hes starting to tee off, so Eng could post a total. It will be just as hard for NZ so even 150 will be a hard total on this soft pitch.

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TeaLeaf

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#3428066 26-Oct-2025 16:32

Great recovery by Eng from 4-10 to 140-6 at half way stage, given they were 6 down after 14 overs from Foulkes and Henry. Foulkes reminds me a bit of Shane Bond.

I hope we have a spicey change of opening bowlers come the Aus test tour. Im thinking Henry, Orourke open, Ben Sears, Foulkes, KJ if fit. Then you have to find room for a Spinner, does GP and Rachin become the middle order spin options? Im wondering how to fit Bracewell or Santner in there. Smith and Duffy would be reserves for me depending on fitness/injuries, Smith looks like he has recovered despite going for a few runs today.

Duffy finally gets a few wickets from to be fair some bad batting from the tail, but that Harry Brook is still out there 85 off 71 and was spanking some serious movement in the air and off the deck immediately when he came in, he is such a good batsman.

Hard to believe NZ is #2 in ODIs and Eng are #8 behind Afg.

Duffy is low to mid 130s and hes a tall bowler, but he lacks the spice of O'rourke and Sears, or the swing from KJ or Foulkes who are both mid 140s and obviously the accurate channel bowling of Matt Henry. NZ will need 5 serious spicey bowlers for that Aus tour.

With a bit more movement or pace NZ could have had Eng out for sub 70, Brooks finally found a partner in Overton to put a competitive total on the board.

Foulkes should have been given the ball earlier to get that 5fa and stop these runs flowing.

Edit: Congrats to Brook 104/82, 3 sixes in a row off Duffy to bring up his century.

Edit: I dont get this, Santner brings on Smith to bowl to the #11 Wood instead of the wicket taker Foulkes sitting on 4, makes no sense, should have been in 3 wickets ago.

TeaLeaf

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#3429817 1-Nov-2025 17:12

NZ needing some support to our first up bowlers. Foulkes and Duffy had Eng 44-5. Foulkes has consistently destroyed the Eng top 4 leaving the rest to mop up the tail, which they have failed to do so with Eng now 221-9. (letting their tail score more than avg 50 a piece on avg)

Given the upcoming WTC series with West Indies, I would really like to see Kristian Clark play. injuries we have O'rourke who is out, Phillips, Sears, KJ all 3 have had injury. Kristian Clark could add some strength to our bowling with the ability to avg 20+ with bat.

Something like

Henry, Duffy, Kristian Clark, Foulkes, Jamieson (very iffy)

That bowling line up will keep an attack on after the first change, Jamieson and Foulkes would be a dangerous combo swinging the ball. Foulkes to lefts handers wide around the wicket with the ball swinging away which is incredible for a right hand swing bowler. Its like Trent Boult but Foulkes is a right hander.

Hopefully by the time we tour for the WTC 3 tests in Eng in June then Ind for 2 tests in October. We have had a major improvement in injuries, Orourke is a necessity, Ben Sears would be nice, GP is a core part of the Test team

TeaLeaf

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#3429916 1-Nov-2025 21:47

What an insane stat, since 2019 NZ is the hardest country to win in, something like 93% and the next hardest I think was Ind at 75.5%. I assume that is just ODI's?

Nice to have the cricket free on TVNZ.

Looking forward to our WTC challenge when the West Indies turn up, some white ball cricket to get into the swing of things. I hope our weather doesn't lose us any points or Test Matches we are looking to win only to have a rain out. These WTC points are critical for NZ with Eng and Ind away next up being very hard to beat in their home venues.

thermonuclear

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#3429944 2-Nov-2025 08:58

TeaLeaf:

Jamieson (very iffy)

That bowling line up will keep an attack on after the first change, Jamieson and Foulkes would be a dangerous combo swinging the ball. Foulkes to lefts handers wide around the wicket with the ball swinging away which is incredible for a right hand swing bowler. Its like Trent Boult but Foulkes is a right hander.

Hopefully by the time we tour for the WTC 3 tests in Eng in June then Ind for 2 tests in October. We have had a major improvement in injuries, Orourke is a necessity, Ben Sears would be nice, GP is a core part of the Test team

The ability to stay on the park for many of NZ's top flight cricketers is a continuing issue. It seems like Chris Donaldson has been with the side for a very long time now as "Strength & Conditioning" coach. Is it time for a new voice in that department?

