NZ Wicketkeepers Stats.

Wicketkeeper stats for our best 4.

Wicketkeeper	Matches	Centuries	Average	Catches	Stumpings	Matches      per Century	Catches      per Matches	Stumpings per matches
Ken Wadsworth	33	0	21.48	92	4	0.0	2.8	0.1
Ian Smith	63	2	25.56	168	8	31.5	2.7	0.1
Brendan McCullum	101	12	38.64	198	11	8.4	2.0	0.1
BJ Watling	61	6	37.3	209	7	10.2	3.4	0.1

The Baby Faced Assassin - Mike Hesson, NZC Coach.

While all the plaudits are going to the players and the captain, and rightfully so, one man has stood back and engineered those plaudits.  A Geek Boy to look at and listen to, Mike Hesson is far from that.  When appointed NZ Cricket coach in 2012 after the unsuccessful yet much publicised reign of NZ great John Wright, everyone was left standing aghast.  Mike Who??  The media soon stood up though when this softly spoken man announced that there were changes afoot, and one not so popular at the time.  But he had a mission.  And he was going to do it his way.  The fallout was loud, long and potentially calamitous for New Zealand cricket going forward, but he stuck to his guns, still quietly spoken, and got on with his vision.

So what has Mike Hesson achieved in two and a half years?  Sure results are on the board and now the public is back in the fold.  A team to follow and admire.  But how have those results come about?  In 2012, the cupboard was bare and there had to be changes made.  Some players just weren't performing, and key players weren't performing to potential.  Yet two and a half years downtrack, the core base of that 2012 team is still playing.  Hesson didn't go out and axe, cut and thrust, he parried.  He started getting the players to believe in their abilities and fostered improvement.  The results are a testament to that improvement.  Hesson has fashioned a record unenviable in New Zealand Cricket, and one that probably will never be matched or bettered.  Yes he is blessed to have the talent at the right time, but the talent are also blessed to have a mentor that not only believes in them, but drives them to greater things.

Below I have compiled a synopsis of core players performances from the Pre Hesson days and still performing.  Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, Brendon McCullum, BJ Watling, Tim Southee, and Trent Boult are all core players that have been in the team for some time, so their performance indicators make interesting reading.

Kane Williamson
Career Average  45.7
Pre Hesson  32.6
Post Hesson  56.5

Ross Taylor (this is surprising giving the circumstances surrounding the captaincy loss)
Career Average  44.9
Pre Hesson  42.4
Post Hesson  51.3

Brendon McCullum (I have only counted his pre Hesson roles as higher order batsmen, not WK batsman.)
Career Average  38.7
Pre Hesson  40.9
Post Hesson  47.4

BJ Watling (only played a few games before Hesson)
Career Average  40.7
Pre Hesson  32.7
Post Hesson  46.0

Tim Southee
Career Average 31.6
Pre Hesson  42.9
Post Hesson  26.8
Pre Hesson averaged 1.5 wickets per innings. Post Hesson up to 2.2 wickets per innings.

Trent Boult
Career Average  27.1
Pre Hesson  35.4
Post Hesson  25.3
Pre Hesson averaged 1.5 wickets per innings. Post Hesson up to 2.2 wickets per innings.

The marked improvement of these core players is testament not only to the team and captain, but a coach that has come along with a plan and stuck with that plan. And the players, the administrators, and now the public are also buying into it.  The coach change in 2012 brought about a change in fortunes for NZ cricket, and long may that reign.

Tale of the Tape - Sri Lanka vs NZ 1st Cricket Test preview

It's bordering on high summer and that means Test Cricket.  Starting Boxing Day is the first tests between two foes that seem to share the spoils with neither team showing a march on the other as far as results go.  It's fair to say then, a review of series over 20 years before the meaty preview.

Since 1994 Sri Lanka and New Zealand have played 15 tests with varying results as shown below:

1995
at Napier SL by 241 runs
at Dunedin Drawn

1997
at Dunedin  NZ by an innings and 36 runs
at Hamilton  NZ by 120 runs

1998 (the only 3 test series in this review)
at Colombo NZ by 167 runs
at Galle  SL by and Innings and 16 runs
at Colombo SL by 164

2003
at Colombo  Drawn
at Kandy  Drawn

2006
at Christchurch NZ by 5 wickets
at Wellington SL by 217 runs

2009
at Galle  SL by 202 runs
at Colombo  SL by 96 runs

2012
at Galle SL by 10 mwickets
at Colombo NZ by 157 runs.

Sri Lanka has won 7 and New Zealand 5 with 3 draws.

