Taylor’s captaincy exit ill-timed and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/New-Zealand-c754’s long road ahead – Opinion - Part 3 - Continued...
Continued from Part 2….
For the player himself, it was a distressing time to say the least, and he quickly announced his decision to take a break from international cricket. Not being a part of the South African tour will certainly deprive the team of the services of their best
batsman, but moreover, will again affect the side in terms of building the momentum from their impressive comeback win.
The Kiwi management will need to address the issue carefully as chopping and changing will hardly help them gain consistency. Moreover, extra effort must be given into planning the tour schedules.
After being beaten at home by the Proteas in February and March, they left to play http://www.senore.com/Cricket/West-Indies-c760 in late June without having a proper build up. That notion was highlighted by Wright during his time, and he referred to the whole situation as the modern-way
of playing cricket.
They entered the Windies series rusty, and before they could settle, were on the receiving end of some embarrassing losses. They then again gave themselves little chance to overcome http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 after arriving in the sub-continent and diving straight into the Test
series. Had they taken the proper route, like http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746, they would certainly have been in a much better place to begin with, rather than gathering pace as the series progressed, where playing for pride remained the only option.
Moreover, injuries have also become a major obstacle for the team, while the loss of form for potentially key players has been a major concern. While Guptill has easily cemented his place at the top, he has failed to find a suitable opener who plays with
the required tempo. Also, Brendon McCullum’s place in the side needs a shuffle, at least in the Test format. He has made just seven scores of above fifty from his last 29 innings (in a period of almost 2 years), and may be more suited to bat down the order.
The bowlers have also showed inconsistency for the best part of the year. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/TG-Southee-c2659 and Trent Boult’s decisive bowling was a major
highlight of the team’s victory against the Lankans, and both will be eager to carry on producing the goods.
While there remain some positives for the Black Caps to build upon, New Zealand cricket is back to square one. For all the discomforting defeats over the past year, they gradually had allowed themselves a reprieve before the start of the New Year; just
as they did exactly 12 months back when they overcame the Aussies.
For the new man in charge, the task will not be easy, as http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Taylor-c92915 will not be there to score runs. Nonetheless, on the brighter side, the now ex-skipper was keen to wish his successor all the best and importantly, vowed to return strongly.
"However I want people to know that I am determined to contribute to the Black Caps team in the future and help whoever is in charge to win games of cricket for New Zealand. That is my passion and it will continue to be so. We all need to show leadership
in our own way, at all times, regardless of who is in charge.
"http://www.senore.com/Cricket/BB-McCullum-c1129 has been named captain and I wish him every success.”
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