I hate to say it but is it time to look beyond Kyle Jamieson now? He can be devastating when fully fit and on song, but how realistic is that now he has a load of metal in his back? Should NZ continue to keep that door open for him to make sporadic appearances and hamper the progress of the next guy to get regular game time. Henry sat on the sidelines for too long while players past their use-by date blocked his entry in the side as a regular fixture. The same might be said for Ravindra.

Foulkes played very well on decks that offered a lot of assistance, and with the benefit of bowling first each time. He's impressed more than I had expected but more power to him, he's making every post a winner at this point and should be persevered with. There is something pleasing to the eye about his run-up once he gets into stride.

England were woeful and deserve their current rating. McCullum suggesting that they would have done better if the decks were roads was poor justification for their performance. No doubt most international cricket sides could do better if the wickets are featherbeds. Maybe they weren't really that interested with the Ashes around the corner but I'm not sure they will do much better over the ditch. We will see.

thermonuclear

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#3430060 2-Nov-2025 12:20

Williamson has announced his retirement from T20I's.

Good call I believe, T20 cricket is a different beast to when he came into the game and top order batsmen need to be able to snot the ball to the boundary at will. For all his immense skill and undoubted accomplishments in the longer formats, that's just not Williamson's game. It may become a curiosity once he's retired but it is disappointing for him that, despite a number of appearances in white ball cricket finals now, he has never been able to grab any of those contests by the scruff of the neck and play a game-defining, match-winning MOTM innings as befits his status and ability.

He'll always be the first name on the team-sheet for test cricket. I hope he will continue to make himself available for tests for a couple or more seasons yet, provided the body allows. It will probably come down to money he can make elsewhere in franchise competitions that clash with NZ's test schedule though as he looks to set himself up further for life after cricket.

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Dochart

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#3430118 2-Nov-2025 14:47

thermonuclear:

Williamson has announced his retirement from T20I's.

Good call I believe, T20 cricket is a different beast to when he came into the game and top order batsmen need to be able to snot the ball to the boundary at will. For all his immense skill and undoubted accomplishments in the longer formats, that's just not Williamson's game. It may become a curiosity once he's retired but it is disappointing for him that, despite a number of appearances in white ball cricket finals now, he has never been able to grab any of those contests by the scruff of the neck and play a game-defining, match-winning MOTM innings as befits his status and ability.

He'll always be the first name on the team-sheet for test cricket. I hope he will continue to make himself available for tests for a couple or more seasons yet, provided the body allows. It will probably come down to money he can make elsewhere in franchise competitions that clash with NZ's test schedule though as he looks to set himself up further for life after cricket.

This announcement is good for Devon Conway. Can’t have both Williamson and Conway in the same playing 11. The trial right now is Seifert and Robinson at the top with Ravindra at 3. Still unsure if the Top 3 is still the best, too early to tell.

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#3430122 2-Nov-2025 15:26

Well just finished watching the 3 match Kiwi vs Eng ODI, and it was boring. I read a book whilst watching. It did get a bit exiting, I put my book down, in the final 5 overs last night, where the kiwi's could have been bowled out, but no as the English have been woeful.

Let's see about the T20 Kiwi vs West Indies series.

And I am so happy that TVNZ are showing these matches.

Anyone know if they will be showing the upcoming Ashes from over the ditch? I will not be paying or VPNing.

Whilst the difficult we can do immediately, the impossible takes a bit longer. However, miracles you will have to wait for.

lxsw20

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#3430131 2-Nov-2025 16:10

Ashes will be on Sky. TVNZ only have the rights to NZ based cricket.

thermonuclear

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#3430903 4-Nov-2025 16:39

Dochart:

This announcement is good for Devon Conway. Can’t have both Williamson and Conway in the same playing 11. The trial right now is Seifert and Robinson at the top with Ravindra at 3. Still unsure if the Top 3 is still the best, too early to tell.

Maybe yes, maybe not. I've snipped Conway's T20I record below. As you can see his production was pretty respectable when he came into the T20 side as a new player at the top of his game. But he hasn't been up to much since 2023 and, as we know, his form has been patchy at best for several seasons now. Dire results in the recent T20 series against Australia, admittedly on very sporting wickets, and he wasn't the Lone Ranger when it came to failures against them.

I'd say the rope will be pretty short in the upcoming Windies matches for Conway, he needs to rediscover the form that made his name in the early 2020's or be discarded for other players. I personally like the sounds of Seifert, Robinson and Ravindra as the Top 3 but they need to be given the same extended opportunities to prove their worth as Conway has been afforded. You've also got Allen still in the frame for an opening spot. Conway's very average wicketkeeping might help extend his luck in the side if the blow to Seifert's hand keeps him out of the Windies series.

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