Eden Park - results and stats. Previewing Day/Night Test 22 March 2017.

I have taken the liberty of reviewing the previous 10 tests at The Garden.  One thing to note - 8 of 10 tests were low scoring affairs.  The 10th was the last when BMac lashed to all parts.

I found this hard to fathom as Eden Park has long had a reputation for being boundary friendly, but not necessarily so.

In those last 10 tests we have had 5 wins, 2 draws and 3 losses, not a bad record all round.  Below are the stat's (Blackcap players only)

Zimbabwe 1998 NZ Win by Innings and 13 runs.

Horne  157  Astle  114

Doull  two 4 fors.

South Africa - 1999- Drawn

Horne 93

Australia 2000  -  NZ Loss by 62 runs

Vettori  7- 87

Pakistan - 2001 - NZ Loss by 299 runs

Martin and Tuffey 4 fors.

  England - 2002 - NZ 78 Run Win

Tuffey  6 for 54

South Africa - 2004  -  NZ 9 wicket win.

Martin 11 wickets - 180

Styris  170

Cairns  158

Oram 90

Australia  -  2005  -  NZ 9 Wicket loss

Franklin 6 - 119

West Indies  2006 - NZ 27 run win.

Styris  103*

Bond 5 - 69

England - 2013 - Drawn

Fulton 136 and 110 (nice!!)

Williamson 91 and 4 for 44.

Boult  6-68

India  -  2014 -  NZ win by 40 runs.

Williamson  113

McCullum - 224

Wagner 4 for and 4 for (8 Wickets)

So given those figures, it appears that results are hard to come by for visiting teams.  2 out of 10 seem a turn out of the blue as high scoring and result driven.  With that in mind it is fair to say despite the advent of day/night cricket it's going to be a bit dicey for both teams anyway.  Essentially it's a clean slate with which both teams will have to feel their way.  Unless two or three batsmen use T20 form to take advantage of the awkward boundary positions.

And a footnote - between 2006 and 2014 (inclusive) there have been only 3 tests (2006, 2013 and 2014)

The Day/Night Test stats.

2018

England versus Blackcaps.

Won by NZ in an innings and 49 runs.

Williamson 102
Nichols  145
Boult 6 for 32 and 3 for 67 (9 for)
Southee  4 for 25.

Winning in Black, over Gold, on Green Fields

Three ODI's down, two important tests to follow.  So what of this Aussie/Kiwi rivalry?  Well it's hardly surprising that just about any game between the two is bathed in controversy, and all are well documented.  My thoughts are this on all the matters.  Shit happens.  To err is human and more so when the Colosseum is heavily laden with two teams who hate losing and partisan crowds seeking that win as well.

And that leads to me writing about my team.  A winning team by and large at that.  In fact since Brendon McCullum was controversially handed the reins from Ross Taylor the Blackcaps have turned around from being a lower to mid table team in all formats to now being top 3 in most. And many players dot the player rankings as well.  It took a little while for them to draw the fans back but with a coach and captain  and a team driving the train on the straight and narrow and not losing often (yes I could have said Won many but that consistency still not at 100%).

So where to the future doth we ply our winning craft?  Common knowledge Kane will soon be the new captain with Brendon's retirement and the likely retirement of Ross in the coming years, where does this team go? Well to be honest I see only continuing success and giving the fans even more silverware and reasons to come to games.

And given the public has bought into the team.  Diehard fans have been vindicated.  The remainder nearly filling stadiums are a breath of fresh air.  NZ Cricket must be feeling great about the turnaround and so they should be.  And with Australia here and in fine form on matters not necessarily cricket related (whingers) we can now rightfully ride our wave and get the most from our game.

Test cricket??  The onslaught continues.  "Go Blackcaps!!"

Cricket World Cup 2015 Under Serious Threat.

Right – Buzzword for next 8 months is:

Fallout.

So far we have he says she says he counters. So far we have an ICC that seems unwilling to go into damage control. So far (it's reported) that the investigation that is ongoing will be ongoing for another 12 to 18 months before action will be taken.

So far no one is talking how CWC 2015 will fare with the shitfight that is exploding as we speak. So far no one has taken damage control action and so far as I see it New Zealand's role come CWC 2015 will be under serious threat, not just nationally, globally.

As far as Vincent, ex Mrs Vincent, Ed Hawkins and Chris Cairns go, time to shut your mouths and let the dust settle. As far as New Zealand Media wanting to uncover all the sordid details, fine, but NIMBY thank you. I want CWC2015, the untarnished version, untarnished from gambling, untarnished from speculation, and untarnished by players, administrators, cricket following public.

And for all that to happen three things must happen:

1. ICC must show leadership and the first thing they need to do is elect a board that is squeaky clean and shows utmost respect to the game, the players and all involved. They must have confidentiality. Right as of this moment, the cricketing world should be voting a huge No Confidence in the current outfit going forward.  Fair to say the leaks coming from the ICC are bigger than those that sunk the Titanic.

2. Once a trustworthy board is in place and coupled with their ACSU, the ICC shall for 6 months conduct a free from prosecution Amnesty available to all in the game declaring any match or spot fixing they have been involved with. Free from prosecution means the players walk free to continue their trade with a proviso they sign a declaration they shall never indulge again and will automatically report all attempted fixes to the local cricket board AND the local police.

3. The Media shall stop trying to sully an already very sullied mess. The media I ask should start returning to what it should do, report the truth. Of course so far the key players in this have used the media, some unwittingly. Let's stop for a second and see how this reporting is affecting players in the West Indies about to start a tour? Let's stop for a second and ask how NZC is going to keep a lid on this debacle so it doesn't sully the CWC 2015 that's about to bring all cricket playing nations to our shores next summer.

I'm personally disgusted by the whole episode. I'm not keen on seeing anymore of it as it transpires, but as I watch the TV One News at night I can't escape it. Unless those involved shut their bloody mouths and take it indoors and deny the Media hounds their cheap meal.