How will Daniel Vettori be remembered as a captain? If he wins the World Cup, he'll be rated as one of the greats but right now, at the conclusion of his test reign ... uninspiring.
Flippin' heck. At midday yesterday the doom and gloom merchants were reminding us that the Black Caps had a streak of 11 consecutive defeats to overcome. A lot has changed with one victory over a hapless Pakistan team.
Back to Richardson; after a frank assessment of Vettori's captaincy career, he takes a hugely positive position:
Can he become the first New Zealand captain to win a World Cup? He sure can.
The World Cup will be won by boundary hitting and attacking slow bowling through the middle overs. In our team those are two boxes I can tick.
Re-jigged batting orders or not, I believe there is enough hitting power in the New Zealand batting to score enough runs. The form over the past few months is nothing more than a collective form slump.
Vettori is one of the finest bowlers in ODI cricket and, what's more, when there is a necessity to score off him, he becomes a genuine wicket taking threat. Defence, defence, defence must be his motto when organising those bowling around him - a mindset that should sit well with him.
When batting, it should be attack, attack, attack. He has the tools so maybe we finally have the real acid test for Daniel Vettori's captaincy.
We liked what we saw from the Black Caps yesterday, but even the eternal optimist is us isn't prepared to rate them as potential World Cup winners just yet. There were a few things that impressed us though. The Black Caps got on top early, and never took their foot off the Pakistanis' throats (figuratively speaking, of course). The bowling was sharp, the fielding was good, apart from a couple of dropped catches, and the intensity was maintained throughout. And when it came time to chase a small total, it was done with great intent. Ryder and Guptill took the attack to the Pakistani bowlers, and the match was won with ease.
We wonder if yesterday's team will be the #1 lineup going in to the World Cup. If that is the case, Kyle Mills has a battle ahead of him. Southee, Bennett and Oram all bowled very well yesterday. Bennett offers pace, Southee swung the ball prodigiously, and Oram's bounce, especially against shorter-statured players is an asset. Mills may be little more than a drinks-runner at the World Cup.
There are still five more matches to be played against Pakistan before the World Cup begins. We'll be looking for the Black Caps to build on yesterday's performance so that they can take form and cinfidence with them to the sub-continent. And who knows; Mark Richardson's positive thinking might just become a self-fulfilling prophesy!
2 comments:
The first requirement to win the World Cup is - bat out your overs. This is something NZ have not always done and Richardson's approach of attack, attack, attack will make that a risk at times. I guess it will be Franklins role to be the anchor if he bats at 5. Personally I would have a fit Oram there to give him time to get settled before the slog.
Mills is probably past his use by date.
Agree with you about Franklin pdm. He can be the rock around whom the shotmakers in the lower order play. It was a good move to open the bowling with him as well in swing-friendly conditions. They are unlikely to get such conditions in the sub-continent though, so I reckon that the bowling lineup has the right balance; two quicks, two spinners and plenty of all rounder options
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