Black Caps head coach Gary Stead has some tough calls to make. Photo / Photosport
Black Caps head coach Gary Stead has some tough calls to make. Photo / Photosport
There's no need to panic despite the fact the Black Caps' World Cup campaign received its first cruel blow in the comprehensive defeat to Pakistan.
One loss does not make this a poor team overnight and the reality is we were simply outplayed by a better team on the day- I rate Pakistan's all-round bowling attack as the best in the competition and on a pitch that suited them, they managed to expose fragilities in our batting lineup that, perhaps, weren't evident before.
Like most fans, I'm disappointed that the Black Caps have made qualifying for the semifinals a whole lot tougher. Victory would have seen safe passage to the final four but instead, they now have to beat at least one of the tournament heavyweights - Australia and England or rely on other teams to crash out. In tournament cricket, you want to be in control of your destiny and though the Black Caps still are, defeat to the Aussies at Lord's on Sunday could be a Rubicon moment.
It's only natural to want to see changes after a crushing defeat like the one in Birmingham, but there's a real danger in overreacting. I'm a big believer in backing the players you have as consistency in selection breeds confidence and confident players are dangerous. Too many changes lead to anxiety and you can't afford that when you're reaching the sharp end of the World Cup.
Besides, the time for experimentation has passed - if head coach Gary Stead and his fellow selectors were going to make wholesale changes, Pakistan was the game to do it.
Kane Williamson's Black Caps lost their first match of the World Cup, against Pakistan. Photo / Photosport
Gambling on players who haven't seen any cricket in the past month when you're facing a resurgent Australian team (or an English outfit with their back to the wall) is just too risky and you could argue it won't be fair on someone like Henry Nicholls if he had to open the innings against Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, and Jason Behrendorff after spending weeks on drinks duty. What happens if he fails to score runs? Is he unceremoniously dumped again?
Those calling for the heads to roll sure have short memories - it was only four years ago that some supporters demanded Martin Guptill (who, ironically has also struggled recently) be dropped after a lean time with the bat in the early stages of the 2015 event. Guptill silenced his critics by bludgeoning a sublime double century - one of the finest innings in ODI history.
That said, it's a fine balance between building up players' confidence and ensuring the strongest possible XI for the conditions and opposition get on the park. That is why Stead and the senior players need to get a read on the dressing room - do the players who haven't been performing well still have a confident mindset to produce a winning performance?
They didn't get it right before the Pakistan clash and although I admire Stead for his frank admission that he knew the Black Caps had made the wrong selection in the first over, he's not solely responsible. Sure, the coach has the final say – but he would've had input from a number of very experienced people in the group.
Ish Sodhi could be a surprise inclusion for the match against Australia. Photo / Photosport
One increasingly tempting change that Stead and Co should consider, is to give leggie Ish Sodhi the call-up if the Lord's surface is conducive to spin bowling. Sodhi could replace Matt Henry, with Mitch Santner – radical as it may seem – opening the bowling and playing a versatile role through the middle and death overs. Allrounder Colin de Grandhomme and Jimmy Neesham could also be handed greater responsibility with the ball.
That would give the Black Caps more strike power in the right conditions, and add some variation in an attack that may have become slightly predictable after seven matches.
Whatever they decide, I'm convinced it won't be a knee-jerk reaction. Overthinking a bad day at the office can hold you back - especially when games are coming thick and fast, as they are at this stage of proceedings.
There's no need for big dramatic team talks or going over endless video of where things went wrong at Edgbaston - we weren't good enough on the day and we need to move on quickly.