So with that in mind, how does this two test series pan out?  There was always an old adage the likes of the subcontinent teams never traveled well away, but Sri Lanka always seemed to disprove that myth.  They have had their share of wins here and they always have a team that battles to the very end.  In fact in the day, Sri Lanka mirrored New Zealands fortunes.  Then one day they got better!!

So where can New Zealand look for assistance to achieve a two test win.  Well not in Christchurch.  The forecasted hot weather will play into both teams hands as far as supreme batting goes.  I don't see the seamers dominating and the wicket will hold true and that will eliminate the spinners later in the match.  Wellington however (barring rain) will suit us down to the ground as far as recent history and bowling goes.  Having said that however it should be noticed that Sri Lanka won their only test in the past 20 years in Wellington and by over 200 runs.  Enough of a gee up for our team to right that wrong??

So with a drawn series likely which team holds the guns?

New Zealand is resurgent especially under McCullum's captaincy and his good form in the test arena of late.  In fact with he, Taylor and Williamson providing run scoring stability in the past 18 months it's fair to say we negate the threat of Sanggakara, Dilshan and Jayawardene.  So where to then?  Well our all-round capabilities are growing, with the likes of Anderson and Craig finding a niche in the top side, and who could go past the threat our pace men display.  It's far to say our bowlers should be a tad ahead of their Sri Lankan counterparts.  But can they take 20 wickets in both tests?  The pitches should say yes but a toss can ruin the best of intentions.

Sri Lanka do have the firepower in the batting department (the top three aforementioned) and a very useful spinner in Herath but very little is known of their seam attack and how potent they will be here.  And if memory serves me right, this is the last tour for Kumar Sanggakara and Jayawardene and will that be telling?  Both elderly statesmen of the game and maybe not on the top of their game.  OK I rescind that remark, both still capable of tearing an attack apart.  I think Sri Lanka do have a very good team, but how they cope after the draw in Christchurch and having to face the wind in Wellington is yet to be seen. (Ok I apologise to Wellingtonians, the zephyr)


So now stick the neck on the line time.  I love predicting things.  I also love being wrong most of the time.  It's Christmas so I'll be bold and do some heavy duty predicting.

Christchurch - Hagley Ovals first test match.  Green wicket for first session drying out under the hot Canterbury sun.  BMac will win another toss (he's starting to improve) and bat first.  At Lunch we will be 125 without loss, Latham on 48, Rudders Jr on 70.  At tea, 239/2 Latham out for 62, Williamson for 43, Rudders 110no,Taylor 18no, Stumps day one, Rudders 153no, Taylor 51, BMac 12no 330/3  Day Two  Lunch  Rudders 195no, BMac 65no 432/3, Tea Rudders 229,  BMac 108no, Anderson 48no 557/4 dec.  Stumps  SL 108/2.  Day Three Stumps 429/5 Day Four Tea SL 587 all out.  NZ Bat out a Draw.

Wellington - Basin Reserve - Scene of BMac's heroics last year vs India.  Weather will ruin this test and a draw eminent. Of course the Pohutakawa's will look nice in the rain.

K, stuck my neck out.  Hope I'm right on our progress first test, first innings, the rest is in the lap of the gods and MIGHT swing our way!!  Hope so, been 17 years since a series win for us.

Tale of the Tape - Who is our best batsman in the past 12 months?

Brendon??

Or

Kane??

Brendon has scored heavily in three test innings but is this enough to topple young Kane off the averages and runs scored in a calendar year perch?

In the spreadsheet below I have tallied all test innings, all ODI innings and all T20 innings seperately to give a synopsis of how they went in all three forms.  You'd think no surprises right?  And to get a balance of how well both batsmen have progressed through the year, a match up at the end of their combined runs from all three forms and a combined average.

Intrigued to see how they fared and who is best?

The stats.

Williamson		B McCullum
Tests	NO	Tests	NO
45		37
58		12
56		224
113		1
3		8
47		302
7		7
113		17
2		4
42	1	3
161		31
3		25
23		18
32		39
11		43
192		45
		202
908		1018		Runs scored
60.53		63.63		Average
ODI's	NO	ODI's	NO
8		51
47		33
16		14
71		6
77		30
65		0
60		0
88		49	1
10		23
70	1	16
		12
512		234		Runs scored
56.89		21.27		Average
T20's	NO	T20's		NO
24	1	60		1
51		17
29		16		1
42		4
19		65
37		0
0		40
32		21
234		223		Runs scored
29.25		37.17		Average
Kane		Bmac
1654		1475		Total from 11 December 2013 to 13 December 2014
51.69		44.70		Average across all forms.