So we were delighted to find another new cricketing blog the other day. Donning the Whites with Grace is authored by A Cricketing Buddha who says of himself "I call myself a cricketing cynic but in essence I'm a cricket tragic.". And he's put up a post today entitled 2012 and beyond: NZ's Wright path which begins thus:
The naming of New Zealand’s T20 and ODI squads for the remainder of the Zimbabwe tour has raised a few eyebrows in the cricketing community, but for once it’s a good thing. With the one-off Napier test having confirmed the relative strength, or lack thereof, of the tourists, New Zealand have opted to promote some new blood to the two limited overs sides, and people are genuinely excited about their prospects. Coach John Wright and national selection manager Kim Littlejohn have begun to stamp their mark on New Zealand cricket, and it looks like they are building a strong path to future success.
Clichéd underarm jokes aside, Kim Littlejohn, the former high performance manager of Bowls Australia, has, in conjunction with Wright, shown a leap of faith in the performances of players in domestic limited overs cricket and selected six debutants across the T20 and ODI sides to play Zimbabwe. That Littlejohn has utilised the on-the-ground knowledge of the country’s six domestic coaches in the wider selection process should not be overlooked – they are in the best position to assess developing talent and make candid assessments of the intangibles; traits such as attitude and the ability (and willingness) to learn.
We concur with his sentiments about the direction of the New Zealand team under John Wright. There is plenty to be encouraged about at the moment, although South Africa will provide a very stern test later this month.
And we also concur with ACB's thoughts on Zimbabwe; read on:
Those who complain they shouldn’t be given test status, and aren’t worthy of international cricket, would do well to remember the length of time it took India, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, and more lately, Bangladesh, to find their feet at the elite level. A country that previously produced the talents of the Flower brothers, Streak, Olonga, Whittal and Brandes, among others, will no doubt rise again.
ACB writes in far greater depth on cricket than we ever seem to be able to manage. His posts are thoughtful and well researched, and his blog is well worth a visit. We wish him well.
1 comments:
Well, the new blood proved their selection worthwhile and thus proved the value of the selection process now used. Every one of the, done good in at least one area of their game. Latham and Ellis batted well. Ellis and Nicol both bowled well. They helped carry on the ruthless bowling NZ showed against Australia in the last test over there and against Zimbabwe.
That ongoing ruthlessness and managing to do it well even against Australia I think shows that NZ have the ability to challenge SA I think. Australia have just proven they are still tough beats at cricket too despite the way things have looked for them the last few years.
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